| Visit our Bookstore |
|
|
|
|
Vampires
Part 2
By Meagan Richards
Click here if you'd like to exchange critiques
Part 2
Alexander
August had found Alexander engaging in a new search for Kyla, one that was more complex than any of the others he had done in the past. Since Stephen had found him, Alexander found a new hope that he would finally find what happened to his Kyla. The ghost of Kristen still made trouble every chance she got, but it was always minor, never causing very much damage or even really scaring either of the solid members of the household. Jason was offering what little help he could in the search, but his little hints offered more help than some of the journals Alexander had stolen years ago. Stephen tried to help, but was worried about what had become of Scott than the search for the long dead Kyla. He was getting closer, he found the graves of two of the vampires that had been in Kyla’s pack.
“You’re actually going to Ireland to see these things?” Stephen asked, frowning. Alexander had just returned from Ireland when he met him, and he hadn’t been happy about the trip in the least.
“They were my family, Stephen. And if I see their graves, maybe I can find Kyla, or at least get a little closer to her.” Alexander said as he hurriedly stuffed clothing into a suitcase. “Are you coming or not?”
“I am you pack, aren’t I?” Stephen sighed, holding up a small bag. “That really doesn’t give me much of a choice in the matter.”
“You’re right there.” Alexander said, grunting a little as he forced the bag shut, even closing a suitcase that’s stuffed to capacity offers a slight struggle for a vampire.
There was a private plane waiting at the airport when Alexander and Stephen got there, Stephen holding the dashboard in a death grip which he didn’t release until Alexander had pocketed the truck keys.
“At least you didn’t kill anything this time.” Stephen muttered as they headed towards the waiting plane. Alexander smiled.
“My first driving teacher was Kyla, and that was on a horse. She was crazy, that girl, and I’d hate to see her if she could have gotten behind the wheel of a car.” Alexander chuckled, his mood was light and happy.
“At least you’re not flying the plane.”
“I can fly, I just don’t like to.” Alexander frowned. “It makes me nervous.”
Stephen groaned and slumped into a plush airplane chair. He ordered a stiff drink from the flight attendant, and downed it in one gulp. Alexander, on the other hand, pulled out a laptop and went to work, typing madly. He was making plans for when he reached Ireland, the graves were popular tourist stops, and he needed to see them in private.
Within and hour, ‘Doctor G. Turner’ was granted permission to study the graves, without anyone else to bother him, except his ‘assistant’, ‘Doctor J. Devils’. Smiling, Alexander shut off the computer and took a sip of his beer. Humans, they were so easy to lie to, and it was so much fun.
The flight was fourteen hours long, and they had only been in the air for an hour, God he hated flying. Alexander frowned, and leaned back in his seat. The pretty flight attendant was busying herself filing her nails until either he or Stephen called her, or when it was time to serve dinner. The cockpit door was closed, as it usually was, on Alexander’s order. He didn’t like being able to see what the pilots did, he flew a plane once, and it scared him shitless because it had been shot down, killing his instructor and almost killing him. If the steel beam had been wood, it’s poison would have killed him slowly, instead, the pain nearly drove him to madness. It was not a pleasant memory to visit, and Alexander quickly closed it.
Closing his eyes, Alexander stetted back to sleep until dinner was served. He would need all the sleep he could get, sleeping wouldn’t be a big priority in Ireland It didn’t take a psychic to predict that.
Stephen was looking out a window, watching the Atlantic Ocean pass endlessly under them. Hearing Alexander’s typing cease, and the laptop close, Stephen closed his eyes in relief, the clicking of computer keys had been driving him insane. Looking into his glass, Stephen remembered he had downed his drink in one gulp, and frowned.
“Miss? Can I get another drink, please?” Stephen asked the flight attendant.
“Same thing, or something different?”
Stephen opened his mouth to same ‘same’, but thought better of it. It was going to be a long flight, and he didn’t need to be drunk and 15000 feet. “Coke, please.”
The flight attendant smiled and went to retrieve Stephen’s liquid refreshment, perfect nails held carefully in front of her as she went. Laughing quietly to himself, Stephen turned on the T.V, needed outside connections to keep himself from going nuts or waking Alexander for companionship. The flight attendant brought his drink, flashed a smile, and went back to her nails, no offers of a conversation there.
The popular boy band, the Backstreet Boys, filled the screen. They were dressed as various monsters and the one portraying Dracula was just being awakened. Stephen chuckled and settled back to watch MTV, music improved his mood, especially when people tried to play monsters, and be sexy at the same time. It really was amusing. At least they weren’t running around in witches hats and cloaks like Harry Potter and his friends. Everybody (Backstreet’s Back) ended and Mmmbop came on. The three bouncing blondes who looked way to feminine at that stage of lives and who worried too much about going bald filled the screen. Next thing Stephen knew, the flight attendant had brought him his dinner and an under-dressed Britany Spears was going on about being a slave for you.
“You weren’t watching that slut, were you?” Alexander asked.
“No, I fell asleep during Hanson.” Stephen said, looking at his food. Rare stake, a baked potato, and steamed carrots covered the china plate.
“Good, that means I won’t be forced to kill you.” Alexander smiled, cutting into his stake, watching as the juices flooded out of the meat.
Stephen chuckled and started his dinner, blocking the sounds of the ‘music’ from his ears until Britany Spears left the screen and Ricky Martin started singing.
“Good God, Stephen, change the channel already!” Alexander said. “I don’t need to be sick to my stomach!”
“At least he isn’t in leather.” Stephen laughed, changing the channel. The two finally decided on a movie station where Stephen King’s Children Of The Corn was showing.
Alexander finished his meal in silence, letting his mind wander from the massacre that was occurring on the screen. If he found the graves of two of the pack, maybe Kyla’s grave was somewhere there, too, or maybe the graves held clues as to where he might start looking. He was ecstatic for finally knowing at there were graves, but he was scared to get his hopes up as well, what if the graves were of Patrick’s pack and what if they were simple human graves and made to look like vampire graves? Quickly glancing at the flight attendant as she took his tray, Alexander suddenly felt a wave of terror come over him. He hadn’t felt something this strong since the raid, and knew it was bad, then, it clicked.
“Stephen!” Alexander screamed, leaping out of his seat. Stephen looked up and screamed: the flight attendant was caught in a bear hug from behind by a man who could have passed for a gorilla and another guy of equal size was about to stake Stephen.
“Move and she dies.” the guy holding the flight attendant barked.
“Kill the bitch, she’s starting to bug me.” Alexander snapped, and ricocheted off the side of the plane like he was made of rubber, flying towards Stephen and his attacker. It was a stunt he had done many times before, bounce off the walls and land on the victim, making confusion and a quick and usually easy kill.
Time seemed to stand still as Alexander flew towards the attacker’s head, his fangs lowered and his lips pulled back from his teeth in a predatory snarl. Alexander was only about half the size of his prey, but he was ‘madder than a wet polecat’ and a predator.
Hitting the man was like hitting a solid brick wall, and his elbow met with Alexander’s midsection, throwing him off balance. Instead of landing on the back with a clear strike at the throat, Alexander landed on the guy’s shoulder, and had his legs wrapped around his waist in a desperate attempt to hang on and not get thrown to the ground. The surprise of having a vampire land on his back was enough to throw the man, and his grip of Stephen loosened just enough for him to squirm loose and get out of the way of the madly flailing stake.
“Get the other gorilla!” Alexander screamed as he fought to hold on and to get a chance to rip the guys’ throat out. He had given up on the clean kill idea, now, he was just on ‘kill’.
His ears caught the sound of the flight attendants neck breaking then the man’s shrill scream and Stephen attacked him. Hearing his partner shriek, Alexander’s prey glanced towards him, and that fraction of a second was all Alexander needed to get his fangs into the gorilla’s throat. The man fought like an enraged animal before slumping to the ground. Much to his pleasure, the kill had been clean.
“How did they get on the plane?” Stephen asked.
“I don’t know, they probably worked at the airport and smuggled themselves on board.” Alexander frowned, his peaceful mood had been disrupted.
“I’ll get us some gin.” Stephen said, stepping over the bodies and into the back of the plane where the booze, and food, were kept.
Swearing under his breath, Alexander began to hoist the bodies of the attackers onto his shoulders, he would have to stash the bodies in a small compartment until he could safely get rid of them. The compartment was airtight, so any smells produced wouldn’t escape into the cabin. He didn’t need this, especially not now, and definitely not on an airplane.
“Brandy.” Stephen said, handing Alexander a glass full of a golden brown liquid. Alexander took it gladly.
“We have to be careful, if they found us on the plane, they could very well know we’re headed for Ireland.” Alexander said, frowning into his drink.
“How do we explain her?” Stephen asked, gesturing towards the dead flight attendant.
“She has no family, or close friends. We can make it look like she was murdered in Ireland.” Alexander said, closing his eyes. He could feel the beginnings of a migraine headache and it promised to be a killer.
