Bound Through Blood

by Alexis Kennedy

  She cocked her head and tried to make her voice extra sultry, "I am all wet."

  He couldn't help but notice how she drew out the word, "all."

  She looked him up and down as well and said, "Come inside here with me," while gesturing to the dilapidated building.

  The door opened without any resistance, apart from the loud moan of its rusted hinges, and he followed her into the abandoned store. He looked around the rundown building, "What is this place?"

  She, too, looked around, "I dunno, I think it was a grocery store or somethin'. But, now, it can be a place to get to know you better." She turned and looked at the flowers in his hand and batted her lashes at him playfully. "Are those for me?"

  "No," he said, and as she approached him seductively, he added, "I don't have time for this." Then he had his dinner.

  His hunger contained for now, he left her body there with the rats and headed back to Salena's house to leave her a present. She wasn't home yet, so he left the flowers by her garden tub and looked around some more. He became especially interested in her painting, and, being artistic himself, he added a few brush strokes where she had hesitated on the fountain.

  When he heard her car in the driveway, he went down through the basement door and left the same way he'd come in.

  Salena, still drenched from the rain, pulled into her driveway. A hot bath was definitely in order now; she needed to get ready for her dinner plans anyway. After putting her vegetables in the refrigerator, she shed her wet clothes into the washing machine and put her new ones in the hamper. Then she hesitated; she was sure she could smell the musky fragrance again. She sniffed the air around her then looked down, where it seemed to be coming from. She pulled her pants back out of the washer and, besides stubborn wet fur, there was definitely a musky smell there. She dropped the pants back into the machine like they were on fire and promptly started the wash. Shaking her head, she padded off to the bathroom for a long, relaxing soak. I'm just imagining things. Or maybe not? She was sure she could smell the enticing musky fragrance throughout her house. But, she already knew he'd been there the night before, so the smell must just be lingering. The memory of their encounter last night made her check all of the doors and windows again.

  Confident that all of the locks were secure, Salena headed toward the bathroom. She stopped in the doorway, though, because a vase full of painted daisies—the same daisies she'd eyed earlier, she was sure—was on the ledge of her tub. She ran back to the kitchen and there, on the kitchen counter, was the vase full of flowers from Eric. Someone had gotten inside the house again. He had been inside my house again. Was he still here? Terrified, she ran to her bedroom and locked the door. Would that even do any good? She quickly threw on clothes and, this time, called the police.

  About thirty minutes filled with panic later, Officer Ann Marx showed up and looked around. She investigated all the doors and windows and saw for herself that nothing had been tampered with. She did notice that the basement door didn't have a lock, though, and scolded Salena about that. Then she went downstairs and checked it out. All she saw was the locked patio door, with a built in pet door, that Salena told her was never used. The windows were intact and locked secure as well. "And you are sure you didn't buy these for yourself?" she had her head tilted like Salena was crazy.

  Salena cleared her throat, "No. I mean, yes, I am sure I didn't buy them. The storm started in before I had the chance. I am not that forgetful," she added for emphasis. Then, on a side note to herself, I'm just crazy is all, and I have a vampire after me.

  The officer looked at her and shrugged, "Well, the techs have dusted for prints, so we'll see what turns up."

  Before she could leave, Salena stopped her, "Wait! There's this too." She pulled her collar aside to expose her neck to the officer.

  "What are you trying to show me? I don't see anything."

  Salena ran to the bathroom mirror and looked for herself; it was gone—completely. Officer Marx looked at her with deep concern. "I think you should lie down and get some rest. Is there someone we can call for you?" Salena thought about that, remembering her plans suddenly, "No, thank you, I'll be seeing my friends shortly."

  The officer reminded her to put a lock on the upstairs basement door and never hesitate to call if she thinks someone has broken in. As the officer was getting into her car, though, Salena saw the woman shake her head side to side.

  "Yep, she thinks I'm loco," Salena said aloud as she watched the police leave. Then she called her friends to say she'd be a little late.

  After triple checking the lock, she got dressed for her night out with the girls. She hadn't noticed the black cat watching her the entire time.

  A shadow played across the building. Shannon walked faster to her car, ankles wobbling, wishing she hadn't worn those damned spiked heels. It had been a big waste anyway. She was tired of going to bars in the hopes of finding "Mr. Right." But now, feeling terrified about the idea of being followed to her car in the pitch-blackness, she especially wished she'd stayed home alone, again. As she fumbled in her clutch for her keys, her car only a few feet away, she was sure she could hear footsteps closing in behind her. Her hands trembled while she tried to get the key in the lock. God, don't let me be found dead here in this parking lot, runs through her mind right as a large hand covers her mouth, and a sharp pain pierces her neck. As she feels her warm blood—and life—spilling out, she knows her worst fear is coming true.

  The woman in the parking lot was not to his taste, but it would be enough to hold him over for the moment. She had smelled of cigarettes and booze, instead of the French perfumes he preferred. But it was time to come back to the United States and have a family reunion. Gabriel knew it was time to find his brother, Devin.

