Blood Dreams

by Mlyn Hurn

  AnnaBelle had shivered every time her grandfather shared his adventures with her. The old man had warned her to keep these stories their secret, even from her parents and her brother. But when she had asked him why, he would just stare into her eyes and murmur that she was the one…her day would come.

  AnnaBelle looked around the disorderly mess surrounding her. Fauster always had more important things to do with his time than worry about the little things in life. In fact, Fauster had always seemed bigger than life to her when she was a child growing up. Seeing him now, as an adult herself, she could see that he was no superman. Yet something about him screamed that he was more intelligent than most, and his eccentricities heightened one’s awareness of Fauster’s unusual mien.

  Dragging herself off the sofa, AnnaBelle decided to check on her uncle. He slept odd hours, but since he had already been in bed when she arrived home last night, she was rather surprised that she hadn't seen him up and about. Knocking softly on his bedroom door, she called out his name.

  “Uncle Fauster! Are you all right? It’s getting later and I thought you wanted to tell me something about the photos.”

  No answer came from beyond the door, nor did she hear any movement. Opening the door, AnnaBelle peered around the edge of the door. She moved slowly until she could see the bed. Her breath caught in her chest for a moment when she saw the bed was not only empty, but hadn't been slept in since she’d made it for him yesterday.

  AnnaBelle moved into the room, looking around carefully. She didn’t see anything out of place or unusual. She didn’t like the feelings welling up inside her all of a sudden. It was becoming clear that her uncle had returned home since he had left her that note yesterday. Taking a deep breath, AnnaBelle decided she would go down and check out the other two floors of the building. Fauster had admitted that he sometimes would hibernate in his workshop for days on end. He had confided that it was after working more than three days straight that he had discovered the right combination of ingredients to make this film.

  AnnaBelle dressed quickly, pulling on jeans, T-shirt and running shoes. Quickly she French-braided her hair and then turned to leave the room. At the last minute, she stopped and walked back over to the carry-on bag she had brought with her. Something deep inside told her to be prepared, so she pulled out the jeans jacket she had never unpacked. Reluctantly she pulled on the jacket, feeling the heaviness that was not revealed by its simple appearance.

  The jeans jacket had been her idea. Inside the jacket was everything she might need should she encounter a true menace. Within the short-waisted jacket, she had pockets which held holy water, several Eucharistic wafers, one cross, and two wooden stakes, which were a blend of the three necessary woods: ash, aspen and juniper. She also had a pullout pouch that contained dehydrated garlic and dried wolf’s bane. AnnaBelle also carried what had now become standard vampire hunter equipment: the blood test her uncle had invented years earlier.

  AnnaBelle shook her head as she recalled studying the test and the theories that had been proven because of his findings. It still confused her at times trying to keep straight blood types A, B and O. Then you had to figure the antigens developed, the Rh factor…AnnaBelle decided just knowing the test worked in determining that the vampire possessed type O blood, and was completely free of antibodies was good enough for her.

  Taking a deep breath, AnnaBelle pulled out the specially made gun, which contained a magazine that held twenty rounds. She tucked it into the back of her jeans and shoved two extra clips into her pocket. On her way out of the loft, she checked the answering machine, but no messages awaited her.

  * * * * *

  AnnaBelle took the stairs down to the second floor instead of the loud freight elevator. Inside the large, open room she began walking around. The room contained medical telescopes, numerous medical supplies, filing cabinets and a computer. Yet only after a minute or two, it dawned on her that something was wrong. Things had been moved since she’d seen the room on her arrival. Her uncle had taken her on a brief tour and instinct told her that he had not moved these things.

  Finding his computer in a small area that was partially concealed by a large screen, she tried to access his files. Stunned, she realized the hard drive had been completely erased. Someone had reformatted the entire drive, and now it appeared as if it were new and never been used. AnnaBelle turned to the file cabinet her uncle told her contained important notes. He added that he usually backed up his files and stored the floppy disks to reference at a later date.