Stephen nodded and looked around the cabin, no blood had fallen to stain the carpet. Alexander frowned and sank back into his seat, rubbing his temples, his headache was coming in fast.
Even his eyeballs ached as the headache raged. His head felt like it had a vice-grip clamped on it and was progressively growing tighter. He gritted his teeth together and gripped the armrests of his seat. Alexander let out a scream of pain as a red-hot iron jabbed into his brain.
Stephen flinched as his master screamed out loud, writhing in pain in his plush plane seat. He knew he couldn’t do anymore than Alexander, so he shut his eyes and ears against Alexander’s agony and slipped into a dream.
Ghosts
“That’s where you used to live?” Stephen asked as he and Alexander drove up to the castle.
“Aye, that’s where I lived, once upon a time.” Alexander smiled. “They have part of it as a museum, and part is a hotel. We are staying in the hotel.”
“I should have known.” Stephen laughed.
“They’re simply using the guestrooms and some servants quarters. The main chamber is part of the tour.”
“I gathered that.” Stephen laughed. “But you’re ok staying here?”
“I wouldn’t be staying here if I wasn’t, would I?” Alexander asked, pulling into a parking space.
“I guess not.” Stephen muttered, following Alexander into the hotel. The place was huge, and the rooms Alexander had gotten were guestrooms, and were the two grander ones.
That night, Alexander couldn’t sleep, so he wandered castle, using one of his vampire’s powers that allowed him to go unnoticed as he wandered. He soon found himself in the main chamber, again. Looking around quickly to make sure a guard wasn’t in the room, and knelt in front of the stone that had hidden Kyla’s cross during the raid. Holding his breath, Alexander carefully lifted the rock, and gently blew the dust from the little hole below the rock, what he found nearly made him faint.
A scrap of paper was there, rolled neatly and tied with a black ribbon, all well preserved because the space beneath the rock was airtight, and didn’t allow moisture in. Under the paper was something even more amazing, Kyla’s medallion. None of this had been here before, Hunters must have returned later and placed the items there. No! They couldn’t have, none knew about the space beneath the stone, unless it was a surviving member of the pack, or the ghost of the Master himself.
Sitting on the bed that he had once shared with Kyla in better times, Alexander opened the parchment and began to read.
To you who have found this, or to whom it may concern,
I am Kyla, the last First Generation Vampire in the world, and I admit defeat if this is being read. You have found my secret, and now you will know my story.
It is true, my pack are all dead, including my lover, they have all but shown me his body, and that is my last wish, to see him one last time. To know where he is buried. Not knowing pains me more than I can put into words, it tortures me to no end. Alas, I can only wait for the pain to end. And hope that I will know what happened to my beloved Alexander before I die, and leave this place forever. I must go now, I hear someone coming. Perhaps it is my future that arrives on horseback.
Take this gift as a token of my praise for finding my secret. Wear it with pride, and never let your love go.
Alexander held the gold amulet up so it glinted in the moonlight. Kyla really left it behind, another vampire must have hidden these objects for her on her dying wish. Closing his eyes as tears fell to his cheeks, Alexander slipped the chain over his neck and slipped the think disk under his shirt. It hung above his silent heart, and offered a comforting weight in addition to the cross that he already wore. She really was gone, this was the proof of it.
Looking at his watch, Alexander saw that it was 3 in the morning, time for him to head back, Stephen would be worrying himself sick, and security would be making it’s rounds. Taking one last look around the room as he closed the door gently, Alexander slipped back to his room.
“You were in the main chambers?” Stephen asked as Alexander walked into the joined rooms.
“Yeah, I found something.” Alexander said, gently touching the medallion under his shirt.
“I don’t think that it was good, seeing the face of your face.” Stephen frowned. “What happened?”
“I found Kyla’s medallion. And a piece of paper.” Alexander said, producing the paper. “She’s dead, I know it.”
Stephen quickly looked over the writing, and frowned. “You may be right.”
“I needed you to tell me I’m overreacting! That I’ve got nothing to worry about!” Alexander screamed.
“Calm down, man, if we found this, it means that her grave has to be close by, right?” Stephen said. “C’mon, how far would Hunters take a vampire to bury them in the 1500’s?”
“Hunters are tricky things, Stephen, and they do odd deeds sometimes.” Alexander said, fiddling with the medallion. “Especially when they don’t want something to be found.”
“Alexander, if you found this, it must mean Kyla is nearby, and she can be found. Why else would she leave such valuable things behind?”
“She was odd, always doing mysterious things for no apparent reason, then, when something happened, it all made sense. But none of this does. Her cross, now this. Wouldn’t the Hunters have kept these things? Or at least buried them with her?”
“You said it, she was odd. Maybe when you found these, you released her from something, maybe her ghost was bound with a spell or something, but what if you just freed her? Wouldn’t that make sense?”
“It would.” Alexander agreed quietly. “If only I could believe that.”
“I don’t know whether to be amazed by your love for Kyla, or to call you totally insane.” Stephen sighed. Alexander shrugged and put the paper into a steel box that he had taken with him incase he found anything like this.
“But I’m telling you, I saw something in there!” a voice said. Alexander had given up on getting any sleep around 8:30 and had headed to the hotel’s restaurant for breakfast, and to escape Stephen for a while. He was currently listening in on a conversation held by two security guards. It was proving to be very interesting.
“C’mon, Jack, you know the cameras would have picked this guy up!” another voice laughed.
“Maybe he was, like, the ghost of one of the vampires! You know the rumors, right? Well, maybe I saw the ghost of one of them! Maybe it was Alexander, or even Kyla!” Jack’s excited voice gibbered. A sly grin spread over Alexander’s face.
“You’ve been here too long, Jack. There are no ghosts! Or vampires for that matter.”
“Of course there aren’t vampires! They were all killed!”
“Excuse me, gentlemen, I couldn’t but overhear your conversation.” Alexander said, walking up to the two men. “I’m Doctor Gerald Turner, I’m researching supernatural happenings.”
“You believe me, don’t you!” Jack said happily. “I knew I wasn’t crazy!”
“I didn’t say that.” Alexander corrected gently. “It’s just that your story sounded interesting and it may be of some uses to me.”
“Really? You mean I can help you?” Jack asked, his face lighting up like a five- year-olds at Christmas.
“Yes, if you want to be of help to me.” Alexander said. Jack nodded enthusiastically. “Alright then, meet me in the lobby at 11:45 tonight and we will commence the hunt!”
“Hey, great! I’ll…I’ll see you then, doctor!” Jack grinned, rushing off to get to work.
“Another nutcase, great.” the other janitor muttered.
“There are some things that can’t be explained by modern science, and it’s my job to try to explain them. I think your friend can be of some use to me.”
The second janitor rolled his eyes and wandered off in search of some dust to destroy. Alexander laughed to himself humans were too gullible, and they were much to naïve.
The rest of the day was spent walking around the premises, studying any changes to the castle, and where all the security objects were, and how to avoid them. It all turned out to a very simple procedure, all it took was a little fancy foot work.
At 11:52PM, Alexander and Stephen were in the front lobby, waiting for Jack. Dr. Gerald Turner and his assistant Dr. Jim Devils looked rather like snakes waiting for their prey as is slunk into their domain.
“Dr. Turner! Dr. Turner!” Jack yelled from across the lobby. “Hi.”
“Hello again, Jack. This is my assistant, Dr. Devils.” Alexander smiled warmly. “I take it you are ready to begin? We have the entire castle at out disposal.”
“I saw the ghost in the main chambers, he was looking for something.” Jack said excitedly.
“Then, off we go!” Alexander announced, picking up the black duffel bag filled with different odds and ends he used in his ghost hunting. “Chop-chop, boys.”
“Wow, this is my first real ghost hunt.” Jack babbled as he, Alexander and Stephen ascended the winding staircase that lead to the third floor of the palace, and the main chamber.
“I must warn you, Jack, this gets very scary.” Alexander said, smiling almost warmly at the custodian.
“I know, I’ve seen all the T.V shows on these things.” Jack nodded.
Christ, T.V shows! What next, the X-files are all real? Alexander though bitterly. “Here we are.”
“Wow, wow, wow, this is so exciting!” Jack said, the poor man was almost wetting his pants out of sheer excitement.
“Let’s get started.” Alexander grinned, opening the heavy wooden door. “Dr. Devils, if you please.”
“Of course.” Stephen smiled, closing the door, and bolting it tightly. He proceeded to place candles around the room, and light them.
“What’s he doing?” Jack wondered.
“We are having a seance, Jack, it may be the only way to recall the spirit you saw last night, my friend.” Alexander said as he took off his jacket.
“We’re ready, Dr. Turner.” Stephen said once he finished lighting the rest of the candles. Alexander nodded.
“Jack, I need you and Dr. Devils to wait over there whilst I perform the séance.” Alexander instructed, he felt strongly about this one, he found Kyla’s note. If she was indeed freed of something, she would come to him tonight.
