by Kailin Gow
It seemed no matter how many victims she drained, no matter how many pints of blood she ingested, it was never enough, and that thought alone concerned her.
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This was the part of town tourist never visited, Keegan thought. At least not intentionally. The buildings were run down beyond habitable. More windows were boarded up than glassed, and the few that still held their panes were cracked and broken. Stoops were filthy and falling apart, and the people who loitered around fit in perfectly with their surroundings. In this part of town, the streets were filled with people who’d found a way of life society just didn’t approve of.
But this was where Keegan felt certain a particularly vicious vampire hunted; the same vampire who’d killed Dr. Franz. Was Dr. Franz out stalking this vampire when he was viciously killed? Keegan had traced a line of victims with similar wounds down to these very streets. If this vampire maintained the same practices, he would be here tonight.
Prepared for an intense battle, Keegan knew he would be up against a strong force, stronger than any he’d ever come up against. This had to be a powerful vampire. Dr. Franz wasn’t an easy target and with the years of experience the good doctor had, getting to him couldn’t have been accomplished by a rookie blood sucker.
No. This vampire had been around for a good long while. And the way Dr. Franz’s throat had been torn apart told of the ravenous hunger this vampire lived with. Few vampires ever left such messy remnants of their handiwork.
As he walked with strong and confident strides, Keegan held his head high and avoided eye contact as much as he could. All eyes were on him as he made his way down the street, heading to a popular drug dealer’s digs. Some sneered and one old man actually spat on him.
“Get out of here, pretty boy. There’s no room for guys like you out here.”
Keegan only grinned. Dr. Franz had raised him a gentleman and it was evident in his stance and stride. He’d always carried himself with importance, something many people didn’t understand and appreciate in the form of a man so young. Trying to fit in was useless and he’d given up years ago trying to melt in with the people he often came across on these hunts.
After all, when it came to a hunt with a solid lead, he was usually in and out, his business done in a quick and efficient manner before returning to the serenity and quietude of home.
Turning into an alley he approached the door that was slightly obscured by a pile of trash cans and an old mattress stained with urine. A low groan followed by the sound of punctured skin came from further down the darkened alley.
His hair on end, Keegan saw the vampire in the distance, hunched over an elderly homeless man. Blood pumped fiercely through his veins at the thought of a kill. The anger and pain of Dr. Franz’s death added to his urgent need to rid the world of one more vampire.
Every step he took had him analyzing the situation more and more closely. The vampire was small and slight, delicate in its way of attacking, despite the obvious penchant for wild and animal-like movements.
This would be easy and would only warm him up for the real hunt to come.
He readied his stake, gripped it tightly in his hand and he rushed to the hunched figure. Raising his hands high above his head, he anticipated driving the stake deep into the vampire’s back, piercing the heart and killing it. The thought alone was euphoric.
Despite its intense feeding, the vampire rose and turned to face Keegan, blood dripping to the ground from its chin.
“Alexis,” Keegan gasped. The shock of seeing her paralyzed him and it took him a few moments to collect his thoughts. Throughout the years he’d been surprised to learn of acquaintances that’d been turned. It was a frequent happening and as a novice hunter, he’d been fool often, meeting people who had a semblance of a normal life, some even saintly and pious. He’d long ago learned that vampires came in many different styles and sizes.
But he had not suspected Alexis; not at all. She was warm and tanned. She walked in the sun without effects, and she had a heartbeat. She seemed so human, unlike the other vampires he had known. Was he that smitten by Alexis that he refused to see any signs of vampirism in her? That thought alone shocked and scared him. For all the times he’d been with her, and for the occasions he’d actually been close, so close, how could he not have known?
She stared at him, wide-eyed with bloodstained lips parted. Her fangs were long and menacing, ready to continue feeding. “You?” Her eyes darted to the stake in his hand, his arsenal of vampire hunting weapons at his belt and his duster.
“It all makes sense now,” Keegan said in a strangled and unsure voice. Never had he been so shaken by the discovery of a vampire. “You’re undead. I can’t believe I didn’t see it. You play the game very well.”
Keegan thought he saw a moment of fear in her eyes, but it was quickly replaced with anger and determination. Her chin took on a haughty tilt. “I certainly didn’t suspect you were a hunter, and certainly not one who would be able to sneak up on me as readily as you managed. I’m rather astute, you know.”
“I’ve no doubt.”
“Granted I’ve always found you were fast and undeniably strong, but despite that you seemed, well, too…” Her lips curled into a sultry grin. “… pure to be a hunter.”
“I’ve had years of training; hard training by a master. I’m very good; better than any other hunter out there.”
An eerie chuckle rumbled from deep in her throat while her eyes roamed over every inch of him. There was hunger in her eyes, but whether it was a hunger for his blood or hunger for the man he was, he couldn’t quite tell. “I’ve no doubt. But I warn you, my dear Keegan, I, too, have had years of being what I am. It’s amazing what a few hundred years of practice can do to a girl.”
Keegan swallowed, afraid to ask what he needed to know, though in his heart he already knew the answer.
Alexis’ eerie chuckle exploded into a full on cackle, evil and spiteful. It filled the alley and echoed with vengeance. “Yes, Keegan,” she said with relish. “Sadie has been turned as well. Aren’t you the lucky boy? You’ve hit upon two sisters who not only have your heart confused and searching for the right answers, but they’re vampires as well.”
