by Mia Archer
The party was a mixture of body odor, perfume, and stale alcohol that permeated everything.
Under all of that was the scent I was looking for though. Her scent. That strange girl. The one who’d shown up here defying all explanation. The one who'd appeared in that strange dream.
I didn't know who she was. I didn't know why she'd disappeared. All I'd caught was a glimpse of her and her friend talking with Diana, and that was enough to send a chill running through me.
After all, if I recognized her from that strange dream then who was to say Diana didn't recognize her as well?
If she recognized her then she might do her best to try and determine why. Diana might wonder why that girl was in her dreams. She might do something stupid.
No. There was no "might" about it. She would do something stupid. Diana and stupid went hand-in-hand.
I followed the scent into the common room. It was stronger here. She'd been here recently.
They were watching everybody's favorite college movie. People laughed as somebody drove what looked like a tank through a parade, but that was none of my concern.
They got all the details about going to college in that era wrong anyways. It was nothing like the real thing.
I had other problems far more pressing than accuracy in the mother of all fraternity movies though. I followed the scent down a hall leading to the back of the house. To a door that let out behind the sorority house.
Another chill ran through me. It was odd feeling this much emotion in one night. I was so used to feeling nothing. To being as dead inside as… well as I actually was.
If she'd gone out there and Diana followed then she’d be completely at her mercy. Another emotion overcame me in that moment. Fury. I couldn't leave that strangely alluring girl, literally from my dreams, to Diana.
I opened the door, fearful of what I might find. I was certain I’d see her on the ground with Diana bent over her. The best case scenario would be she was trying to get her rocks off. The worst case would be that she was feasting on this dream girl.
Or even worse, maybe trying to turn her.
Diana wasn't supposed to know how to do that, but I didn't for a moment think that something as simple as not knowing how to do something would stop her from trying based on what she'd seen in the movies.
So color me surprised when I stepped out back and saw Diana and the girl staring at one another in silence.
Rage filled me. It was potent. All the more so because it’d been so very long since I felt any emotion this strong. That rage whispered at me to do terrible things, but I managed to keep it in check.
I was curious to see how much Diana knew. How much she suspected.
More than anything I was curious to discover if she knew anything about that dream. Or if she’d ask the dream girl about it. If she could get answers then that would go a long way towards making me feel better about this whole screwed up situation.
"Stay away from me," the girl said.
Diana took a step forward. Her voice was low. She probably thought it sounded seductive. It sounded anything but to my ears, but then again it's not like it would be odd for her to screw up something as simple as talking to a girl.
She’d certainly fucked up the one clumsy attempt she’d made to hit on me when she first came to the sorority last year. I should’ve known then that she’d be the head of the most inept and longest running pledge class in the long history of our sorority.
"Come on beautiful," Diana said. "You know you want this. I can feel how you're drawn to me.”
Diana took a step forward and dream girl took a step back. It was the subtle dance of predator and prey. Diana didn't seem at all put off by the girl moving away from her.
Then again if Diana lacked the self reflection to know when she was doing something that would really piss me off of then I don't know why I expected her to have the self reflection to know when she was upsetting a girl.
It was obvious to me the girl was upset. She didn't want Diana’s attention. The only thing that held me back from rescuing her was my need for more information.
"You look so familiar," Diana said. “I need to know where I know you from.”
She reached out and put a hand on the girl’s shoulder. That caused the girl to flinch away. Maybe that flinch was because she didn't like the attention, but it seemed to me there was something more there.
Could she possibly know what we were? Could she possibly suspect?
No. That was impossible. And yet there was that dream. It would take a powerful mage to pull me into a dream like that. That or a powerful connection.
A sneaking suspicion was growing in the back of my mind. It was a suspicion that had my skin crawling. At least as much as it had ever crawled since my undeath.
Could it be that she was the response I'd been waiting for from the witches?
Yet if she was a witch then why wasn't she defending herself? No, if she was a witch she’d be using her magic. She’d call down her lightnings and turn Diana into a pile of ash.
Sure the first girl Diana attacked hadn't done anything of the sort, but that first girl had also been terrified. Young. Obviously new and inexperienced.
The witches wouldn't send somebody that inexperienced to hunt vampires a second time around. No, anyone they sent against us would be experienced. Would know how to use their magic to kill.
That wasn't this girl. Either she was a witch and the best actress in the world or she was a young college student new to the school who was truly terrified of Diana.
"Tell me where we met beautiful," Diana said. "You're straight out of a dream."
I jumped at her words. Could she suspect? Did she remember that dream as clearly as I did?
"I've never seen you before," the girl said, though she hesitated. "And I don't know why you're spending time on me when Amber is…"
Diana’s hand moved up to the girl’s cheek and she tried to pull away, but Diana still had her hand on the girl’s shoulder. She used that to hold the girl in place.
