The Vampire And The Nightwalker

by Sweet

  She continued on her way after a momentary pause. He could tell that she was nervous, but he could also tell that she wasn’t experiencing any great terror at the thought of being observed. Rather, she was simply uneasy and mildly curious about who would be so fixated on her.

  La Peniche wasn’t exactly large enough for him to remain invisible to someone with Secret’s abilities. It was a lovely restaurant, but not a place to be discreet. She would ferret him out in no time.

  He would simply have to follow her to whatever bar she and her friend decided to pass away the time in after dinner. It would be much easier to remain unseen and undetected in a bar full of people. She might still be able to tell that she was being observed, but it would be almost impossible for her pick out who was observing. That is, unless she was a lot better than he thought.

  Going to the bar where Secret had been the last few times he had followed her, he sat down in a booth to wait. He ordered a glass of red wine and watched as the throng of people inside the place expanded. That was one of the reasons he found this place to be exactly what he needed. With so many people packed in, he was able to accomplish whatever he needed to with absolutely no notice taken of him. That’s also what made him reasonably certain that Secret Lavalle wouldn’t be able to spot him too easily.

  As it turned out, he didn’t have to wait very long for Secret and her friend to make their way inside. They came in the door laughing, looking very relaxed and happy. Many men’s heads turned in their direction.

  The women made their way straight to the bar and exchanged a few words with the bartender. Kane knew that this man was a friend of theirs, simply from the conversation he had initiated with him. Neil was a friendly sort of fellow, but then he had to be in order to be a successful bartender. It was clear that all of Neil’s customers liked him. He always found time to talk to them, whether he was busy or not. It seemed he had found a way to mix drinks, serve them, and talk to the customers all at the same time.

  Neil was had been full of information about Secret Lavalle and, once Kane asked had asked him nicely, Neil was quite forthcoming about her. Now, all Kane needed to do was wait for the right moment to approach her. Tonight probably wasn’t going to be that right moment, so he would simply continue to observe her. But he was always able to change his plans on a second’s notice.

  As he sipped his wine, Kane watched Secret and her friend, who, he had learned, was named Marielle. They took a booth toward the back and did everything they could to fend off would-be one night stands. It was a ritual they were used to, as very attractive women. The men came, one after another; sometimes even in pairs… Yet, Secret and Marielle kept sending them on their way.

  Kane watched in amusement as each man went slinking away with a dejected demeanor. The really interesting thing was that the ladies didn’t really seem aware of the effect they had on the male patrons of this bar. He might have felt some sympathy for them if he didn’t find them so amusing.

  So, that was something else he found intriguing about Secret. She didn’t cheapen herself, or let these performing monkeys take advantage of her, which showed that she thought much more of herself than a stranger’s plaything. With every passing minute, he became even more convinced that he was right.

  Just then, he saw a troubled look appear on her face and she started to glance around. He had been staring too intently at her again. That’s when she always seemed to feel him. He needed to use more caution when watching her.

  * * *

  “WHAT’S WRONG, SECRET?” Marielle asked when she saw the look on her friend’s face.

  “I’m not really sure, Mari,” Secret replied. “Lately, I’ve been feeling like someone is watching me. It’s happened at home before, but I just felt it again.”

  “In here?”

  “Yes, in here.”

  Marielle started to crane her neck and look around to see if anyone was overtly staring at them. Secret reached across the table and grabbed her hand.

  “No! Don’t do that! If someone’s watching me, it will be obvious that I know it.”

  “So? If they see that you’re aware of it, maybe they will stop doing it!”

  “It’s not that simple, Mari. This is different somehow. I can feel this level of intensity that’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced.”

  “Well, then what do you think it means?”

  “I wish I knew. I’m kind of uneasy, but not terrified. Does that make sense?”

  “If you were anyone else, girl, I would say you need therapy..”

  “I noticed twice earlier today. Once, when I was letting a client in, and then again, on my way to the car to come meet you. I was really happy that my car started so I could get out of there.”

  “Wow! Okay, well, what will you do tonight? Do you want to stay with me?”

  “You know, I might take you up on that. I don’t have any clients until after noon, tomorrow. But, I’ll see how I feel later. So far, I haven’t felt any true danger or anything. It’s just that I’m not too thrilled with being stared at like this. It’s a pretty strong feeling.”

  “Well, if it’s like that, I’m positive it’s not any of these bozos that keep hitting on us here.”

  “Oh yeah, me too! None of them have that kind of energy...”

  “Ahhh, so you checked?” Marielle teased.

  “Of course I checked!” Secret replied. “I wanted to be sure that we were both safe, after all. If it was one of these guys, I would tell Neil and let him remove the problem, so to speak.”

  Secret had the ability to crawl into someone’s mind and see what was in there. If she had felt that any of those guys had the potential of being a stalker, all she had to do was psychically snake into his head. There were a few that seemed to have a harder time taking no for an answer than the rest, and she had performed a little check on them. But the only thing she found in their brains was immature, frat boy intelligence.

  She was sure that they were safe from those guys. What bothered her was whether or not they were safe from the actual watcher. There was no clear way of knowing this without being able to identify who it was.