  A sick feeling crept over her as she saw that each of the three drawers was completely empty. No folders, papers or disks remained. She couldn’t think of any reason her uncle would have gotten rid of his life’s work. Sure, he could be eccentric at times, but to do this didn’t seem logical. AnnaBelle reached for the phone and started to dial her parents’ phone number in London. She dropped the receiver when she realized the line was dead.

  Standing up slowly, AnnaBelle knew that someone other than her uncle had ransacked the whole area. She could feel herself starting to hyperventilate. The extra sensory perception that aided in her work was going into overdrive.

  “Calm down! Fauster is probably running late from an all-nighter with some beautiful woman. He probably did all of this. Just relax and stop seeing vampires everywhere!”

  AnnaBelle realized she was talking out loud and walked quickly to the stairs. Cursing loudly, AnnaBelle ran down two flights of stairs and to the sport utility vehicle. Jumping into the vehicle, she had to stop. Patting her jeans pocket, she breathed a sigh of relief that she’d grabbed the keys before leaving the apartment to start her exploration. She only dropped the keys twice before she finally was able to start the ignition. She drove to Iain’s house without once questioning why she was running to him.

  Chapter 7

  Iain walked towards his house, his thoughts still on his last class for the day. Some days he was sure that his students should be back in high school, or maybe even grade school! Between the unusual assortments of students peppering the campus these days, he probably shouldn’t be surprised at the ones he got in his history classes.

  He was only a few feet away from his front steps when a car door swung open. Before he could focus from his class to the present, AnnaBelle was jumping from the sport utility vehicle to stand in front of him. It took Iain a few seconds before he realized the look on AnnaBelle’s was not joy at seeing him. Two thoughts flashed through his consciousness. First was that he had not sensed AnnaBelle before she flew out of the car. Second was the look of fear in AnnaBelle’s eyes.

  “AnnaBelle! Are you okay?” Iain set his briefcase down and took hold of her hands. The coolness of her flesh surprised him.

  AnnaBelle was shaking her head negatively even as she answered him. “No. Damn it! I’m sorry for bothering you, Iain, but I think my uncle has disappeared. I went to call my parents and the phone was dead.” AnnaBelle took a deep breath—probably the first one in over an hour. “I know I freaked out, but suddenly it felt like someone was watching me.”

  “Stop, AnnaBelle! Take a deep breath!” Iain watched as AnnaBelle appeared to calm herself, but he could feel the fine, nervous shivering like a thoroughbred horse ready for the Kentucky Derby.

  Iain grabbed his briefcase. “Come inside, AnnaBelle. Have you eaten anything lately?”

  AnnaBelle followed him into the house. “I can’t remember, actually. I ate when I woke up yesterday.”

  Iain cursed softly and pressed AnnaBelle backwards until she landed on the sofa. “Stay there. I’ll make you a sandwich and some coffee.” Iain turned and walked the few steps into the kitchen. He had just turned on the coffee maker, when he heard AnnaBelle call out from the living room.

  “Could you make that tea, please? I’m really not a coffee drinker.”

  Iain smiled as he grabbed the teakettle and put water into it. He had spent most of the day thinking about AnnaBelle and the hot interlude in the bedroom he had enjoyed with
her last night. Quickly he made her a sandwich and prepared a cup of tea. In the living room, Iain found AnnaBelle with her eyes closed.

  “Eat up, AnnaBelle.” He watched as she sat up and took a bite of the sandwich, and then another. Waiting until she had taken a sip of tea, Iain asked her a question.

  “Did you call the police?”

  AnnaBelle had just taken another bite and was chewing it quickly. She swallowed before answering. “I didn’t because they don’t usually do anything until a person’s been gone like two or three days.”

  Iain nodded. “When did you last see him, yesterday before class?”

  AnnaBelle shook her head. “No. I didn’t have a lot of time, but there was a note from him when I got up yesterday.” AnnaBelle paused to rub her temples. “He had scrawled something about going out for a drink, I think.”

