My mind returned to the blonde-haired human with emerald eyes. “Lingering tensions, but they're eased now!” I crossed the room to the door.
“Well, we're happy to help!” James replied as he pulled the green shirt over his head.
Grinning, I took an envelope from my back pants pocket and set it down on the small stand by the door.
Maxwell bowed. “We hope to see you again, Jaden.”
“Yes! We are happy to service you anytime,” James offered, winking at me.
Laughing, I said, “Thanks again!”
I entered the main half of the club and found Desiree standing by the entrance talking with Sam. “If they come by again, tell me,” she ordered.
Sam nodded his big bald head in agreement before returning to the main door.
“Trouble?” I asked.
Desiree smiled, “Just the usual rowdy customers.”
“I suppose every club has its share of trouble makers—even this one,” I said.
“Well, they won't be coming around anymore. Anyway, I hope everything was satisfactory,” Desiree said.
“Always.” Another lie.
“I'm glad. Perhaps you'll be back more often.”
I took another envelope out and handed it to her. “Maybe.”
I stepped out into the windy night. The snow was gone but I could smell an approaching storm. The long hours with Max and James were undeniably fun, but the girl's disappointed glare kept me from truly enjoying myself.
I started to wander back towards my apartment but the beast began clawing at his cage, demanding I feed. Once again, I combed the dark alleyways, hunting for a forgettable human to soothe the beast's hunger. The streets were quiet; rain began to fall and I sighed. Fear of another snowstorm kept even the homeless people indoors.
After an hour with no viable options, I gave up. I sighed, aggravated and wet. Tonight, I would have to settle for donated blood.
I returned to Seventh Street, the metro station just a few blocks from my home. I never hunted there, as police patrolled randomly and cameras were everywhere. My kind must be especially careful when hunting in populated areas. If caught feeding, it could have disastrous consequences. The council did have ways to remove such evidence, but it was usually expensive and difficult.
Tonight, for some reason, I felt drawn to the metro station. It felt like an invisible force was tugging, almost begging me to enter. I scanned my surroundings, wondering if there was magic at work here, an old paranoia from my days of being tracked by mortal hunters. The city's streets were empty, apart from a few cars passing by.
My smart and sensible side told me to go home and avoid the subway altogether, but my adventurous side got the better of me. I made my way towards the subway.
Descending the stair to the station, the overpowering smell of cigarettes, vomit, sex, and defecation hit me. I could make out the garish graffiti on the concrete walls, despite the inadequate lighting. It was damp. Half-frozen puddles of water made walking hazardous for humans, but not me. Apart from the two homeless men sleeping on the damp concrete, the station was empty.
I shook my head. “You're losing it,” I muttered and turned to ascend to street level.
A sweet, familiar scent filled my nose. Breathing deep, I ignored all the unpleasant smells. There it was, soft and enticing. Yet something was different about it.
Fear.
The adrenaline of debilitating terror filled my nostrils with a euphoric flavor. The beautiful emerald eyes flashed across my vision with such force that I gasped.
Turning, I ran towards the scent as I imagined finding her broken, bloody body. It only took me a second to reach the maintenance room door. I heard her muffled crying and the menacing laugher of mortal men. Gripping the rusted door handle, I pulled hard. The lock shattered and I threw open the door.
Three men turned to me. My senses flamed with their fear. She lay crying, curled up on the cement. They knelt over her, one man's flaccidity hanging from his trousers like a limp fish. Flashing them a menacing smile, I revealed my perfect white fangs.
My deadly gaze narrowed. “Run!”
Like most animals, they followed their base instincts and ran. Breathing I memorized their scents: alcohol, cigarettes, and dank lust filled my nostrils. I shuddered in disgust. It would not be hard for me to deal with them later.
The girl’s knees were against her chest, arms wrapped around her shaking body. There was a bruise under her chin and several cuts on her hands. I guessed there were more cuts and scrapes from the copper taste in the air. The intoxicating scent hung between us.
I crossed the small space and measured my level of control, not wishing to hurt her. With the locks on the iron cage securely in place, I knelt and gently touched her arm, fire erupting within me. She flinched and swung at me but I evaded her weak blows.
“No! Leave me alone!” she screamed, her eyes squeezed tight.
“Would you please stop trying to hurt me?” I asked, keeping adequate distance between us so she would not hit me. It was not as if she could really hurt me, but I doubted she needed any more bruises. Her tear-streaked eyes flew open and met mine.
Suddenly, my day, my life, came to a crashing halt. A long moment passed between us in silence.
“You,” she finally breathed, her sweet warmth easily crossing the small space.
She unfurled herself and sniffed.
“You're safe. I chased them off!” I said, longing to be closer to her. “Are you okay? Did they—”
“No. I'm fine,” she interrupted.
A wave of relief washed over me. “You should probably get checked out.”
“Thanks, but I'll be okay now,” she said as she pulled herself to her feet.
The girl winced in pain and I eyed her suspiciously. “You look pretty banged up to me,” I pointed out.
“You're the woman from last night. Jade,” she said.
My eyes widened in surprise. How did she know my name?