"I don't care about Amber," she said. "She had her chance. Had it and she give it up. I'm so much more now. So much greater…"
I rolled my eyes. Was she really giving that speech? It seemed like every vampire who was new to undeath gave that speech. The one where she claimed she was so much greater than anything she'd ever been before. That being a vampire made her suddenly worthy of a woman's desire when she hadn’t been close before getting a set of fangs.
I’m ashamed to admit that I even made that speech to a woman I thought held my heart back when I'd first been turned. Though she was long since dead and my feelings for her had long since turned to dust.
"What's your game Diana?” I muttered.
Of course Diana didn’t hear me. Why would she? She never paid attention to her surroundings. The idiot.
"Get away from me," the girl said.
"Never," Diana said.
She moved to pull the girl closer. She looked at the girl and I couldn't tell if that was bloodlust in her eyes or if she wanted the girl’s body.
Either way this had gone far enough.
I stepped out into the darkness. Though of course the darkness wasn't anything like how humans perceived darkness. No, another one of those enhanced senses I enjoyed as a result of my transformation was the ability to see better than a cat in the dark.
Sure everything was washed out. Gray. But I could still make out far more detail than any human could.
Unless, of course, it was a human using one of their new nightvision devices. Oh the wonderful toys humanity had come up with since I was turned. It was part of the reason why it was so important for my people to stay in hiding.
There were some vampires who compared the humans to cattle, but I liked to point out that cows didn't have atomic weapons they could use to destroy humans.
I took a step. A step that took me right beside Diana. Not all vampires were that fast, but I'd had plenty of practice.
The girl
reacted before Diana did. I shook my head and let out a disgusted noise. Diana should’ve been the first to realize I was sneaking up on her, but she'd never learned to take full advantage of her abilities.
Not that I’d expect any vampire to have full control of her abilities at Diana's young age, but she bragged often enough of her prowess that I held her to a higher standard.
The girl's reaction was fascinating. Her eyes went wide and her mouth worked, but no words came out. She seemed even more terrified at my approach than at whatever Diana was doing to her.
Even terrified she was beautiful. Even horrified I had to have her.
Fascinating. The only time I'd seen a human react like that was when I approached with my fangs out. When they knew I was a vampire and they were about to have their entire world ended by something that shouldn't exist.
"What are your duties supposed to be tonight pledge?” I whispered.
It was difficult, but I managed to keep my voice quiet. Threatening. I wanted Diana to think about all the terrible things I was going to do to her because of this.
I had the satisfaction of watching Diana jump. She wheeled around and now it was her turn to look at someone with pure terror in her eyes. I grinned. It was a delicious irony.
“Ivy! What are you doing here?"
"I think the real question is what are you doing here?" I asked.
"I was showing this girl around," she said. "She's a friend of a girl I went to school with and…"
"Are you blind Diana?" I asked.
She sputtered. her mouth worked. "What? Why would you…"
"Do you think I'm blind Diana?" I continued.
"Of course not Ivy,” she said. "I just…"
"If you're not blinded then how can you not see that this girl wants nothing to do with you? If I'm not blind then how can you possibly think I'm going to buy any of the bullshit excuses you've come up with?"
"But I…"
I held up a hand to shut her up. Miraculously I avoided letting my claws out. And miraculously she actually shut up.
"I know all your excuses, and I'm not interested in hearing them," I said. "Leave us. Now."
There must've been something in my tone. Diana took one look at me and decided tonight wasn't a night to fuck with me.
She walked back to the house. Not without casting a look over her shoulder though. A look at the girl. Not at me.
Oh yes. She was going to be trouble eventually. She was interested in the girl. She knew there was something about the girl even if she couldn't quite remember that dream.
And I couldn't just kill her to protect this girl. Whoever she was. Not without incurring Mother’s wrath. Damn it.
I put those thoughts out of my mind. Diana was just a pledge, after all. She might be an annoyance, but how much damage could she truly do?
She could kill a witch. She could violate a treaty that went back thousands of years. she could bring the very real threat of death and destruction down on the sorority. That's the kind of damage she could do with her incompetence.
I forced myself to put those thoughts out of my mind and smile. I wanted this girl to be at ease. Only as I looked at her she seemed anything but. If anything that terror had only grown.
Had she seen me taking that impossible step that carried me across the lawn? Did she suspect what I was?
I needed to calm her. I tried to smile my most winning smile. I was told it had worked on plenty of women even if I didn't care how well it worked on the ladies. At least I hadn’t cared. I thought I’d long since stopped worrying about the fairer sex.
Until her.
“I’m Ivy,” I said. "I'm sorry if my pledge caused you any trouble."
12
Lisa
Ivy.
I finally had a name to go with the face. A name to go with the horror. To go with the shiver that ran through my body every time I thought of her.
Every time I dreamed of her.
I knew I was doing a terrible job of keeping control. I should've been acting like a normal college girl. There was nothing out of the ordinary happening here. I was just meeting a cute girl. A handsome girl.
The best looking girl I'd ever seen. So hot. So dangerous. She had long brownish hair that fell down past her shoulders. She had a winning smile that made me go weak in the knees. A dangerous smile.