“What if something that we didn’t expect comes?” Jack asked quietly.
“Do as Dr. Turner says.” Stephen said, watching Alexander closely. He didn’t want to see Alexander if this failed and Kyla did not put in an appearance, Alexander would be crushed. Jack nodded and turned to watch the vampire perform the séance.
For the longest time, nothing happened, the breathing of human member of the group could be heard and even the sound of eyelids hitting each other when someone blinked could almost be heard. The air hung heavily on the shoulders of Alexander who mentally screamed for Kyla to come, to show him she was alright, and free. Stephen was ready to go put a hand on Alexander’s shoulder and gently led him from the room when something started to happen; Alexander’s head snapped up from it’s resting place on his chest and his face twisted into a mixture of pain, terror, and joy.
Alexander watched as a flickering figure appeared on the bed. The female figure was translucent, but he could clearly see who it was; Kyla. She lay on the bed, dressed in a dress similar to the one he had first seen her in, she looked as if she were asleep.
“Kyla!” escaped his lips and Alexander tried to reach for the ghostly woman on the bed, to hold her tightly again. Before his fingers could even brush the material, her eyes opened and her lips parted in a silent scream before she disappeared.
“Alexander!” Stephen yelled, completely forgetting about Jack for the moment and running over to the bed where Alexander lay, sprawled, across it, his body heaving with sobs.
“She’s in pain!” Alexander screamed when Stephen touched him.
“Come on, Alexander, I’m taking you back to your room.” Stephen said, lifting the old vampire to his feet and ushering him to the door.
“You’re vampires.” Jack’s voice said quietly. Stephen groaned in frustration as he moved to put Alexander down, meaning to kill Jack.
“No.” Alexander said, shaking his head. He closed his eyes for a moment and his body tensed.
“What are you doing?” Stephen asked gently.
“That was so cool! A ghost really did come!” Jack said happily following Alexander and Stephen from the room. “Hey, he going to be ok?”
“He’ll be fine, he just needs some rest now.” Stephen said, smiled. “You best do the same, Jack. It’s been an eventful night.”
“Yeah, sure, right!” Jack said. “Bye!”
“Good bye, Jack.” Stephen said, lugging Alexander into his room. Alexander had passed out on the way down the stairs, leaving Stephen with his deadweight to lug down the remainder of the stairs and into the room. Alexander, on the other hand, was in a troubled dream.
It was cold, wet, and dark in the miserable cave in the miserable forest. Ironically, enough the miserable weather went right along with the setting. Alexander frowned and curled his knees tighter into his chest. It was his third month in France and things couldn’t be worse, someone had decided to convict for murder so he was currently in hiding in the middle of a forest, trying to get to Italy safely.
There had been no rest or comfort for Alexander in France, he had found no leads as to where his beloved Kyla was buried, or to the people who had done the deed where hiding. Then came the murder in his room, a stage set up by a servant boy who hated Alexander with a passion and made no effort to hide his hatred for him, and, truth be told, Alexander didn’t like the boy very much either. So, when the body of the whore was found in his room, by the servant boy, of course, and the blame, of course, was laid on him. He had escaped with only the clothes on his back, literally. The enraged folk of Paris weren’t all that loving when it came to murder, in fact, they were quiet the opposite. They had run Alexander out of town and men on horseback had perused him well into the woods.
That was three days ago, now Alexander lay shivering in the miserable cave in the miserable forest with the miserable weather to match the entire predicament. It wouldn’t have been all so terrible if Kyla was here with him, she would have known exactly what to do, and they probably would be warm and dry and in each others arms right now.
“I think too much.” Alexander said, standing and shaking himself off like a wild animal. He needed to feed, his stomach was cramping, sending pain shooting across his torso and down to his lower back. His legs creaked with protest as he stood up from the position he had held for nearly six hours, since the rain had started. There were deer nearby, he could smell them, even with the steady rain. They would make a sufficient meal, and would last him for a few days, hopefully.
Cracking his bones as he went, Alexander plodded foreword, tracking the deer. He left Paris further and further behind, and never had a second though about returning, except to maybe kill the damned servant boy who had caused him so much grief.
Kyla
“Kyla! Wake up!” Scott screamed, violently shaking Kyla to drag her from her sleep. He had a hunch she had let herself see.
“I saw him!” Kyla gasped as her eyes flew open. “I saw Alexander!”
“Calm down, girl.” Scott instructed. “I need you to tell me what you saw exactly, and to be calm and rational while doing it.”
The crazed look in Kyla’s eyes told him that wouldn’t be happening, so he decided to settle for what he could get.
“I was in Ireland, and Alexander was there, we were in the castle in our bedroom. I didn’t know where I was at first, then I opened my eyes and he was there! He tried to touch me but I screamed then you woke me up!” Kyla said, her words coming out in a rush and stumbling over each other.
“You let yourself see.” Scott nodded.
“Yes! No! I don’t know!” Kyla said, tears pouring from her eyes. “Scott, I saw him.”
“I know.” Scott said, hugging Kyla tightly. She felt so fragile at the moment, so different from what she usually was. “It’ll be ok, Kyla, take a few deep breaths.”
“I…I…c…can’t.” Kyla sobbed, her hot tears soaked through his shirt.
“Sshh, it’s ok.” Scott cooed, starting to rock Kyla back and forth like he was a father holding a crying child. Kyla’s howls of distress continued, racking her body violently and causing her to gasp for breath. Choking sounds escaped her as the sobs escaped her lips and she clutched Scott tightly.
She eventually stopped crying, and went quiet. Scott gently led her to the kitchen and made her a stiff drink, which she sipped slowly.
“You want something to eat? It’ll help.” Scott asked. Kyla, as expected, didn’t answer so Scott pulled out a can of soup and started to heat it up.
“Scott, I know what happened.” Kyla said quietly.
“What?”
“Someone found my medallion I left in the castle, in a secret place. I also left a note there explaining some things. It said that that if someone found it, I give up, and it also explains that all my pack is dead, and that I have no real reason to keep going. There was a spell on it, and when it’s found, I give up trying.” Kyla said quietly. “That’s why I was able to see last night.”
“You don’t know that for sure, Kyla, it stayed hidden for this long, what if you just let yourself see, and you didn’t know it?”
“No, it was found. I can feel it.”
“We’re going to Ireland.” Scott decided. “I’m not going to watch you mope around over what is probably nothing.”
Kyla shrugged and got up to go pack a case for the trip. Scott called the airport and got the plane ready, and watched Kyla carefully to make sure she didn’t do anything stupid, like trying to do herself in when he wasn’t looking. This was going to be a long trip.
Too bad for Scott and Kyla, the worst of their problems hadn’t even begun as they boarded the plane for Ireland. If either of them had been listening, they would have heard the insane laughter coming from the bathroom in the back of the plane.
Not long after the plane had taken off, Kyla began to feel uneasy, she didn’t feel sick, just nervous. She didn’t say anything to Scott who already thought she was under too much stress as it was, mentioning a feeling of nervousness might end in her going to a shrink. Settling back in her seat and turning her disk man up, Kyla closed her eyes and tried to calm down. She had gotten Scott to do as she wanted, go to Ireland without question. As for seeing Alexander, that wasn’t a lie, he was there, somewhere, and his recovery was within sight this time. It was the searing pain in her upper left arm that brought Kyla back.
She screamed and pawed the earphones from her ears with her right hand, her left hung at her side, not useless, just pinned to the seat by a wicked looking stake jutting through her arm. Her blood had started to run down her arm in a hot river that collected on her seat. Then the second stake came, puncturing her other arm, just below her shoulder, sending another bought of pain slamming into her body. It hurt!
“Not so tough now, are we, Kyla?” a voice hissed in her ear. “Thought you would get off easy, did you?”
“Thomas.” Kyla said, smiling despite her pain. “You caught up with me.”
“You killed my brother!” Thomas shrieked, driving a third stake into Kyla’s left leg, she clenched her jaw, not wanting to give him the pleasure of hearing her scream in agony.
“Scott, where the fuck are you?” Kyla screamed mentally. The male vampire wasn’t in his seat, but there were no stakes protruding from the back so there was a chance he was still alive.
“Quiet one, huh? Well, I’ll change that!” Thomas cackled, and Kyla’s one free leg was pinned to the seat. She was now pinned like a bug on display, totally helpless.
Biting her lower lip hard enough to draw blood, and squeezed her eyes shut to keep herself from voicing her agony to the other occupants of the plane. Oh God it hurt! How it hurt!
“I should let the wood poison your blood, so you die slowly, bitch.” Thomas whispered. “Yes, I think that sounds good, a nice, long, slow death for the last remaining First Generation vampire on Earth.”