“You gave me this coat and five hundred dollars in exchange for... something,” she added.
She looked good in it, tears and bruises and all. “Do you like it?” I asked, trying to change the subject.
“It's warm,” she said.
“It suits you.”
“Thanks. What did I—we—do?” she asked.
“You don't remember?” I raised my eyebrow.
She shook her head, “It's foggy. Tell me what happened.”
“It doesn't matter,” I said, shrugging.
“What do you mean it doesn't matter? I have a giant bruise and pieces of my memory are missing!”
We stood staring at each other for a long moment. “First, tell me what you remember.”
“I remember your eyes, like frozen water. Beautiful, but I suspect they hide painful secrets. I remember being in pain, and a cold void after you left.” She rested her hand on her chest, her voice distant.
I raised an eyebrow. Is she feeling the same emptiness I am? I searched for the feeling, but it was gone, vanished like it had never been. The pieces began to fall into place.
In nine hundred years, I only once met someone I could not compel to forget me. He was an Egipcion hunter that tracked me through France during the thirteenth century. In the end, I had to kill him. She must be a descendant of their bloodline. The politically correct now called them Travelers. It explained the power I felt upon our meeting and her ability to resist my compulsion.
It was forbidden to drink the blood of an Egipcion. Perhaps this also explained the fire I felt within her—but it did not explain the emptiness we both seemed to share.
“Interesting!” I said, even more fascinated by her.
She crossed her arms. “What is?”
“You think my eyes are beautiful!” I replied, grinning.
She blushed. “You're changing the subject. I want to remember what you did to me.”
“I'm surprised you remember anything at all about me,” I said, shrugging.
“Why?” she asked.
“People normally don't remember things I don't want them to.”
“Why leave me the note if you didn't want me to remember you?” she asked, confused.
My brows came together. “What note?”
She dug into her pocket and pulled out a small piece of lightly scented paper. “This note?” she held it out to me.
Our hands met for the briefest second when I took it, fire against my cool skin. I opened the paper and read silently, Thank you, Jade, and groaned.
“This wasn't meant for you!”
How could have she distracted me so much that I forgot something so simple?
Her head tilted to the side. “Who was it meant for?”
I met her eyes and smiled at the innocence I found within them. “It was for a friend.”
“Oh!” she said, “Well, it doesn't change the fact that I want to know what you made me forget.”
Shrugging, I turned and walked out of the maintenance room. “Nothing important.”
She followed me. “Tell me!” she demanded.
It took every ounce of strength I possessed to ignore her as I crossed the long platform to the stairs. Why won’t she leave me alone? Do I want her to?
“I deserve an explanation!” she screamed, her voice echoing.
Anger suddenly filled me. Spinning on my heels, I took two short steps and grabbed her by the black trench coat, pulling her against me. “You deserve?” I snarled.
The fire was back, once again burning me through our clothing.
“Yes! You took something from me and I want to know what!” Anger flared behind her eyes.
“Why can't you just leave me alone?”
“I... I have felt this emptiness, like a void inside of me ever since we crossed paths. If I could remember, it might go away.” Now I could see the pain she was trying to hide and it was a stabbing knife to my heart.
What's more is I could feel it. Was this my doing? Did I unknowingly create this void? I ran my tongue over my lips and bit the bottom one in thought. The only thing I knew for sure was that I wanted her, but not her blood. I ached for her body. I wanted it naked and laid open for me to ravage.
Her body tensed as the missing pieces of her memory filled themselves in. I groaned in frustration; it was as if someone had illuminated a dark room, revealing all its secrets.
“You bit me and...” she breathed, closing her hands around my wrists, trying to free herself.
“Fed upon and groped you, yes.” I could not keep myself from smiling at the joy the memory of our first encounter brought to me.
The girl's beautiful eyes were wide; she was clearly afraid. “But why?”
“I was hungry.”
“You were hungry?” she exclaimed in disbelief.
I nodded.
“You're insane!” she screamed.
“Yes, probably.” I laughed.
She began to struggle against my hold on the coat and kicked at me, trying to free herself. “Let me go!”
“Stop it!” I commanded, shaking her slightly as I lifted her off the ground.
The girl stopped flailing and stared at me, pleading. “Let me go! I won't tell, I promise.”
“No need to be so dramatic. I'm not going to hurt you.” I rolled my eyes, releasing her.
“But, you...” She stumbled away from me and wrapped her arms around her chest.
“I'm sorry. Usually, people don't remember. So it's not really a big deal,” I casually explained.
She continued to back away from me. “Not a big deal!”
“Well, you were supposed to forget,” I pointed out, stepping towards her.
“And you think you have the right to go around groping and biting people just because you can do that?” she yelled, waving her hand at me.
“I don't grope everyone,” I replied defensively. “Besides, what's the harm if they don't remember?”
“What harm?” she gasped, and turning on her heels, she stomped away.
Angry heat poured off her like lava, filling me with pain. I had a sudden urge to calm it.
“You're mad at me?” I asked, sounding more surprised than worried as I followed her.
“Wow! You're really bright.”