  Devin followed Salena back into town. Standing outside a seafood restaurant, he watched her talk animatedly to her friends: a blonde and a redhead. He could tell by their posture and gestures that they were close friends. While the other two women were also lovely, they paled in comparison to Salena. Still, if he had not found his mate, he would've slaked his lust with both of them, before feasting on their blood.

  The women proceeded to the maître d' to claim their reservation. He, too, looked them all over in admiration before passing them off to an attractive waiter, whose eyes were instantly fixed on Salena. Devin felt all of his muscles tense when the waiter made a brash move by putting his palm on the small of Salena's back, as he led the women inside the establishment. Devin had no patience to wait in the long line, nor did he intend to let the waiter step any further into his territory; his animal instincts were running strong, and he wanted to tear the man limb from limb—in fact, he would. Devin approached the maître d', pushing past angry customers and meeting their questioning stares and comments with a glare that would make a giant back down. The maître d' and a waitress, who was standing near the door, both shuffled aside to let him pass. Devin caught the waitress's scent and added her to the menu for later.

  Inside the dimly lit restaurant, he found Salena and her two companions seated at a table, browsing their menus. He also found, almost to his twisted pleasure, the horny waiter hovering nearby Salena. A low, menacing growl escaped from his lips, causing a nearby patron to jump from surprise and quickly dart away. A different waiter approached him with a menu, but Devin's fierce glare made him think twice, and he moved on as well. Keeping his stare on Salena and the annoying waiter at her elbow, Devin moved to an out of the way spot in a darkened corner to keep watch. It set his fangs on edge when the waiter leaned in to whisper something in her ear and caused her to erupt into a peel of laughter. Having eyesight sharper than an eagle's, Devin zeroed in on the waiter's nametag, which read Chad. Devin spoke in a whisper, "Well, Chad, soak up the sight of her while you still can; I promise it won't be much longer." No one heard him, of course, but the waiter did turn around to look behind himself.

  Devin's attention went back to Salena and her blonde friend, who was talking rapidly and pas
sing around a photograph for Salena and the other woman to look at. He used his vampire eyesight and hearing to catch their conversation, which unnerved him as much as the waiter, Chad.

  The blonde was excited when she turned to Salena and said, "You have to meet Rob. I've told him all about you, and he really, really wants to take you out. Look how cute he is."

  Salena looked at the photo and shrugged, "Maybe."

  The redhead, who had been checking out the flirtatious waiter, wolf whistled. "Chad, the waiter, seems awfully eager to be in line to date you as well." Salena blushed at the obvious statement, while her blonde friend broke out in laughter.

  The blonde, whom he heard Salena refer to as Jane, got up from her seat, grabbed her purse, and told the other women she had to go out to her car to retrieve Rob's phone number from her briefcase. Salena blushed again and mumbled an "Alright."

  Devin trailed the unsuspecting Jane out to her car; she didn't even bother to check over her shoulder, which labeled her an easy victim for all predators. She was at her car before she noticed his presence behind her. Her faced turned ghostly pale as he got closer.

  She looked around for help, any kind of help. "What do you want?"

  He got close up to her and brushed his hand against her pretty cheek and into her hair, not saying anything in response. She had been staring up at him all along, but now, the look in her eyes had changed from total terror to something else—desire. He knew what she was expecting and wanting him to do to her, and under other circumstances, he may have obliged; but not when his heart already belonged to Salena. Instead, he leaned in close, as if to kiss her, and whispered against her cheek, "I want you to stop trying to come in between Salena and me."

  She had no idea what he was talking about. "Salena? I don't understand." The passionate look on her face was once again a look of horror as his once soft touch now grew firmer. Then she felt the life being squeezed out of her as his right hand closed around her neck. Her pleading eyes bulged, and her mouth gaped open while useless hands clawed at him, and then her fragile neck snapped. It was over. Devin put the lifeless body into the driver seat and reached over it to grab the briefcase in the passenger seat. He rifled through it until he found a scrap of paper with Rob 282—555—5155 written on it. He tossed the briefcase back into the seat and slipped the number into his pocket. He didn't drink from her because that's not what this was about. He felt regret, which was unheard of for a vampire, but he didn't like hurting Salena this way. He felt he had no choice, though. He wouldn't tolerate interference in his plans for his mate.

  As Devin was walking back to the restaurant, he noticed the waiter, Chad, standing off to the side of the building smoking a cigarette. Devin smiled; this was the perfect time to take care of that matter.

  Chad saw Devin approaching him with clenched fists and a look of pure malice on his face. Trying to appear tougher than he felt at the moment, he dropped the cigarette, snuffing it out with the toe of his sneaker, and said with a sneer, "What the hell do you want?"

  Devin could have made it quick, but he didn't want to, he wanted to watch the man suffer—suffer as his heart did when Salena had smiled back at the waiter with a look of interest in her eyes. Chad would definitely suffer for having lustful thoughts about another's mate—a vampire's mate.

  Not wanting to cause a disturbance right outside the restaurant—in case Salena came looking for her friend—Devin punched Chad in his smug looking face hard enough to knock him out. In fact, he even heard the unmistakable sound of bone breaking. Good. Devin grinned with wicked pride. He easily threw the man over his shoulder and carried him off into the night.