“Eat shit and die.” Kyla hissed, turning her head and sinking her fangs into Thomas’ cheek. He let out a scream of anger, surprise, and pain as he wrenched to escape the vice-like grip the vampire’s teeth held the right side of his face in. This method succeeded in getting him free of the teeth, but it cost him most of his cheek.
“Bitch.” Thomas wheezed, his words came out slurred and whistling because of the gaping maw that used to be part of his face. Kyla pulled the flesh into her mouth and chewed slowly, Thomas’ blood running down her chin in crimson streaks. She swallowed and flicked her tongue out to catch the thick blood. Kyla beard her fangs at Thomas in a grotesque grin, his blood staining her lips a vivid red.
“I will not be the one dying on this flight, Thomas. It may take a considerable amount of time and energy, but I will get free and then I will devour what remains of your body.” Kyla said, an insane light shining in her eyes. And much to Thomas’ horror, Kyla pulled her right arm free of the stake. She licked her wound like a cat would do before pulling her other arm free and repeating the sickening ritual of licking her wounds. Then, Kyla grasped one of the stakes that pinned her legs in both hands and pulled. The stake came easily and blood gushed from the wound. Kyla watched it for a moment before removing the last stake from her body.
She looked at Thomas with a crazed look on her bloody face, sitting still until her wounds healed themselves. Kyla was covered with blood, her own covered most of her body, soaking her clothes, and Thomas’ smeared her face, neck and teeth. She was a vision of Death.
“Oh God.” Thomas moaned, sinking back against the wall.
“Where should I start?” Kyla mused. “I could begin with a few of you fingers, then move on to the toes. Maybe nibble on your ears, them part of a leg, or possibly an arm. Then I could get personal.”
Thomas let out a scream of pain as Kyla grabbed his genitals, and squeezed. She let out a wild cackle and grabbed his hand.
“No… please.” Thomas begged as Kyla examined the hand. Kyla smiled her predatory smile and put one of Thomas’ fingers in her mouth, and bit down, hard. Bones snapped and flesh torn, and Thomas screamed. Crunching the morsel loudly, Kyla spat the nail at her meal’s feet. It landed in a pool of spittle colored red from his blood.
“Tasty.” Kyla smiled, running a hand, almost lovingly, over Thomas’ chest. “But you will soon have the pleasure of unconsciousness, and I wish to eat some other things before you leave me, dear Thomas.”
“Dear God! No!” Thomas shrieked his voice high in panic. As Kyla tore the clothing from the lower half of his body, his bowels let go and salty urine sprayed the floor.
Kyla laughed as she gently caressed him, enjoying the mix of sheer terror, pain, confusion and pleasure in his eyes. “I am a seductress, Thomas.” she whispered, kneeling.
Despite his immense pain, Thomas found the blowjob almost enjoyable, despite the fangs that nipped and scratched. He couldn’t stop the groan of pleasure that escaped his lips when he came.
Finishing her deed, Kyla paused for a moment, then with a quick snap of her head, she ripped off Thomas’ man hood. Thomas sank to the ground, his face twisted in pain that he could not voice and his eyes refused to close and Kyla ate noisily.
“Surprise you, Thomas? Didn’t think I would actually do something like that, did you?” Kyla smiled. “Didn’t think I’d actually eat you, did you? Thought I’d let you off easy and drink you blood.”
Thomas just stared, his blood was pooling under him and the sweet release of unconsciousness hadn’t yet found him. Kyla leaned foreword, so close her face almost touched Thomas’, and then she ripped off what remained of his genitals, leaning in and tearing off his nose at the same time. The last thing Thomas saw before he died were Kyla’s crazed eyes boring into his as she kissed him, and tore out his tongue with her bloody fangs.
After she took a few more chunks off Thomas, Kyla abandoned the mangled body and started her search for Scott, or what remained of him. There were no marks on the seat where Scott had been sitting, that was good. Her delicate ears caught a small moan from the bathroom.
“Scott?” Kyla asked quietly as she slowly opened the door. The male vampire lay in a crumpled heap on the floor of the cramped stall, a nasty cut to his head. It had started to heal, but Scott couldn’t heal as quickly as Kyla because he didn’t wear a Bloodstone.
“H…holy shit.” Scott coughed, seeing Kyla.
“Hey, you ok?” Kyla asked, grimacing in pain as she knelt beside Scott.
“Yeah, my head hurts like a bitch though. How about you, though? You’re worse off than me, I didn’t get staked.”
“I’ll be alright in a few hours and after a few brandies, can’t say the same for Thomas though.” Kyla smiled.
“He’s dead?”
“Yes, I killed him.” Kyla said, helping Scott up. “The cabin is a disaster though. We’ll never get it all cleaned properly.”
“Fuck.” Scott said when he saw the mess, and he felt his stomach give a sickening lurch. Blood splattered the cabin, making it look like a three-year-old had run amok with a paint brush and red pain. A mangled body was slumped against one side of the plane, most of it’s face missing, as well as other body parts, including a gaping hole in the chest where the heat had been located. Guts had been ripped through this hole, and now spilled down the front, yellow puss and fat glistening on the exposed internal parts.
“He left me no choice.” Kyla said, easing Scott into a chair at the back of the plane, one of the few places that missed the bloody spray of the massacre.
Scott nodded weakly and closed his eyes to block out the sight, but his nose still sucked in more of the smell of death, even though he didn’t breathe. Feeling a weight in the seat beside him, Scott felt Kyla put her head on his shoulder. She had changed into clean clothes, he could tell.
“I hurt.” Kyla murmured.
“I know.” Scott said, gently putting an arm around Kyla. “God, I thought he’d killed you.”
“I called ahead, there’s friends of mine who will help us, and the pilots are members of the Circle Midnight so they know about us.”
“Good.” Scott yawned. “Do you think anyone knew Thomas came after us?”
“Meaning you think someone will come after him? No, Thomas was the black sheep of the family, he was a reject, and he worshipped Chris. We’re alright, Scott.”
Scott nodded and closed his eyes, letting sleep wash over his weary body. The next thing he knew, he was waking up on the ground when the plane landed. The blood had dried and now it left a rancid stench in the cabin of the plane. It seemed to seep into his pores, covering him in a syrupy coating, making him want to retch. Kyla was still in a soupy stage of a half conscious state and couldn’t walk by herself so Scott had to support her as they made their way off the plane. A car was waiting to take them away to someplace where Kyla could recover from the poison that the wood put in her blood. The physical wounds were nearly gone now, and the only reason she was still alive was the ring on her left hand, though Scott thought that the ring was a curse as well as a God-sent.
“Where are we?” Kyla murmured, opening her eyes groggily.
“We’re on our way to you mansion here in Ireland. The plane landed about half and hour ago and we’ve been on the road twenty minutes.”
“Oh, ok then.” Kyla said, her eyes closing and her last word dragged on and faded into nothing as she slipped into unconsciousness, again.
The times were changing as they always did, and the times when women were silent were passing. England had given them the vote, and the right to drive, and the corset was a thing of the past.
Kyla was quickly getting into the ‘new’ fashions, she loved the short dresses, the heeled shoes, the cloche hats and the bob hair cut. She quickly became the picture of a ‘perfect’ flapper girl, she smoked, swore, wore make up and wasn’t ashamed to talk of her sex life in public. It worked for her.
“Michelle, my girl!” a voice called from across the street. Kyla turned and saw her latest ‘love’ interest ran towards her. She smoothed her dark green skirt and adjusted her hat. Timothy was a banker’s son, and thankfully the black sheep of the family.
“Hello, Tim!” Kyla yelled back.
“I got a groovy idea, Mitch, let’s hit the Kit Kat Klub tonight. It’s going to be a swinging time.” Tim said when he reached his girl.
“Sounds like the bees knees.” Kyla agreed.
“See you at 7 sharp then, Mitch. I promised Dad I’d do some errands for Mom today.”
“I’ll be waiting.” Kyla smiled, giving Tim a quick kiss before he bolted down the street again. The twenties were proving to be a very interesting decade.
Still smiling softly, Kyla walked into a nearby shop, intending to get a new dress for tonight, and to kill time.
“Can I help you, miss?” a male clerk asked.
“Yes, please, may I try that dress in the window?” Kyla asked, pursing her lips and looking around the small store. “I take a size three.”
“That is a very costly dress, miss.”
“I can afford it, sir.” Kyla retorted, pulling out her wallet and shelling out a hundred dollars, and this wasn’t even all she carried. “Please, the dress?”
“Certainly, miss.” the clerk’s eyes had taken on a greedy gleam at the sight of the green paper. Kyla nodded and let her eyes wander the store again.
“I’ll also take that green dress, the red one, and the dark blue one, if you please.” Kyla said, taking the dress from the clerk and sweeping into the dressing room.
The dress fit like a dream, the beads along the hem gave it an extra boost, just the way she liked. Smiling to herself, Kyla strutted out of the stall and over to the shoes, basking in the smoldering glares from the other women in the shop, and the lusty glances of the men. If these people only knew she was really 906 years of age! The thought alone nearly caused her to laugh out loud, she just barely managed to suppress it with a small coughing fit.