  Iain nodded, picking up the other half of the sandwich. “Do you have the note with you?”

  “No. I think I left it where I found it. When I woke up this morning, I thought he was in the dark room at first. Then I guessed he had to be in bed still. But the bed hadn't been slept in and I decided I would look for him in what he calls his workshop. Downstairs, I could tell he wasn’t there, and so I started looking around.”

  “Where does your uncle live?”

  AnnaBelle named a fairly deserted part of the city, stopping when Iain shook his head.

  “Hell! That’s not a good part of town.”

  AnnaBelle shook her head. “I feel safe, or at least I did. Anyway, I tried to check my uncle’s computer and I discovered the drive was wiped clean. So I figured I would check the file cabinet. He has always kept his notes, even if they were just half-thoughts and doodles in there. Also, that is where he kept his back up computer files, but the whole file cabinet was cleaned out.” AnnaBelle paused and took a deep breath. She finished her tea before she went on.

  “That’s when I started to get scared. I picked up the phone to call my parents and discovered the line was dead. All of a sudden it seemed like I was being watched or something. I bolted and came here.”

  Iain moved from his perch on the coffee table to sit beside AnnaBelle. He pulled her into his arms and AnnaBelle nestled her head against the side of his neck. He stroked his hand over the top of her head and down along the intricately braided ponytail. Slowly, Iain wrapped the thick fall of light auburn silk around his hand. Tugging gently, he lifted AnnaBelle’s face to his and kissed her.

  * * * * *

  AnnaBelle accepted the soft kiss. Iain’s lips felt good. The feel of his arms around her was comforting. She still wasn’t sure why she had freaked like she had. After all, there had been other tense times she’d been in and once a near-death situation. Granted, it probably wasn’t as many as her parents or Fauster had probably survived. But she didn’t usually go into panic mode over missing files or dead phone lines.

  Iain lifted his head, looking down into AnnaBelle’s eyes. “Relax, and let’s start again, at the beginning.”

  AnnaBelle took a deep breath and slowly repeated the day’s events until her arrival at his house. She wasn’t surprised when Iain slid his arm from around her shoulders as he spoke. To AnnaBelle the sense of comfort she felt was inexplicable when she was with Iain. And even though it wasn’t logical, she believed that he would not hurt her.

  “Let’s head back there to look around before it gets dark out. I need to run upstairs for a moment and then we’ll head over.”

  After they looked around the first and second floors, they headed up to the loft. There was still no sign of Fauster. AnnaBelle picked up the note he had left for her, reading it again to see if she had missed something. Iain moved around the apartment, glancing in the rooms AnnaBelle had identified as her guest room and her uncle’s bedroom. The last room he guessed was the dark room by the “do not disturb” sign on the door and the light bulb hanging above the door. Inside, he glanced around and started to walk out.

  Iain stopped abruptly as one of the photographs caught the corner of his eye. Turning around he picked up the photo, studying it. He was in the center of the picture, surrounded by several students. There was no missing the faint glow that surrounded some of the people. It took him a few moments before he connected that the ones who “glowed” were the same ones he had identified as real vampires. Minor ones, but still they were the real McCoy!

  It was also apparent that not even the faintest of glows exuded from him in the photo. There had been rumors through the usual channels that a vampire hunter had supposedly found a foolproof method to identify vampires from a distance. Granted the blood test had existed for several years, but that would require very close contact. If someone really had developed a film that would record vampires, it could make a change in the current balance of power between vampires and their hunters.

  “I am sorry about that.”

  Iain turned and saw AnnaBelle standing in the open doorway, looking at him. “What?”

  “I’m sorry for taking your picture. I didn’t know you, and I was really just doing a favor for my uncle.” AnnaBelle picked up all the photos, straightening them into a compact handful. Looking up, AnnaBelle could see the strange look in Iain’s eyes. For a moment they seemed to glow in the near darkness of the room. Instinctively, AnnaBelle took a step backwards. A second later, alarms started going off inside of her. “Oh my God, no,” she muttered as she backed out of the darkroom. She was aware of Iain walking towards her.

