Sweet Nectar

by Mackenzie Raye

  It smelled of money. Old, musky green paper we called money. A state of confusion fell upon me. Maybe Ambrose thought I needed help keeping the vampire healthy enough to become one his fighters. Ambrose ran a fight club. The club wasn’t really a fight club—more like a betting escort club. High rollers came in with money, but on a rigged fight. Women offered money, and sex happened. From the women I’d seen come in, I’d bet they hadn’t had a love life in decades.

  Curiosity got the best of me. I ripped the top of the envelope off. A bundle of money, as I suspected, with a sheet of white paper wrapped around it. Two blue rubber bands held it all together. From the look of it, it had to be thousands of dollars. I wanted to count it. Hell, I wanted to roll in the money nude. In my haste, I broke the first rubber band. The other one slid off with ease.

  A noise from outside startled me. I placed the money down in order to take a gander out the window. Nothing. Not even a squirrel gathered nuts for winter. I shook it off, for Ambrose and Brock weren’t very neighborly to those creatures. On my way back to the couch, I noticed the white paper had opened up.

  This is a down payment. When you have evidence of her death, you will get the rest.

  My mouth dropped in shock. The thought of being backstabbed by Ambrose had never crossed my mind. I had to think, for I couldn’t wrap my mind around this. Ambrose claimed to love me like a daughter. Then again, only a few people had known where to find Brock and I that night. We’d decided to hide from the heat of the hunt. The hunter tracked me down everywhere we went. At first, I felt like I was to blame. I shook my head and snatched up the money. After stuffing the wad of money into the top of my jeans, I pulled the cases of bloody drinks in the red wagon toward the front door.

  The door opened, and man with a machete stood before me. My mouth went dry. He raised the weapon and swung it. It landed in the door to the side of me. “What are you doing here, thief?”

  “I was going to squat for the night, but chose to take this lute in order to sell it for a profit.”

  “I like the way you think. You don’t have a dog in here, do you?”

  “No, why?” Shit the wolf scent is coming off as a dog. I hoped he was just a human and couldn’t read into the powerful animal pheromone scent.

  “Nothing, my sniffer is not right. I could’ve swore I smelled dog piss. Anyway, that aside, let’s make a deal.”

  “Deal?” Nerves got the best of my insides for my blood raced through my veins, causing me to feel scared. He took a step toward me. A lump, no a huge mass formed in my throat. His callused hands landed on each of my cheeks. The man licked his lips just before his lips attacked mine. I pushed him back. “What the fuck do you think you are doing?”

  “I’m explaining the deal. Sex with me, and I let you walk.”

  “How ’bout I walk, and you fuck yourself. That’s the better deal.”

  Smack. Heated pain radiated out from my cheek. The son of a bitch backhanded me. My knee raised up and cracked him in the nuts. “Oh. Oh. Why?” he asked in a much higher voice while dropping down to the ground. The answer he got was a size nine to the face. He dropped like a fly without wings. The asshole was out cold. With no time to waste, I got all wrapped up in the cloak and raced out the door pulling the red wagon behind me.

  Chapter Seven

  Maddox

  I stretched my legs out and wiggled around to get the kinks out of my body. A flowery aroma alerted my half-asleep senses I wasn’t in my own bed. Lifting my right eyelid, I noticed nothing I recognized. Zebra striped pattern lined the pillow cases and sheets. Yeah, I knew this wasn’t my bed. The room remained eerily silent. With my mind all mushy and disoriented, I decided I had to get out of bed. When I pulled the covers off, I noticed my boxers remained on. On one hand, I felt relief, but a part of me felt hurt because apparently, I hadn’t scored.

  Time to get some answers. I jumped out of the bed and landed on my jeans. Without thinking twice, I slipped them on. Looking around the room to find any clues I could muster up, I saw an aluminum can sitting on the dresser in front of me along with a note.

  Please drink me.

  I ripped off the yellow sticky note to find out what I was supposed to drink. Blood-O-Rita was spelled out in a red color. What the hell? My stomach gurgled. This had to be some kind of crazy gag from my buddies. In the past, they’d played tricks on me, but nothing to this extent. Payback was going to be a bitch. I hustled out of the room toward what I assumed would be the living room.