“Yes, all of them.” Kyla said when she stood at the cash register, with all four dress, matching shoes for all and new accessories. People stared openly now.
Turning primly on her heel, Kyla strode out of the store, holding her bags proudly, like a lioness carrying her prized kill. Even her small smile of satisfaction looked like the expression you’d expect to see on the face of a female lion returning from the hunt. Men watched as she floated down the street and women favored her with icy looks as their guys momentarily forgot them and turned their attention to the gorgeous red head in the dark blue dress as she swept by, on her way to places unknown.
And the dream suddenly changed, like a porthole opening and sweeping her away, the dream changed.
“Kyla.” Alexander sighed as he woke. “My love.”
“A good Morn to you, Alexander.” Kyla smiled, rolling over to face her mate. It was nightfall of Alexander’s first day as a vampire.
“I feel a hunger and thirst I cannot explain.”
“You need to feed, my love.” Kyla said, sitting up and stretching. “Come, get dressed and we will go hunt.”
Alexander’s brown creased. “Hunt?”
“Aye, you need to feed, my love.” Kyla laughed as she slipped into a pair of leather trousers and a white riding shirt. “Come, we are vampires, it is natural for us. We are the hunters, humans are our prey.”
“Must we?” Alexander asked as he begrudgingly got out of bed and dressed. Kyla laughed again and nodded.
“We don’t have to go out, Alexander, I have some human slaves here, we can feed on them.” Kyla said, looking at Alexander. The male vampire looked a little pale and worse for the wear, in fact, he looked sick.
“I don’t know if I can do it, Kyla.” Alexander murmured. “Maybe it would’ve been better if you had left me as a moral and we could’ve stayed as lovers.”
“You worry too much, my love.” Kyla laughed. “Come, it will come naturally to you, and don’t fear it, embrace it.”
“I don’t know if I can.” Alexander said, following Kyla from the room.
“Do not worry so much.” Kyla smiled, it was a saying she’d come to say many times over the months she was with Alexander.
It took some time, and many promises and assuring words, but Kyla finally got Alexander to feed. It helped that the human spat in his face and cursed his name. Alexander did make a good vampire, and he would become great in time.
Scott snapped awake, looking wildly around the room for a moment before realizing it had been a dream. The Hunters had found them, and had taken the prisoner, using them like rats in a lab.
Looking at Kyla, Scott sighed. She had been out for three days and it didn’t look like she’d be coming around anytime soon either. The wood had bitten deep and the poison was still strong in her blood. She lay under the unwrinkled sheets on the unwrinkled pillows, the perfect picture of a death kissed maiden, perhaps Juliet after she drank the potion the monk had given her. Her usually bright and wild red hair lay limply on the pillow, seeming to have darkened several shades, much like a bad dye job from a cheap kit from the local Wal-Mart would result in. There was no color in her face or lips, except for the sickly white color that had decided to grace her skin. It would have been comforting if her chest at least rose in breath, a sign that she was still in the world of the living. But, as many know, vampires don’t breathe.
Groaning at he stood up, his bones cracking as he did so, Scott walked over to the window. It was the third day of a rain that never really stopped but only slowed to a slow drizzle at times and raged at a full force gale at other times. The weather seemed to match Kyla’s condition and Scott’s mood perfectly, totally miserable in both cases.
“Why do you have to be so God damned courageous?” Scott asked the sleeping vampire. He laughed cruelly at himself for thinking there’d be an answer, Kyla still slept on like she had been for the past three days. A crash of thunder made Scott jump and a shrill cry escaped his lips. Realizing what had happened, he swore and glared at the darkening sky, signaling nightfall and the coming of yet another storm.
As lightning danced across the sky and thunder rattled the window pains, Scott wandered aimlessly around the house, jumping like a frightened mouse at every clap of thunder. He knew he was being stupid, but he just couldn’t help it, something was there, he could feel it. And this someone or something wasn’t a citizen of this physical plane, and it might not be friendly. Whatever it was, Scott didn’t like it and he didn’t trust this house. Hearing what sounded like the rustle of a silk dress, Scott’s flesh broke into gooseflesh and he crouched into a fighting stance.
“Who’s there?” Scott jumped at the croaking sound of his own terrified voice. The culprit didn’t answer, but the rustling of silk drew closer. It wasn’t right, he couldn’t smell the person, and he couldn’t hear and footfalls, just that damned rustling!
“Alexander?” a soft voice asked, almost shyly, from behind Scott. He turned around and the scream that had been building in his throat tore loose, and bounced off the ancient walls of the house.
Alexander
The same time that Scott’s terrified scream echoed through the halls of the house where Kyla lay, Alexander awoke in the castle, only thirty miles away. He looked around the stone room dumbly for a moment, before his memory roused and offered him it’s help. He remembered seeing Kyla on the bed, and how the scream twisted her face into a mask of horror.
“You’re awake.” Stephen’s voice said. Alexander twisted his neck and saw the other vampire perched on the windowsill.
“It wasn’t my choice.” Alexander replied, pressing his hand to his head. The coming of consciousness had also graced him with a headache that felt like it would cause his eyes to pop like grapes squeezed quickly between two fingers and his brain to ooze from the empty sockets like oatmeal.
“You’ve been out for four days, Alexander.” Stephen informed him as he slid from the sill and stretched, reminding Alexander of a cat, which made him think of Kyla’s predatory grace, which caused fresh tears to fall from his eyes. Stephen sighed and shook his head. He left the room and returned with a wine bottle and a glass.
“Wine won’t cut it, Stephen, I need something stronger.” Alexander muttered, clutching his pounding head.
“It’s not wine, it’s blood. You need to feed.” Stephen said, pouring the rich liquid into the glass. “It’s warm.”
The smell of the blood suddenly caused Alexander’s stomach to rumble, reminding him he hadn’t eaten in four days. He accepted the glass and drank deeply. It helped a little, the head ache slowly withdrew its’ talons from his brain and his thinking began to rationalize.
Staring into the empty glass, after it had been filled and emptied, six times, Alexander began to speak. “The graves aren’t going to give us anymore aid, Stephen. It will be a waste of our time, the medallion already told me more than I expected to find in the graves. Kyla is somewhere else, her body wasn’t buried, and with the small possibility that it was, it wasn’t on this island. They took it away, and probably have it on display in one of their homes, but we can be almost completely assured that it is still in Europe of Asia. They wouldn’t risk taking it too far, something could happen to it, or a group of vampires could gain access to it and raise her.
“It will be heavily guarded and be almost sure suicide to attempt to reach it without inside help. We need to journey back to North America to acquire that help, I know a Hunter who will gladly give us assistance if asked.”
“A Rouge?”
“Yes, a Rouge Hunter.” Alexander nodded, setting his glass on the table beside his bed. “I have known this Rouge for many years now, and we have complete trust in each other.”
“Rouge, Reggae, what is the difference? They are both black sheep of their kind!” Stephen wailed, causing Alexander to wince, his headache wasn’t completely gone yet.
“A Rouge Hunter is a true Hunter who has fallen out of favor with the clan because of a deed committed, words passed, or beliefs spoken. Reggae Hunters are not of the Hunter clan, they can be anyone, and run on their own, holding their own beliefs and views, and only clay when they wish. A Reggae vampire is usually a young vampire who is trying to break free of the old ways, to make himself known to the world in a pitiful attempt in seeking power.”
“As I said before, the black sheep of their kind.” Stephen said, taking the empty glass and bottle from the room before Alexander could reply.
Growling deep in his chest like a rabid dog, Alexander slumped back into his pillows. Stephen could be so annoying and bone headed at times, aggravating him to no avail. “What’s the difference between Rouge and Reggae, they’re both outcasts of their kind. Oh, for the love of God!” Alexander thought, glowering at the ceiling.
Swinging his legs off the bed, Alexander stood up and started to pace. If Stephen couldn’t prove himself of some use, he could always desert him somewhere, or kill him. It would be easy enough, he had almost gotten himself staked on the flight here, and that was by a mere Hunter gorilla, not a true clan member even, so if a vampire, or a true Hunter should do it, Stephen would never know what hit him. Hell, he probably wouldn’t even know he was dead!
With his mood improved a little, Alexander started to pack his bag, Stephen he’d leave before Stephen returned. Taking him along was proving to be more trouble than it was worth, and it was starting to put an incredible strain on his nerves, which really didn’t need the excess stress placed on them. He left Stephen checked into his room, but checked out of his, and got the plane ready for his flight to France, where he knew the servant boy’s family still lived. Revenge would be oh, so sweet when it came.
“Farewell for now, my sweet Ireland! I will return to your emerald shores soon!” Alexander yelled as the plane took off. He was destined for Paris, France, and revenge on the damned servant boy’s family. Life was starting to show its appeal once again.