  AnnaBelle looked around frantically. The need to flee was instinctual and on the most basic of animal levels. Dropping the photos, she lifted her hands, palms towards Iain, as if warding him off. “You are one of them!”

  Iain didn’t question what she meant. Instead he held the picture up towards her. “The glow surrounding these people is obvious, and yet there is none around me.”

  AnnaBelle could see the answer in Iain’s eyes. Even though the picture supported his words, she knew in her heart that Iain was a vampire, of some kind at least. The nausea that roiled in her belly was nearly overwhelming. Feeling her breaths speeding up into panic mode, AnnaBelle shook her head from side to side. Iain’s words surprised her though, spoken softly.

  “What’s the name of your uncle, AnnaBelle?”

  “Unc- Uncle Fauster.”

  “Hell’s bells! Fauster Blue.”

  AnnaBelle nodded her head in agreement, trying to decide on the best way to run out of the apartment. Iain shook his head. “You can’t run that fast, AnnaBelle, even though you do have lovely, long legs. No matter what you did, I would catch you.”

  AnnaBelle felt that Iain’s words told only half his thoughts. She couldn’t shake the feeling that from now on, no matter how far or fast she ran, she would never escape him. Telling herself to think logically didn’t help.

  “Oh, God, no!”

  AnnaBelle turned and made a frantic dash to the bathroom. As she wretched violently into the toilet, she was glad that for whatever reason, Iain had not stopped her from running this time. A few seconds later she jumped as a cool washrag pressed against her forehead. Her eyelids jerked open and she turned her head, seeing Iain kneeling beside her. Unaware of it at first, tears started raining down her cheeks.

  Iain used the damp cloth and dabbed gently at the tears. He then handed her the cloth and stood. “I’ll wait outside while you tidy up.” Iain walked out, closing the bathroom door behind him.

  AnnaBelle stood up slowly and flushed the toilet. Running cold water in the sink, she splashed it on her face and neck. Standing back up, she looked at her reflection. Her skin appeared almost white and it looked like she had bruises around her eyes. “Looking like this I can assume that he’ll not be attracted to me again. Of course, that doesn’t rule out the fact that I still have blood…”

  The look in her eyes stopped her from turning away. Knowing that Iain might no longer desire her body didn’t automatically turn off her desire for him. After the amazingly sensual onslaught of emotions and pretty much the mo
st explosive orgasm in her life, her mind had dictated a never-ending dream parade starring Iain.

  Closing her eyes now, AnnaBelle could easily recall the feel of his warm and very talented hand against her pussy lips. Her whole body seemed to zero in on her cunt. It was almost as if she could feel his hand against her body, and his fingers inside it. And if she squeezed her muscles tight, clenching them while moving her hips forward…God! She could almost come again just thinking about him.

  Pulling the rubber band from her hair, she straightened her back and stiffened her spine. Staring at herself once again, she spoke softly, “Are you daft, girl? He’s a vampire and you are a slayer. There is no way this can go any further.”

  Nodding her head and lifting her chin with determination, AnnaBelle turned and walked out of the bathroom. Immediately she saw that Iain was leaning against the arm of the sofa, facing the bathroom. He was holding the photos she had dropped earlier on her mad dash to the bathroom. Glancing up, their eyes met. Iain’s voice was soft as he spoke to her. “Sit down, AnnaBelle. We need to talk.”

  AnnaBelle walked away from him, taking the long way around the room, and sat on the far end of the sofa. As Iain turned to face her, she spoke up quickly, almost tripping over her words in her haste.

  “If you’ll just leave, I won’t report any of this…to anyone.”

  Iain sat down slowly, his eyes never leaving hers. “I see, but what about your uncle’s disappearance?”