  It contained a leather couch, which cost more than any of my buddies could have afforded. A fireplace nestled in the corner with freshly cut wood lined up along the right-side wall. Knowing my friends like I did, I knew they were too lazy to own a fireplace that wasn’t gas logs. Something about that can lured me back to the bedroom.

  Once in the room, I snatched up the can. I popped it open and chugged the liquid contents down as if it was a beer. A sweet, cherry-almond taste lingered on my tongue. My stomach settled, but I craved more. Racing down the hall, I looked for the kitchen. I hit the room running but halted when I gazed around at the appliances. Just where the hell was I?

  To my left was a kitchen fireplace with what appeared to be a huge black kettle on a hook. It reminded me of one of those 80’s cartoons in which a green witch stirred up spells with a cackle worse than my crazy aunt on Halloween. A huge spice rack lined the wall. It went from floor to ceiling and had to be at least three feet wide. The two-chair kitchen table nestled up against a wall sat to my right. I scanned the room for any other hidden treasures. Strangely, another feeling of déjà vu smothered me. Had I been here before?

  As I scanned the room, a silver, steel door caught my attention. I rushed toward it, opened the door, and lunged to the raw meat. In a matter of moments, I downed a huge hunk of meat. My stomach rumbled just before I lost my cookies. After it was over, I wiped my face with the back of my hand until I could find the sink. Banging on the wall scared the shit out of me, to the point I jumped up and onto a shelving unit knocking over several packages of what I assumed was packaged meat. Hopping down, I picked up all the packages and placed them neatly back on the unit.

  I walked one step out of the walk-in cooler. To my right, a small, narrow hallway led to places unknown; for it was dark. Using my hands as feelers I walked into the darkness. Vibrations in the wall sent chills down my spine. The decomposing aroma detoured me from going any further. Pivoting around, I sprinted back to the main kitchen area.

  A wooden door with a black cat painted on it piqued my interest. Sounds of a racing heart beat thumped within my head. I whirled around looking for someone or anything to which caused me to hear this stuff. Nothing. No One. Have I lost my mind? Do I have a massive hangover headache? I was craving weird things. The sound of glass breaking returned my attention to the house and not what was behind the door.

  “Shit. Dylan easy. Damn. I hope she didn’t hear me busting out a window. Deep breaths.”

  My body was experiencing twinges and twitches at an alarming rate. It appeared I was hearing someone on the outside of the house. How did I do that? Just who the hell is talking? Did I hook up with a crazy woman with an insane ex?

  “You can do this, Dylan. Hop up and put left leg over. Stop dillydallying around and just do it.”

  I dropped to my knees to pray for the voices to stop. The last place I wanted to be was in a mental hospital for hearing voices. “Who’s there?” I asked while I leaned against the wall near a bedroom door. Heavy breathing along with the thumping sparked an interest in me. A nutty aroma lured me in. I slammed the door open to find a man with blood trickling out of his hand straddling the window sill. My mouth and gums ached for a moment. Two sharp pricks against my lips startled me. Instead of running toward the man, I raced to the bathroom.

  The reflection in the mirror wasn’t me. Well it was, but it wasn’t. The tall, physically fit man mimicked me; however, the mouth with fangs of a vampire staring back me looked like a monster. My sunken eyes
frightened me more than the fangs. Was I dead? Immediately, I checked my wrist for a pulse. Thank goodness, I had one.

  “Oh vampire, where are you?” The dumbass who tried to break was trying to taunt me by calling me like a dog? Granted, I didn’t believe in all the ideology of creatures walking among us until my reflection stared back at me. The man had to be confused. A loud ruckus came from the kitchen area. My first instinct to run away from the sounds got buried while I darted out of the bathroom. I met the man in the living room. He carried a package of red liquid. “I see the witch has attached herself to another vampire. Didn’t work last time, won’t this time either.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Oh, little vampire man doesn’t know about the witch’s past? She never mentioned how my boss had her boyfriend killed, inadvertently of course.”