When Stephen returned back to his room, he found the note that Alexander had wrote him before he left.
Dear Stephen,
Sorry for the inconvenience I’m causing, but this turned into an unavoidable event. You must have realized that. Anyway, as you may have already learned, I’ve left. Packed my bags, checked out of my room, took the plane, and left. I kept your reservation, however, I decided I owed you that much. Don’t try to find me, Stephen, for if the need arises for me to find you, I will find you. Ha-ha! That sounds funny doesn’t it? “Don’t find me, I’ll find you.” Sounds like the ever infamous, “Don’t call us, we’ll call you.” I’m funny, aren’t I?
Ah, well, I’ll see you around, maybe, if our paths are meant to cross, they will. I’m going to find Kyla, and I will with the help of Kia, the Rouge Hunter. If I come across Scott in my travels, I’ll get in touch. Don’t take this personally, Stephen, it’s not you, it’s me. Ha-ha! I made another funny. Ta-ta, toodeloo, cheerio, g’day mate, and so on and so on.
Alexander
P.S. – I release you from my pack.
Stephen stared at the letter dumbly for a moment, then he crumpled it in his fist and let out a scream of rage. Alexander had deserted him! After he had put all his trust in him when Scott had disappeared. Growling deep in his chest, Stephen tore out of the room, and headed towards the town.
Paris, The City Of Love…
Alexander stepped off the plane with a bounce in his step, a smile on his face, and as corny as it sounds, a song in his heart. He started to hum quietly to himself as he collected his bags and hailed a cab. The Paris Hotel would become his home once again, and, unlike last time, it wouldn’t end with him running through a cold, rainy, miserable forest.
He quickly rid his head of the unpleasant memories and opened the hotel doors for the first time in centuries. A smiling receptionist checked his reservation and handed him the key to the same room he had stayed in so many years ago. The room décor had changed, but it still had its pricey-stylish-aristocrat air to it. Still smiling, Alexander dropped his bags and headed for the bedroom and flopped onto the bed. He sank about six inches into the mattress, perfect.
If Stephen had any brains in that pretty-boy head of his, he’d know that Alexander would have naturally headed to Paris to continue his search. He had often mentioned wanted to return to the City of Love, if not to find Kyla, but to get revenge on that damned servant boy’s family. It’s only called common sense. But, again, that was one area where Stephen was desperately lacking in.
Laughing merrily to himself, Alexander jumped back off the bed and started to pace around the room, plotting. This was one of the things that made him truly happy to be a vampire. He let out another hearty laugh and stopped his pacing and stood by the window, gazing over the city that had once wished him dead with all her heart. She was beautiful at night, as she always had been, and probably always would be.
“The City of Love has opened her door to me once more, if she chose to or not.” Alexander smiled, turning away from the window and slowly walking out of the bedroom and into the living room. He had several varieties of alcohol placed in the mini bar before he arrived, so the one’s meant to be chilled were chilled and were ready and waiting for his consumption. A fine red wine caught his eye, dated 1900, a good year. Sipping the cool liquid slowly, Alexander turned to the lit fireplace, thinking of how he’d go about it all.
Outside the hotel, Paris pulsed with the nightlife. People waited impatiently to be admitted into the popular clubs, lovers strolled the gardens and waterfront walkways while others sat on benches, sharing kisses in the moonlight. Of, course, as every city has, the ‘riff-raff’ also came alive as the sun fell and the moon rose. Hookers, pimps, and junkies prowled the dark streets and the alleyways, looking for the next person who would supply them with their next job. But there was also the other level of species of the planet Earth who came alive at night, not all of whom were friendly or believed in keeping to themselves. Some were posing as hookers, waiting for someone to pick them up and take them to the nearest rent-by-the-hour hotel so they could do their evil deeds.
“My Kyla, how you would have loved to see Paris at night.” Alexander sighed, gazing out the window, again. He smiled sadly and put his empty glass in the sink. He felt, for a moment, her hand gently brush his cheek the way she had when she was still alive. Spinning quickly on his heel, Alexander looked desperately around the room, searching for the specter that had caressed his face the way his lover once had.
The room was empty.
Just Like Old Times (II)…
“What? They are both in Ireland!?” the voice screamed.
The poor beast who had summoned it cowered away from it, quaking in terror. “It was not meant to happen, Master! But neither saw each other, and Alexander found Kyla’s medallion! He truly believes her dead now, and he had gone off to Paris!”
“You’re lucky.” the voice growled. “If something had gone wrong, it either had been given reason to believe the other was alive and well, I would have killed you.”
“Both still believes the other dead. Kyla lies in a coma as we speak, she was attacked on the plane on her way to Ireland, four stakes driven into her body.”
The fire dimmed, like the power that fed it was thinking, or had left all together. “That is good, Kyla is out of the game for a while.”
“Yes, yes, it is good.” the sniveling slave agreed readily.
“Enough!” was roared as the fire sprang back to life. The poor bastard gave a squawk of fright and fell over his own two feet as he flew backward to avoid the flames sprang foreword.
“Sorry, Master! I is sorry!”
“Of course you’re sorry, you always are.” the voice said. The slave stopped, the voice sounded almost happy, but that was impossible, this was a thing of pure evil! It had been dormant for centuries, it couldn’t be happy!
“I go now, Master.” the salve said, slinking out of the cave like a dog with it’s tail tucked between it’s legs.
The power didn’t reply, it had lapsed into another thoughtful trance. Kyla was ill, this meant she would have her guard down, meaning she could be reached, and if she could be reached, it could see her and make her see her mistakes. But if Alexander tried to reach her again, all would be lost, they’d know and they’d have their tearful reuniting, fall into each other’s arms, burst into tears, make love until both were too exhausted to move a muscle.
But if Kyla could be reached before Alexander, Kyla’s mind could be warped, wood poisoning is a terrible thing for a vampire, rendering them as helpless as a newborn babe. Say he did reach Kyla before Alexander, she could then be put into a hypnosis-type trance and would become a willing slave to his every wish, until he woke her up, that is. She could kill Alexander, drive a stake through his chest so it just glances the heart, then wake up from the trace as her lover dies. He’d die by Kyla’s hand, the same woman who made him. The evil cackled insanely, Kyla would stake Alexander and then have him die in her arms, him wondering why she killed him. Neither would ever find peace, in this world, or the next. It would be too perfect.
Paris, The City Of Love (II)
Little yet everything had changed about Paris in the time he had been absent. The whorehouse was still there, but it had become more discreet and more sinister looking than it had been. The old city was still the same, nothing changed. There was the house of the young widow who had gladly taken him in for the night and the bridge where the whore who had been on her last days of doing the business had met Death.
Alexander laughed, the blonde whore looked exactly like her ancestor had when he had met her, that warm night, so many years ago. He ducked out of sight on instinct when she passed by though, like she’d recognize him and scream, bringing the vampire hunters running with their steaks and other weapons. It was stupid, he knew that, but it was still odd to see the exact replica of a whore who lived over 600 years ago, one of the people who had chased him out of the city, if he remembered correctly.
“Excuse me, sir?” a young boy with a heavy French accent asked.
“Yes?” Alexander asked, turning around.
“Would you buy a chapeau?”
“Ah, of course.” Alexander smiled. The lad grinned and opened the cart he was pushing, displaying an array of hats. Alexander looked closely at the hats on display and finally selected a black pageboy cap.
“Five American dollars, please.” the boy asked politely.
“Keep the change, lad.” Alexander said, handing the boy a ten. “Just don’t think I’m trying to show you down, or anything like that, alright?”
“Thank-you, sir!” the boy said, slipping the bill into a money belt hidden under his shirt. Alexander put the cap over his unruly hair and smiled warmly at the boy who had put the cover back over his cart.
“Take care, lad.” Alexander said as the boy walked off. He received a hearty wave as the boy rounded a corner and was gone. Pulling the cap firmly over his eyes, Alexander trotted off down the street, headed towards a small bar.
Kyla
“Alexander?” a soft voice asked, almost shyly, from behind Scott. He turned around and the scream that had been building in his throat tore loose, and bounced off the ancient walls of the house. Scott screamed until his throat was raw, which didn’t take long. He had been crying and screaming in frustration a lot the past few days. Much to his surprise, and horror, a female scream entwined with his.
“Who are you?” Scott demanded.
“I am Kathleen, where is Alexander? I have waited so long for him.” the ghost said, a distressed tone in her voice.
“You’re Kathleen McCaul? The girl who was to marry Alexander?” Scott asked, taken aback.
“Aye, where is he? He told me to wait here for him, and I have but he has not returned. Where is he?”
“I wish I knew, my dear lady.” Scott said, peering closely at the ghost who let out a choked sob.
“Has he gotten lost in his travels? Does he not know that I still wait for him here?”
“Kathleen, how did you die?”
“I got sick, and I have waited for Alexander to come to me, like he said he would.” Kathleen said, wiping away a silver tear.