Dangerous because I knew that smile hid fangs that could descend and she could have her way with me. She could kill me and there was nothing I could do about it.
The magic wasn't with me. It wouldn't help me any more than it had helped Selene. I was helpless.
I hated it. I loved it. It was the same contradiction I felt every time I thought of her, only it was so much more powerful now that she was here before me in the flesh.
"Do you have a name?" she asked.
“I’m not into doing names," I said.
Okay. So maybe that came across a little harsh. She was a fucking vampire though. A hot vampire, but a vampire. I shouldn't feel bad about making a vampire feel bad.
And yet I did. I was being a bitch. I had to remind myself that this was the girl who killed Selene. That she’d probably killed countless other girls over the years.
I was here to find and kill her. I was here to make sure she and her kind couldn't do that to anyone ever again. And I hated that I was looking at her like a love struck schoolgirl with a silly crush.
Because that's what I was.
"Well then," she said. "I think we got off on the wrong foot."
"Your friend got us off on the wrong foot," I said.
I tried to sound harsh. I tried to sound upset. I tried to communicate to her just how pissed off I was, but it was hard. I couldn't stay mad at this woman. Not with that winning smile.
I tried to think of Selene, but being near this woman was overwhelming. Was this the vampire charm I’d read about?
If so why didn’t it work with Diana? Why was it just this one? The one I was supposed to hate? The one I was supposed to kill?
I wondered if this was how she got all the girls. If she lured them in with her good looks and charm then destroyed them. How many girls had she killed? Was I next?
"What if I made it up to you?" she asked.
I cocked an eyebrow. "How could you possibly make that up to me?"
I was engaging her. I shouldn’t be doing that. I needed to get out of here. She'd chased off Diana. I could escape. I could tell the Coven Mother what I'd found. She could descend on this place with witches who were trained in this sort of thing and they could make sure these vampires didn't hurt anyone ever again.
They could get revenge for Selene.
Yet I couldn't bring myself to do it. I was a stupid girl with a crush. I was weak in the knees. I had trouble thinking of anything but this woman before me.
Ivy. This dangerous vampire who could kill me with a move. With a look.
"Let me at least show you around," she said. Her smile grew even wider and a thrill run through me. "Maybe I could prove we’re not all as bad as Diana?”
I sighed. I hated that I sighed. I shouldn't be acting like a lovestruck fool around this woman. She was dangerous.
"Maybe a tour wouldn't be so bad," I found myself saying.
I lied to myself that I was digging for information. Trying to find out more about this vampire. What made her tick. More about the sorority she ran.
Were they all vampires? Was it just her and the other one who'd been stalking me tonight?
I didn't know, and not knowing could be dangerous. I told myself I couldn't very well order the destruction of an entire sorority house without knowing whether or not they were all truly dangerous vampires.
Ivy offered me a hand. I regarded it in much the same way I imagine a small rodent might look at a snake. Or maybe the way a rabbit would regard a fox or a wolf licking her chops.
I had to remember she was the predator and I was the prey. I didn't have the magic to help me.
"Trust me," Ivy said.
“When you get to know me you'll realize not everyone in this sorority is a monster."
I shivered, and this time the shiver had nothing to do with her touch or how cute she was. Okay. So maybe it had a little to do with her touch. Just a bit.
"Is that so?" I asked.
I was smiling. I shouldn't be smiling. What was wrong with me? I was grinning like a stupid girl with a crush. I was shivering almost to the point of having the shakes. I was flirting right back at her and she was talking about how she wasn’t a monster with a wink.
She was pretty much admitting what she was to me and she thought it was a huge joke. She thought I had no idea what she was talking about.
She pulled me into the house and we were surrounded by the crowd again.
"Could I get you something to drink?" she asked.
I wanted to say no. I didn't want to drink anything they had on offer in this house. I couldn't shake the image of kegs full of blood. I couldn't shake the image of what they might have done to get those kegs full of blood.
And yet at the same time I couldn't shake this strange giddiness. This assignment was a hell of a lot more difficult than I’d thought, and it turns out it had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I'd been thrown to the wolves and everything to do with how sexy the fanged wolves were.
"Are you trying to get me drunk?" I asked.
She smiled. Damn what a smile. She cocked an eyebrow and I wanted to pull her into a kiss. I already felt like I'd had too much to drink, and I hadn't let a drop of alcohol touch my lips.
Yet.
"That depends," Ivy said. "Do you want me to try and get you drunk?"
I giggled. Giggled! What the hell was wrong with me?
"Why don't we start with a drink and we can maybe go from there," Ivy said.
This girl was nothing like what I’d expected. I'd expected to meet a monster. I expected to meet her with her fangs and claws out.
And now I was flirting with the monster who'd killed my best friend, damn it!
I should be trying to kill her. I should be begging the magic to come to me. To give me power. Instead I followed her back through the sorority.