  “You’re a killer for hire?”

  “Assassin, but yeah. Who’s cares about the technical terms, anyway?” he asked while placing his hands on his hips.

  Is he gay?

  “Apparently, you do,” I snapped back. My cravings weren’t focused on the man but on the bag he held in his hands. A need for the liquid distracted me. I lunged forward knocking him through the wall and yanked the pouch out of his hand. Raising it to my face, I punctured the clear covering with my newfound fangs. The liquid flowed out of the holes and down my throat with ease. It satisfied my body.

  “What is it with vampires and blood?” Confusion along with a weird sensation swirled around my brain. Had I just heard his conversations in my mind? How did he do that? As an experiment, I tried it. I needed to answer him and freak him out. A sudden feeling of nervousness overpowered my excitement. What was I going to do if he answered me?

  “Dylan, right? Dude, blood is our lifeline,” I said in my mind to him, wondering if I could communicate with him. Vampires drank blood. Easy answer, but was he calling me one?

  “All the ones I have met love blood and sex. Is sex a lifeline as well?”

  It worked! “Yes! Do you like sex?”

  “Hell yes, dude. What man doesn’t like bonking hot chicks?”

  “At least I know you aren’t gay.”

  “Why do you say that, vampire?”

  “Well I wasn’t sure about the hard point pressing into my hips.”

  “Oh, watching anyone suck blood reminds me of Braelynn, my female, vampire boss. She’s hot.”

  Images from his mind floated into mine. One of his massive fantasies was to give his anal cherry to a male vampire while this gorgeous, long-haired vampire sucked his shaft. I wished to erase those images.

  “For someone that claims not to be gay it seems strange to fantasize about being fucked from behind while a woman sucks the blood and cum from your cock.”

  “Vampire, how the hell…Fuck, I sent you my fantasy, didn’t I?”

  “Yeah man.”

  “Now the fun is over, time to kill you.”

  A sharp pain struck my left side. I gasped for air. Warm, red liquid dripped from the corners of my mouth.

  Dylan started slithering out from underneath me like a snake. His clothes were covered in my blood. A tug just under my skin sent shivers, along with emotional rage, up my spine. The man’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets while I assumed my skin closed up during self-healing, for I no longer felt liquid escaping my wounded area.

  Dylan escaped into the living room. A sort of ruckus took place. I wasn’t sure what I was going to find when I raced into that room. The dumbass lay sprawled out on the floor face down. Not wanting him dead yet, I waltzed over and checked him for a pulse. His veins thumbed against my fingers. Most definitely, he contained a strong pulse. All of a sudden, I found myself extremely thirsty. Two pushes of his body and I had him rolled over with his neck exposed. The thumping in his neck excited me. I leaned down.

  “What the hell is going on?” a female voice asked just after the door slammed against the wall. I looked up to see the most beautiful caramel-colored brunette I’d ever seen standing in the doorway. The rays of sunshine lit her up like a spotlight on a stage. My cock hardened, causing a tightening in my jeans. “Maddox, tell me you didn’t bite him.”

  How the hell does she know my name?

  Chapter Eight

  Divana

  Walking in the door, I found the newbie vampire with red liquid dripping off his chin onto a young man. The young man I had encountered at Ambrose’s. Fear of Maddox transforming the stranger into a vampire which would arm him with more weapons to kill me, I screamed, “What the hell is going on?”

  Maddox looked up at me with his gorgeous indigo eyes. The blank look in his eyes told me the story of him being confused on who I was. My heart broke and felt like it sank down to my feet. He forgot me. After hours of making love and cuddling, he forgot me. Now my ego was just as bruised as my body.

  “Maddox, tell me you didn’t bite him.”

  His eyebrows raised, and he grimaced at my second question. “How the hell does she know my name?” His mental question jogged my memory of the block I fed him right before I put him to bed and left. He knew nothing of me. In one way, I gloated over the fact I made the potion correctly, but hated the fact I didn’t mess up. How stupid of me to make a memory block so powerful a vampire didn’t remember the woman who saved him.