“Kathleen, I do not mean to cause you distress, but I think Alexander may have passed on to the other side, I am here trying to find him myself. My comrade says she has had a vision of him, but she lies in a coma.”
Kathleen let out another distraught wail. “Can no one help me?”
“My lady, I did not say I could not or would not help you.” Scott said, desperately trying to calm the wailing ghost.
“You will help me, then?”
“Aye.” Scott nodded. ‘I’m playing shrink to a ghost, who would have thought?’ The ghost of Kathleen suddenly rushed foreword and threw her cold arms around him. Scott shivered at the sudden rush of cold air as the ghost hugged him, but he accepted the embrace, knowing it was plain stupidity to anger a ghost.
It took him another fifteen minutes to convince Kathleen that he needed some time alone (you worry about the girl who lies sleeping, don’t you? Do you love her?). This caught him a little off guard, to say the least. Kyla was still in love with Alexander and refused to give up on him until she saw his bones for himself. Besides, Kyla couldn’t be his Soul Mate, he’d have known that long ago if she was.
“Now who’s paranoid?” Scott asked himself as he wandered back to Kyla’s room. She hadn’t moved, not that surprised him, she had been laying there for three days. It would have surprised him more if she had actually moved or finally decided to return to the world of the living.
Gently lifting her limp hand off the bed, Scott gently played with the ancient rings on her fourth finger. The emerald ring still shone brightly though it had been made in 1523. Looking closely at the ring, Scott realized that the ring was of Gaelic design, it was very complex, it would have been very expensive at the time it had been made, and it was worth a small, hell, large fortune now. And the Bloodstone ring, that was a legend, something that has been fabled and sought after since the beginning of time. Something that was so powerful and seductive, vampires had gone mad at the simple thought of it.
Sighing again, Scott put her hand back down and stood up and walked out of the room, again. He couldn’t stand to stay in the room any longer, maybe Kathleen did have something when she asked if he cared for Kyla.
Road To Recovery
It was another two antagonizing days before Kyla opened her eyes. Scott woke up just before the Hunters found them, and nearly screamed. Kyla was watching him carefully with her dulled green eyes.
“You’re awake.” Scott said, trying to hide the happiness that was quickly filling his being. Kyla’s lips moved into a small smile and her head nodded once.
“It wasn’t my choice.” Kyla said, her voice barely audible.
“You want something to drink? Eat? Drugs?” Scott asked, trying to keep the smile on her face.
“Something to eat would be nice, how long have I been out, Scott?”
“Five days.” Scott said quietly. He quickly shook his head. “Would you accept my blood?”
“Would you accept mine?” Kyla asked seriously.
“Aye, but what has this got to do with anything?”
“Asking if you would accept the same from me.” Kyla smiled. “Aye, I will accept your offer, Scott.”
Scott nodded and opened his shirt to expose his throat for Kyla. He leaned over and pressed his neck to Kyla’s mouth, flinching a little as the long fangs slid into his vein. Soon, Kyla’s hand was on his back and Scott could feel the other one clutching his arm tightly. Letting out a small moan of disappointment when Kyla’s lips, and teeth, left his neck, Scott slowly sat back in his chair as the pin prick wounds on his neck quickly closed over with a new layer of flesh.
“Thank you.” Kyla smiled smiling. She looked better, some color in his cheeks and her eyes were back to their normal piercing green color.
“Hey, it was nothing.” Scott said, feeling a grin take over his face. “It’s just good to see you in the world of the living again.”
“It does not feel so good to be back.” Kyla sighed. “I feel like shit, to tell the truth.”
“Don’t hate me, but you look like shit, too.” Kyla started to laugh, arching her back against the bed and squeezing her eyes shut, tears soon spilling down her cheeks. Scott’s laughter soon joined Kyla’s and the once still room rang with the sound of two centuries old vampires laughing hysterically.
A few hours later, and after several mad dashes to town on Scott’s part, a slipper, house coat, pajama-with-little-duckies-allover-them clad Kyla was shuffling down to the kitchen, leaning heavily on Scott for support.
“You sure you’re ok?” Scott asked for the fourteenth time since leaving the bedroom.
“A little weak, but I’m fine.” Kyla insisted.
“Just don’t pass out on me, ok?” Scott asked, sighing. “We’re sitting down once we reach the living room, you know. No arguments.”
“Fine, fine.” Kyla agreed, slipping an arm around Scott’s neck. “Come on, boy, my grandmother could beat you in a race!”
This struck Scott as funny, since Kyla’s grandmother died when she was 35 in 1510, Ireland. He started laughing again and had to bolt to the couch with Kyla in his arms to keep from collapsing on the hardwood floor.
“You must be feeling better, Kyla, you’re laughing like a hyena.” Scott chuckled once he could speak.
“Vampire blood is stronger than mortal’s blood, it has special powers.” Kyla smiled, wiping her eyes. Scott smiled and lifted Kyla from on top of him, where she had landed when they collapsed on the couch.
“Think you will be well enough to hunt tomorrow?”
“If things keep going the way they are, aye, I think so.” Kyla nodded. “But I may not be as on top of things I usually am.”
“It doesn’t matter, we’re more on top of things when we’re passed out than Fourth Generations.”
Kyla began to laugh again, which started Scott giggling and soon, both had tears falling from their eyes and were red in the face.
“Aye, maybe it isn’t so bad to be back in this world, Scott. Where I was, there wasn’t much in the way of laughter.” Kyla smiled.
“Where were you?”
“In the far, far reaches of my memories. Many of them were before I became a vampire, not something I choose to remember often.”
“It’s usually something I choose to never remember if it can be helped.”
“Fifteenth century Ireland was not exactly Paradise, was it?” Kyla agreed. “Ah, well, we have lived long enough to have experienced different times, centuries.”
“Mm, but my favorite time is still the times we are in now, life has become easier.”
“And harder to be a vampire.” Kyla added, frowning. “Will all the Reggaes and lower generations, it’s a miracle the mortals do not know about our kind yet.”
“They blame it all on drugs, cults, and booze.” Scott smiled. “They are blind to what lives along side them, controls them.”
“Humans will always be blind to things like us.”
Scott nodded and lapsed into a thoughtful silence, which Kyla followed. He wouldn’t tell Kyla about Kathleen yet, it was too soon and she had been staked four times.
Back With A Vengeance
A week later, Kyla was back to her usual self, and was back to driving Scott up the wall with disappearing acts that lasted for hours on end. And when she reappeared, Scott let her have it.
“Where the hell were you?” Scott demanded as soon as Kyla closed the door behind her.
“Who, me? Oh, I was at a pub.” Kyla shrugged, falling onto a couch. She smiled as Scott shook his head and went off somewhere, presumably to the kitchen where he had been working on a puzzle.
She, in truth, had been doing a little research on the Hunter family, and had found that a 25-year-old Hunter was living in Dublin, only half an hour away from where the country estate was located.
His name was Keith Hunter, dark blond hair, hazel eyes, 6’1”, but he was bookish, meaning he was slight of build and he wore glasses. And, he was single. Kyla had already created a plan, she’d ‘run into’ Keith tomorrow at the library where he spent most of his daylight hours. One look at Keighlee Curtis, and the Keith Hunter would be history. Upon this thought, Kyla let out a short, but cruel, laugh.
The next day, a young woman dressed in a simple long black skirt and a dark brown sleeveless top walked into the library. Her red hair was pulled in a clip so it was off her long neck and a pair of black framed old-lady glasses sat on her face. Keith Hunter’s eyes followed her as she glided into the stacks and reappeared in the mythical section, which was right by his table.
“Can I help you, miss?” Keith asked when the woman frowned in frustration.
“Aye, I was wondering where I might find the books on the vampires Kyla and Alexander?” Kyla asked.
Keith laughed. “Of course, miss, they are right here on the table.”
“Oh, darn!” Kyla moaned. “I have a paper to write!”
“You are more than welcome to share them, miss. I don’t bite.” Keith smiled. “So, you’re writing on vampires?”
“Aye, they have always interested me, I’m afraid. It drives my mother nuts.” Kyla sighed, slipping into a chair beside Keith.
“Do you believe that the vampires Kyla and Alexander are still alive today?”
“I believe Kyla is, she was older and had more experience than Alexander at the time of the raid, and there has been evidence that she is still alive turn up over the years.”
“Nothing as romantic as to believe that both are still alive and together?” Keith asked, laughing a little.
“Nay, if they were together, I believe that we humans would be in a lot more trouble than we already are with nuclear warheads.” Kyla laughed. “The only way that they are both alive is if both believed the other dead.”
“Interesting theory.” Keith nodded. “If I may, what is your name?”
“Keighlee Curtis. And you are?”
“Keith Hunter.” Keith said, gently shaking Kyla’s hand. “So you doubt that both survived the raid?”
“Alexander may have lived, but if he did, he was killed shortly after.” Kyla nodded.