  “At any rate, it’s gone now.”

  “What’s gone?”

  “The feeling,” Secret replied. “I don’t think I’m being watched anymore.”

  “That’s good, right?” Marielle asked.

  “It might be. I’m not sure,” Secret said, hesitantly.

  “Why wouldn’t it be good?”

  “Whoever it was might have just pulled back a little. I’m starting to wonder if this is someone who also has some abilities. If that’s the case, I may not always know when I’m being watched.”

  “Well, that sucks! I wouldn’t be comfortable with that at all!” Marielle exclaimed.

  “Oh, I’m not, trust me! But it is something that I need to consider.”

  Secret was still casting her eyes around the bar to see if anyone unusual caught her attention. She kept being drawn to a certain booth in the back of the bar on the opposite side of the room.

  Marielle noticed.

  “Do you see something?” she asked.

  “I don’t know… No, don’t turn around! There’s a booth back there, but no one is in it. I see an unfinished glass of wine, though. Someone was obviously sitting there until very recently. You know how fast the staff here is about cleaning up the tables.”

  “Why don’t you go ask Neil? He’ll know if someone was sitting there and, knowing him, he’ll probably be able to tell you who it was.”

  “Yeah, you’re right. I’ll go up and get us more drinks and talk to him while I’m there. I’ll be right back.”

  Secret rose from the booth and fought her way through the crowd to get to the bar.

  “Hey, Neil!” she called.

  He looked up from a couple of drinks he was setting up, saw it was Secret, and smiled brightly.

  “Hey, girl,” he called back. “Be there in just a sec!”

  True to his word, Neil w
as with her in under a minute.

  “What can I get for you, beautiful?” he asked.

  “Marielle and I would like refills,” she said, giving him her sweetest smile. “Also, can you tell me who was sitting in that booth back there? The one with the unfinished glass of wine?”

  “Oh, yeah, sure,” Neil said as he worked to make their drinks. “That was some dude. Pretty nice, really. Tall, black hair, weird eyes. Kind of intense. How come?”

  “Oh, I just wondered. Marielle thought she saw someone there that she knew, but clearly it wasn’t who she thought. Thanks, Neil.”

  Gathering up their drinks, Secret returned to the booth.

  “Well, we were right about there being someone in that booth. Neil said he was tall, with black hair and weird eyes. Not sure what that meant and he was so busy that I really didn’t want to tie him up any longer. Oh, and he said that the guy was kind of intense.”

  “That certainly bears some looking into,” Marielle said, as she sipped her drink.

  “I agree, but we can’t be sure who he was or why he was watching, if he actually was.”

  The women sat there, sipping their drinks, as they contemplated what they should or would do next. In the end, they couldn’t come up with anything constructive.

  “Maybe I’ll talk to Neil at some point, if I keep having these feelings. He’s met the man sitting at that booth. If I push a little, he’ll probably answer any questions I ask.”

  “Are you kidding?” Marielle exclaimed. “Neil would walk across hot coals for you! So yeah, I’m pretty sure you could get him to answer a question or two.”

  Dramatically rolling her mossy green eyes, Marielle tipped her glass up, draining the rest of its contents.

  Secret looked at her friend wryly.

  “Why do you always say things like that?” she asked. “When have I ever done anything to make you, or Neil for that matter, think that I’ve got a thing for him?”

  “That doesn’t matter,” Marielle replied. “It’s all right there in the way he looks at you. I swear, his whole face just lights up when you come in here. You’re just not seeing from my viewpoint.”

  Secret shook her head at the total idiocy of it all. Neil flirted with all of the women who came into the bar. Hell, he even flirted with some of the gay men! He was a bartender and tips were a huge part of his income. Making nice with the patrons served to net him quite a nice little bankroll by the time he got off work.

  “I refuse to discuss this with you because it’s simply not worth the effort. I do, however, have some real issues going on and I need to figure them out.”

  “Okay, okay,” Marielle said as she held up her hands in surrender. “So do you want to stay at my place tonight?”

  “You know, I think I will,” Secret agreed. “It’s not that I’m really scared or anything like that, but I do need a good night’s sleep. Being nervous and on the lookout for a possible stalker isn’t conducive of decent sleep.”

  “I do believe you’re right,” Marielle said in mock seriousness. “One more and then we hit the road?”

  “Sure,” Secret said as she nodded.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  FROM THE SECOND floor roof of the building housing the bar, Kane watched as the two women made their way carefully down the crowded sidewalks to where they had parked their cars. His keen hearing already alerted him to the fact that Secret was staying with her friend for the night.

  Well, that’s alright, he thought. It wasn’t quite time to introduce himself anyway.

  He hadn’t yet figured out exactly how he would handle that little detail; but he had to do it, and soon. Secret Lavalle played a very important part in his future and he would not let her get away; not after he had waited so many lifetimes to find her.

  So, he moved deftly from rooftop to rooftop as he tracked Secret and Marielle.

  * * *

  SECRET FOLLOWED MARIELLE in her car on the short drive to her friend’s condo. It was conveniently located in the Marigny part of New Orleans. She had found a great deal on the place considering the location. Three bedrooms and two baths were almost impossible to attain, unless you had quite a bit of money to sink into the place. But Marielle had found exactly what she was looking for by acting as her own realtor.