Needing to mend things between us, unsure why or how, I reached for her arm. “I said I was sorry—”
She spun to face me. “Don't touch me!”
I lowered my hand and stepped back. “Sorry!”
“Saying sorry doesn't magically make everything okay,” she replied, her emerald eyes throwing daggers at me.
I opened my mouth and then closed it. “I'm sorry,” I whispered weakly.
The girl shook her head, blond hair moving with her. I swallowed hard and tried to cast the thousands of images from my mind. Some part of me needed her forgiveness, something I had never needed before.
She laughed. “What do you think you are anyway, a vampire?”
The sound was light and beautiful. I remained captivated until it faded. “We like to be called Immortals. The V word is degrading,” I explained in a low voice.
She stared at me, unblinking, and I could see her disbelief.
“I am,” I insisted.
The girl rolled her eyes, “Right, sure you are!”
“Then how did I make you forget?” I asked, suddenly eager to make her believe me.
“Hypnosis. Not very good hypnosis, though.”
“The bruises?” I asked, pointing at her neck. I wanted to taste the fire within her once again.
She crossed her arms. “You have creepy and illegal sexual fetishes.”
I pressed my lips tightly together at the painful rejection pulsating through me. She was the first human I had ever told the truth to and her unwillingness to believe cut deeper than I ever thought possible. “I should go.”
“Aren't you afraid I'll tell someone?” she challenged.
“Tell them what?” I laughed. “A woman hypnotized you, groped your lovely breasts, and drank your blood?” I mocked.
She scowled at me. “No! I'll tell them a crazy woman with red hair and blue eyes sexually assaulted me. Seeing as I'm a minor, you could get five years.”
This girl was beautiful, smart, and fearless. I slowly reached out to touch her cheek but she stepped out of my grasp.
I lowered my hand. “What's your name?”
She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Alexis.”
“Alexis,” I repeated, smiling at the way it sounded on my lips.
She nodded.
“Tell whoever whatever you want.” I grinned. “No one will believe you.”
Hesitantly, I turned and began to climb the stairs.
“Will I see you again?” she asked suddenly.
Freezing, I contemplated my answer. My dark world had no place for such a rare jewel. I was bad for her, but my body begged me to say yes. I wanted to learn more about her, to understand her. Above all, I wanted to stand inside her fire and let it burn me alive.
I turned to look at her, a truly beautiful sight. “I thought you said I was insane?”
She put her hands on her hips and scowled at me. “You are. I was just wondering if I should get some pepper spray or maybe a few bodyguards.”
Laughing, she bit her lip. My insides did somersaults.
“I'll be around.”
Her hands returned to her sides and lines formed between her eyebrows. “What do you mean?”
“Good night, Alexis.” I smiled and disappeared up the stairs into the now lovely night.
Four
the moon, ribboned by dark gray clouds, provided little light as I jumped from one rooftop to another. In the city, it was the only way to run at inhuman speed without a dozen cameras spotting me. The emptiness had returned the moment she was gone from my sight. I did not understand this feeling. How does she have such an effect on me?
It was easy to track the three humans' scents, even through the millions of others emanating from the crowded cit
y. Over the years, I had become an accomplished tracker and hunter. A woman's cries reached my ears as I approached the back street where the three stood in a semi-circle.
Dropping into the dark alley across from them, I landed gracefully despite the four-story drop.
I wrinkled my nose. The taste of cigarettes and alcohol in their sweat reached me even from here.
They stood urinating on her beaten, half-naked body. This is what they planned on doing to Alexis, I thought, gritting my teeth, hate filling my veins. I had merely planned to scare them, but not anymore. Their lives were now forfeit.
I growled deep, loud, and animalistic.
They turned and regarded me, their eyes bulging. My red eyes glowed with hate and my lips snarled, revealing sharp fangs.
“What the fuck!” The blond yelled as they scrambled to zip their flies and I stepped into the dim glow of a billboard sign.
“John, it's that crazy bitch from the train station,” one pointed out.
I growled at them and they backed up in unison.
“Come on, let's go,” John said. The others nodded.
Grinning evilly, I watched them leave. Excitement filled me. Each time they stopped on the rainy streets, I was there, stalking them from the shadows. Soon, they started running blind, moving from one dark street to another. It was like a game of cat and mouse.
Like most games, I quickly tired of it. To make it more exciting, I let them think they had eluded me while I followed them from the shadowed rooftops.
They stopped outside a lively bar, exhausted. “I think we lost her,” John said, breathless.
“What the fuck is she?” the other asked, gasping for air.
“A freak!” John replied, still trying to catch his breath.
“Hey, guys. Let's chill in here for a while,” the third one suggested. “If she's still chasing us, she won't be able to do anything if we're surrounded by a dozen witnesses.”
The others nodded in agreement. I watched from across the street as my prey entered the loud bar. A cold smile formed on my lips; the game had just become more entertaining.
I crossed the road and blended into the crowd entering the bar. They chose a table close to the dance floor. At first, they watched their surroundings, but soon they became more interested in the motley of drunken college girls. I sat down at a table nearby, staring at them, until one spotted me.
Jaden's Heart Page 3