  Devin found a vacant campsite that would work well for his plans. The full moon was shining down brightly, which was perfect—he wanted to see the expression of terror on the punk's face when he realized what was happening. He also wanted his own image to be burned into Chad's brain in case there is an afterlife. Now he just had to wait for Sleeping Beauty to wake up, which was fine, he has all the time in the world.

  Jane had gone out to her car for Rob's phone number about fifteen minutes ago, and Karen, the redhead, had already checked the ladies room for her. Salena asked Karen to hold their table while she went to the parking lot. She didn't think anything had been said or done to upset Jane, causing her to abandon them. They tried calling her cell phone, but it was left in her jacket on the back of her chair.

  Closing in on Jane's car, parked near a parking lot lamp, Salena strained to see inside. She got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach when she thought she could make out a figure slumped over the steering wheel. Breaking into a run, she dug in her pocket for her cell phone, prepared to dial 911. It was exactly what she thought she was seeing, and she yanked open the door, thankful it was unlocked. She felt herself gag as she reached in to feel for a pulse, but Jane's head rolled to the side. Salena fell backward, stumbling and telling herself, "No, no, no," over and over again. In tears, she dialed 911 to report her friend's murder.

  It was a good thirty minutes before Chad woke up, moaning in pain and blinking in confusion. His hand immediately went to his nose, which only inflicted more pain, causing shrill moans and groans. This made Devin chuckle, causing Chad to jump in surprise and realize he had no idea where he was or who that was with him—all he did know was that his nose was broken, and something very bad was happening or was going to happen.

  He stumbled to his feet and instantly put his hands up in defense, causing another rupture of laughter from Devin. Chad's voice was shaking like a pubescent boy's, "Who the hell are you, and where the fuck am I?" he demanded while peering into the darkness trying to find help or at least a direction to run in.

  Devin took his time answering; he wanted the arrogant punk to take this all in first. The nerve of him shamelessly flirting with a woman like Salena. As if he was even in her league.

  Then he growled in a menacing voice, "I'm the one who hurt your pretty little nose that was poking where it didn't belong." He approached the frightened man, taking his time with slow strides.

  Chad continued to hold his hands up, ready to throw a punch. He started backing up while yelling, "What the fuck is going on?"

  Devin smiled the most malevolent smile he could for Chad, and he knew it made chills run down the frightened man's spine.

  Chad strained his eyes to see if he was really seeing what he thought he was. Were those fangs? Who wears fangs? Then he looked around himself again; he couldn't believe this stranger—this enormous, menacing stranger—wanted to hurt him without even knowing why. So he decided to ask. "What is this about? What do you have against me? I don't even know you, man." But, before getting his answers, he turned and bolted.

  Devin counted to ten before going after the young man. Of course, it was no challenge for him to catch up to Chad; vampires possess incredible speed, in addition to strength. The movies at least got that part right. He grabbed him by his right shoulder and yanked him backward hard, causing him to fall back on his ass. Then Devin grabbed his arm and pulled him back up with enough force to dislocate the man's shoulder.

  Chad yelped in pain and tried to swing at Devin, but his punch landed against what felt like a brick wall. He was pretty sure he had broken fingers now, too. He stumbled to get away but was pulled back against his attacker's massive form, which knocked the wind out of him. Then he felt a massive arm tighten across his chest and begin to squeeze the air right out of him. As he struggled with every ounce of strength and willpower he had left, it still didn't take long to realize the arm was also squeezing the life right out of him and there was no escaping. Yes, that realization came when he heard his ribs breaking and felt his lungs burning for air. He heard his back break and, soon, all feeling below the neck was gone and his arms and legs hung on him like strands of spaghetti. He was glad the pain was gone.

  Just as the torture was fading into the relief of darkness, he heard his killer say, "She is mine." Then to emphasize his point, Devin bit into Chad's nec
k and ripped his throat out in one swift movement. He spit the blood out and left the corpse lying there for the scavengers. It was time to return to his truelove.

  Salena woke exhausted. Between being at the police station for two hours providing her statement and then spending the rest of the night crying, she got maybe one to two hours of sleep. The police, trying to figure out if the crime was random or not, asked her if she knew of anyone who would want to hurt Jane and requested that she write down a grudge list for them. She was coming up blank so far.

  She rubbed her temples, contemplating that today, Thursday, is always the busiest day at work. While grateful to still be on her vacation, she was thinking it sure wasn't a good one. In fact, the historical home might have to manage without her for an additional week; she certainly had the time stored up. She called in and talked to Diane Burgess, her supervisor, and informed her she would not be returning to work on Monday after all. Diane was very understanding and agreed with her.

  Now, back to the task at hand, she poured herself the strongest cup of coffee of her life and grabbed a sheet of paper and a pen and, once again, tried to come up with the grudge list. But she couldn't think of any enemies her friend may have had—no ex-lovers or friends came to mind that would hold a grudge against Jane. Certainly not anyone who would want to kill her. Salena understood the idea of this not being a random mugging, since none of Jane's belongings were missing. Her purse, briefcase, and CDs appeared untouched. Nonetheless, the police were going to dust for prints.