  It was a gorgeous place, with a very nice garden in the back, off of her patio. She had furnished the place in an eclectic fashion that worked perfectly with her personality. Secret always loved coming here. She preferred her own house, but Marielle’s was a great second home.

  Since it was pretty late, the women said goodnight and went to bed.

  Normally, Secret slept very well when she was at Marielle’s; but tonight, she couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was more interested in her than they should be. It wasn’t so much that she still felt that sensation of being watched, but more the frequency lately, especially today. Now she knew it wasn’t her imagination.

  When she finally did doze off into a fitful sleep, dreams of men in long black coats and red eyes plagued her... In fact, red seemed to be the dominant color in her dreams. Deep red, the color of blood, was splashed everywhere. Someone was chasing her and she couldn’t seem to run fast enough to get away. It was a man, yet he could fly. Hovering over her as she ran, his huge black wings covered her with their shadow. Just as his talon-like fingers reached down to pluck her up, she awoke with a scream in her throat.

  At first, she wasn’t sure if she had actually made any sound at all. When Marielle didn’t come bursting through the door, she assumed that the scream was only in her dreams.

  Glancing at the windows, she could tell that the sun was up. Picking up her phone, she noted that the time was 8:45AM. Even though she didn’t have to worry about any appointments until 1:00 this afternoon, she decided to get up. It wasn’t like she was actually going to get any more sleep anyway.

  She showered, brushed her teeth, put on a small amount of makeup, and brushed out her hair. Lured by the aroma of fresh-brewed coffee, she put on the dress that she had worn the night before and headed to the kitchen. There, she found Marielle dressed for the day.

  As a book illustrator, Marielle worked from home more often than not, unless she had to meet with a client or visit a publisher’s office. Apparently, she didn’t need to go anywhere today, since she was wearing a pair of comfortable jeans and a bright pink tank shirt. Her red hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her face was free of makeup. Even completely natural, she still looked quite stunning.

  Looking up from the newspaper she was reading, Marielle gave Secret a smile and saluted her with the cup of coffee she was holding.

  “Good morning! Help yourself to some coffee.”

  “Thank you, I believe I will. It smells amazing!”

  Secret walked to the counter, where a mug and coffee awaited her. Adding a tablespoon of honey and a hefty dose of French Vanilla creamer, she stirred it all together. Carrying it with her, she joined Marielle at the breakfast bar to see what was so interesting in the paper today.

  “So, it seems that there’s been another murder,” Marielle said, as Secret settled herself into the bar chair.

  “Seriously? How many does that make now?”

  “They’re saying that this is the eighth one in the last three months,” Marielle said, as she scanned the article. “The police don’t seem to have any leads as of yet.”

  “That’s too bad,” Secret said, as she sipped her coffee. “It’s also kind of scary knowing that there’s such a monster out on the street.”

  “Yeah,” Marielle agreed. “Oh, but they do have a name for him now!”

  “A name? Really? Naming these aberrations only makes them more determined to keep killing, doesn’t it?”

  “Possibly, since most of them love the attention. Want to hear what the name is?”

  “I’m not sure, but I guess I’ll have to. So what is it?” Secret asked with a cringe.

  “They’re calling him, The Blood Drinker.”

  �
�Oh, my God! How awful!” Secret cried. “Why are they calling him that?”

  “It’s pretty simple,” Marielle started to explain. “All of the victims have been found with two puncture wounds to their throats and their bodies completely drained of blood. Apparently, there was once a murderer called, The Vampire Killer, so they didn’t feel that they could duplicate that name.”

  “Ugh!”

  “Right? Anyway, they don’t have a single lead because this guy doesn’t leave any evidence behind.”

  Both women were silent as they continued to sip their coffee, lost in their own thoughts.

  “How about something to eat?” Marielle asked, as she got up from the chair and headed to the refrigerator.

  “I’m not sure if I’m hungry now or not,” Secret laughed.

  “Oh, sure you are! I’ll make pancakes and bacon. You always like my cooking!”

  “Okay, okay,” Secret agreed. “Just don’t serve anything with tomatoes or tomato sauce. That includes tomato juice, too!”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  PROMPTLY, AT 1:00 PM, Secret’s first client of the day arrived.

  Mrs. Harriett Bennington was dressed as if she were attending a formal afternoon tea. She wore a flowered print dress with stockings and sensible heels. Her ensemble was complete with a sunhat and gloves. Her age could have been anywhere from fifty to seventy, but it wasn’t easy to nail down with such a flawless makeup application over perfectly sculpted, plastic facial features.

  Once Secret escorted Mrs. Bennington to the reading room, they both sat on opposite sides of the round, cloth-covered table where the readings took place. Since she had never read for Mrs. Bennington before, she let her spider senses reach out to see what they would pick up from the woman. Almost instantly, she hit on the one thing that Mrs. Bennington would do almost anything to keep hidden.

  Yes, I will need to tread very carefully with this one, Secret thought.

  “What can I do for you today, Mrs. Bennington?” Secret asked her.