“Interesting theory.” Keith said again. Kyla smiled, he was hooked and he didn’t know it.
Four hours later, Keith took Kyla to a small fish and chips house where he left the topic of vampires and other supernatural beings behind. Dinner was a light-hearted meal, both kept cracking jokes and lines to finish what the other had said.
“How did it go?” Scott asked when Kyla swept into the estate at ten that night. Keith had taken her to a small out-of-the-way pub after dinner.
“Very good.” Kyla smiled. “He’s hooked.”
“So, a slow, painful death, or you sucking out his blood and dumping him in the ocean?”
“I’m not sure yet, Scott, it depends on how it all goes.” Kyla shrugged. Scott laughed and padded out of the room and out the door, he was hungry and was heading out to hunt.
Kyla had shown him pictures of Keith, and Scott, for the life of him, couldn’t understand why she wanted to kill him. Keith was a bookish type, probably wouldn’t last two seconds in a fight against a vampire, or a human, at that matter. He didn’t even want to be a part of what his bloodline had cut out for him. Scott almost felt sorry for the man, he didn’t know what he had gotten himself into, no idea in the least.
Keith Hunter closed the door behind him, and smiled evilly. The Vampire Kyla had turned up, alive, and he knew where she was living at the moment. He laughed as he turned off the main road and onto the winding driveway of the estate where Kyla currently resided. He didn’t see the male vampire slip back inside as he quietly walked up to the house.
Keith
Scott saw the white truck at the end of the lane when he returned from his hunt, and he saw Keith Hunter slip up to the house. Cursing under his breath, Scott slipped in through the back door and waited for the Hunter to enter the living room.
The Hunter came in through a window, and Scott attacked. Keith let out a short yell of anger and surprise and Scott’s fangs slashed his cheek, causing blood to flow but not deep enough to cause any really damage. Quickly recovering from the bad pounce, Scott wheeled around and suddenly felt a bolt of white-hot pain strike him just below his left shoulder and spread through his body like scalding water.
Screaming in rage and in pain, Scott clawed at the stake that protruded from his chest as he sunk to the floor, his vision blurring and black dots darting in front of his eyes.
“I’m not all that helpless, vampire.” Keith snarled, stepping around Scott and slipping out of the room. Scott growled and let out another scream of pain as he pulled the stake from his body. It missed his heart, but it had gone straight through his body, and the poison from the wood would soon take hold of him and throw him into a state of unconsciousness, much like the one Kyla had just recovered.
Kyla woke up when she heard the first scream of anger come from downstairs. She dressed quickly and quickly ran to the one ‘normal’ room in her basement, the rec. room where she kept a variety of sporting equipment. Keith had seen her run here, she made sure of that, and when he came, she’d be ready for him.
“Kyla, why don’t you come out and fight like a vampire?” Keith called, laughing. “Scared of lil’ole me?”
“Why don’t you come in and get me like a Hunter?” Kyla replied. Keith frowned.
“That’s not very nice, Kyla, I already killed your partner.” Keith said, slowly walking towards the room where Kyla hid.
Kyla crouched in a dark corner farthest from the door, holding a deflated rubber triple ball and the motorized pump hose in another. Keith slowly opened the door and turned on the light At the same moment, Kyla attacked.
Bringing her knee up hard, Kyla knocked the stake out of Keith’s hand and threw it out the door and hopelessly out of reach.
“You almost had me, you know that?” Kyla hissed as she duct-taped Keith’s hands and feet. “If Scott hadn’t been in the way, or if you hadn’t screamed like that and made you suppose kill silent, you really would have had me.”
Keith didn’t answer Kyla, so she continued. “If you had any brains, you would have stayed away, Keith, I have the Bloodstone, you can’t kill me. If you stayed away, death would have been painless, something you will wish for.”
Smiling cruelly, Kyla forced Keith’s mouth open and stuffed the ball in, causing his to gag against the unyielding rubber. Dragging him over to the pump, Kyla attached the ball and turned the pump on high. Keith stated to panic and muffled screams escaped his mouth.
Kyla sat Keith down and than sat across the room on a shelf to watch the fourth death of a Hunter by her hands in less than a year. As the ball inflated, Keith’s cheek ballooned comically before stretching grotesquely over the ball. His jaw started to creak as the ball tried to make room for itself inside his mouth, and pushed sickly out his lips. Then, with a sickening ripping sound that resembled tearing cloth and a snap that sounded like dry wood breaking, Keith’s face split and his jaw busted.
His eyes rolled in his skull as his blood poured out of his ruined face. Kyla smiled and picked up a pen that had been sitting beside her on the shelf.
“Keith, Keith, Keith.” Kyla said, slowly advancing on her prey, passing the pen from hand to hand. A low gurgling protest came from Keith’s mouth as Kyla tightened her grip on the pen. Smiling the entire time, Kyla stabbed the pen into Keith’s eyes, laughing as the popped like grapes that had been crushed under a boot.
She would have liked to stay, linger over the kill if you will, but what Keith had said about killing Scott, or leaving him dying, worried her greatly.
“Scott, where the hell are you?” Kyla screamed as she tore upstairs. She found him lying in a pool of blood on the living room floor, a stake gripped in his hand. His glassy eyes rolled towards her at the sound of her voice.
“Kyla?” Scott croaked.
“Did it puncture your heart?” Kyla asked, kneeling beside Scott, bloodying her knees in the spreading pool.
“No.”
“Good, don’t try to move then. The poison has already started its course, but there is something we can do about it.”
Scott let out a small moan as Kyla gently propped his head onto a pillow she grabbed from the couch. His body was slick with sweat and his eyes were rolling madly in his skull.
“Stay still.” Kyla said as she disappeared from the room, again. She bolted to her momentos room in the basement and grabbed a small vial that she kept in a black wooden box. It was the only thing in the world that would save Scott now, it was the elixir for a Bloodstone.
Murmuring the spell under her breath as she poured the liquid into a silver band, Kyla watched as the liquid immediately solidified and became a shining, new gem set in a shining silver band that was duplicate of her, though a little larger.
Rushing back up the stairs, Kyla burst into the living room, Scott was still conscious, meaning there was hope for him yet.
“Scott? Can you hear me?” Kyla asked, quietly.
“Kyla?” Scott croaked.
“Yes, Kyla.” Kyla smiled, kneeling beside Scott. She gently lifted his hand and slipped the ring on his finger, praying the whole while that it wasn’t too late.
Road To Recovery (II)
When Scott awoke the next evening, Kyla was sitting by his bed, patiently reading a Stephen King book.
“You woke before I expected you to, Scott.” Kyla said, putting her book on a small table.
“How did I survive that? It barely missed my heart, I should have died from the poison.” Scott croaked.
“Look at your left hand, Scott.” Kyla smiled. “It was the only way that you could have lived through that escapade.”
“A Bloodstone.” Scott chuckled, looking at the ring that now graced his finger. “And I thought you’d be glad to be finally rid of me, that you’d love to be the last remaining First Generation left on this astral plane.”
“Nay, it would be dull without someone of my status to plot my diabolical schemes with.” Kyla laughed. “Come now, did you really believe I’d let you die that easily? I’m stuck on this Earth for a long time yet, Scott, and I intend to have someone to share in that misery with me.”
“I should have known.” Scott said, sitting up. “I would have expected to feel like hell warmed over.”
“The wonders of the Bloodstone, Scott, it heals while you sleep, and acts as a damn good pain killer.”
Scott shook his head and lay back down, shutting his eyes and sighing. He had truly expected Kyla to leave him for dead after Keith had staked him, and here was giving him a Bloodstone, something that was so powerful, it…it was unimaginable is what it was.
“What happened to Keith?” Scott finally asked, opening his eyes again.
“He’s fish food.” Kyla replied. “The idiot followed me into the basement, and I stuffed a rubber ball into his mouth. His face ripped apart and his jaw shattered as it inflated and then, for good measure, I stabbed his eyes out with a pen.”
“Ah, another one of your famed, and very brutal killings, then.” Scott nodded, suppressing a smile that played his lips.
“Aye, it was his own fault though, he tangled with forces beyond his power and imagination.” Kyla said gravely. She shook her head and tucked her legs underneath her, leaning her chin on a fist and frowning.
People would notice Keith missing, he had been a favored member of the community, many people liked him. But then, how many people would think that a girl like her would notice a guy like him? Hell, what would a girl like her be doing in a fucking library anyway? She was more a…a…a coffee shop girl! No, no, that’s not it. Fuck, she didn’t know what she was anymore.
“Kyla, what’s wrong?” Scott asked, Kyla was starting to worry him.
“I don’t know.” Kyla sighed, leaning back in the chair. “I’m in one of my thinking moods, don’t worry.”
“You really know how to make a man worry.” Scott frowned. Kyla saying not to worry was like a tiger asking a zebra over for dinner and saying it would vegetarian. Something was up, and he didn’t like it in the least.