  “Oh, there is the treat I was looking for,” the hunter from moments before spoke.

  “Looks like the vampire is getting the best of you,” I added.

  “Well, looks can be deceiving.” The hunter smiled.

  “Dylan, you’re just happy my cock is hard for her while thinking it’s for you.” Maddox hopped up, dragging the man up with him.

  “On the contrary, dear vampire. She’s the reason your kind is dying.”

  Maddox reared back and punched the hunter in the nose. The man’s body dropped like a sack of potatoes being tossed off a truck. “You will not disrespect the beautiful woman in the room. I hardly doubt she is a black widow as you claim.”

  “Ask her about Brock. Her lover. Her vampire lover. I’d tell you to ask him, but I’d need to rid you of this world for you do that.”

  Maddox jumped down on top of him. I thought he was going to punch the hunter. “Not so fast, vampire. Meet your kryptonite.”

  Not sure what to do, I focused my mind on Maddox’s. The open connection from before was tainted with gray smoke. I entered his aura. Pain, burning pain, in my gut doubled me over. The hunter must have something which has been blessed. With my hands, I traced the burnt area and determined its shape to be of a crucifix. I gasped. In order to give the man I had fallen in love with the strength to fight back against the one thing which weakened him until useless, I forced my energy to leave my body and enter Maddox.

  Our energy souls stood by one another, hand in hand. His inner self embraced me as a friend instead of a foe. With a nod of our head, we pushed against the damming force. Together, we broke free from the crucifix and flew backward away from the hunter. The hunter’s bottom jaw dropped open in pure shock. I pulled my energy back to my body.

  Maddox clutched his stomach in pain. I hung on the verge of crying, knowing his wound would never completely heal and he would always carry a scar baring a resemblance of the cross that burnt him. My attention refocused on my own body. A light pinkish color formed an outline matching Maddox’s.

  His eyes focused in on my stomach.

  The hunter, I believe Maddox called him Dylan, stared me down.

  A twitch in Maddox’s arm startled me. In one swift motion, Maddox held Dylan by the shirt collar up against the far wall.

  “She may have helped you this time, vampire. The witch tossed her last lover in front of her to die at the hands of the last witch hunter. Brock. That was his name, right, Witch?”

  “Go fuck yourself,” I snapped back.

  “I’d get more pleasure from that than with an evil being like yourself, Witch,” the hunter responded.

  Maddox flexed the muscl
es in his arm again. The next think I knew, Maddox’s fist landed on the hunter’s face.

  “Ouch. You, nasty bloodsucker.”

  “Respect the lady, for you’re in her dwelling.”

  “Thanks, Captain Obvious. I realize I am in her house. I am here to kill her.”

  “Who hired you?” I asked before Maddox responded. Instead of using his protruding fangs, Maddox slammed Dylan down on the floor with a powerful rage. The wooden flooring busted.

  “I’ll repair the floor,” Maddox uttered. “Sorry.”

  “It’s okay. I want to know who hired this asshole to kill me.” A funny feeling overpowered me. I felt as if this man was linked to the hunter who killed Brock. Only a few people had known I was pregnant, mainly his dad and sister. Puzzle pieces started falling into place. Once this situation was taken care of, I planned on confronting Ambrose at the bar.

  “Give him a moment. He got a pain in his ass.” Maddox chuckled. One look at the not-so-brave hunter rubbing his ass, and I joined Maddox in a laugh.

  “Glad I could supply you with a laugh. To answer your question, I cannot tell you who hired me. I replied to an online ad. Someone out there hates your kind, Witch.” Dylan slid me his phone which partially verified his story. Still not believing him, I came up with a purely hellish punishment.

  “Stand up, Hunter. We are going on a field trip. Maddox, do you mind reprimanding him if he gets out of line on this trip?”

  “Hell no. I love inflicting pain on assholes,” Maddox replied with enthusiasm.

  “I’ll behave. The bloodsucking caveman doesn’t need to lay another hand on me.”

  “A spineless hunter? That is a first,” I verbalized, even though I didn’t believe him. “Anyways, follow me.”