The stake almost fell from his numbed fingers. He may as well have driven it into his own heart for all the pain he felt. He cursed himself for having allowed his heart to open to anyone. Hadn’t the years taught him that?
Sadie. The image of when he’d last seen her came to him. Sweet, caring and with a heart of gold. But she fed on human blood. There was no way she could deny that aspect of who she was; of what she did to survive. She dug her fangs in like any other vampire and sucked blood to fulfill her and keep her alive.
The pleasure he now saw in Alexis’ eyes added to the pain of this deception. “She was turned at the same time as I, by the same vampire. As a guest of Stoker Manor he took a liking to us both.” She winked, naughty and inviting. “Of course I enticed him more than my saintly sister. Don’t think her puritan ways are anything new and just for you. If anything she was more annoying back then than she is now. But her saintly ways did manage to entice that handsome Lord nonetheless. When our home was ravaged by fire, he saved us from certain death. He turned us.”
“Our parents died that night…” A soft feminine voice came from beside Keegan. Sadie emerged from the shadows, her sad eyes taking in the awkward scene with uncertainty.
Alexis’ laughing eyes instantly narrowed into two incensed slits. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be studying, cleaning or whatever it is you do when you lock yourself up in that little house of yours?”
Sadness for her sister played on Sadie’s serene features. “Didn’t you think that I would suspect something was going on with your constant outings? I tracked you down here. Though I suspected something serious was happening to you, I wanted to see for myself just how low you’d gone.”
Keegan wanted to clutch at his heart to stop the pain. He had a stake in his hand a
nd two beautiful vampires who… It hurt too much to think about the emotions that had built up for Sadie. He’d fallen for her more than he had even dared admit to himself, and now he was paying the price. He should have put two and two together…Stokers…the sisters were the same sisters from the manor…but he refused to believe they were. They couldn’t be…couldn’t be the same girls, unless they were immortal like he was or vampires…
“I’m so sorry you found out this way, Keegan.” Sadie took a tentative step closer to him. Her eyes looked as pained as he felt. “I wish I had told you myself. I want to, but there was never a time; never a way.”
“Stoker Manor.” Keegan mumbled through the haze of confusion. “The fire.”
Both girls looked at him curiously.
“Keegan, are you all right?”
“Hungry and looking for work, my parents left Ireland and traveled through many cities before finding employment in Dorset. I remember that huge home. It was a fascinating place to play hide and seek. Thrilling and frightening.” In his mind’s eye, he saw the ocean front manor in all its splendor. “My father tended to the extensive stables while my mother cleaned the guests’ rooms.”
“You were at Stoker Manor?” Sadie took a step back, the announcement visibly shocking her. “But that was…”
“For a few weeks, yes.” He looked at her, trying to remember the two young daughters of the owner. He had only a vague memory of two lovely teenagers. The rest, even their names, he had block from memory. “While you were saved by a vampire that night, I was saved by a hunter; Dr. Franz.”
The girls exchanged bewildered glances.
“I’d met him that day as he’d settled into his room. Only later did I learn of his reason for his stay at Stoker Manor.”
“He was looking for a vampire.” Sadie offered. Her hands clasped and unclasped nervously as she looked to him.
Keegan nodded.
“I remember him very well,” Sadie went on. “An odd little man who seemed frighteningly determined to get to this murderous vampire. He’d even questioned us and he’d been rather belligerent about it. But I don’t remember you.”
“I was just a little boy. I’d just turned eight when we arrived in England.”
“If you were with the help, there was little chance I would have noticed you, no matter how old you were,” Alexis threw in with a haughty tilt of her chin.
Keegan eyed the girls with increased anger. “The owners, Stokers if I remember correctly, were abetting him.”
“They were doing nothing of the sort. They were completely unaware of…”
“My parents died because of your parents’ ignorance and stupidity.” His eyes hardened as he recalled his pledge to avenge his parents’ death. That elusive vampire was first on his list, but anyone related to the Stokers also deserved his wrath. “Someone has to pay for what your parents put so many people through. And for what? A few shillings?”
“Keegan, it wasn’t like that at all,” Sadie argued. “We didn’t know he was…”
In unison, the girls approached him. While Sadie’s empathy was clear in her saddened eyes, Alexis’ concern for him was more reserved.
“I’m so terribly sorry, Keegan,” Sadie said.
“I as well.” Alexis’ voice showed as much warmth as her condition allowed.
He recoiled, refusing to allow the girls to get too close. “Sorry for what?” he spat. “That your parents are murderers? That you are the result of the very man Dr. Franz wanted to capture?”
Sadie hurried to get closer, her eyes filled with love and concern. “Keegan, we were young girls. We weren’t responsible for anything that happened that night.” She snaked her hand around his neck and leaned into him, crushing her breasts against his chest.
“I’m so sorry about this,” he said in a hushed tone that was filled with remorse and regret. He raised the stake, knowing in his breaking heart what he had to do. In that flash of a moment, Sadie looked up at him and her fangs sprouted the moment her eyes caught on the stake.
The sight made him want to retch. The fresh beauty of her face, the tender curl of her lips, all marred and made ugly by inhuman fangs that rendered her no better than the wildest beast. How could he have fallen in love with a girl who represented everything he loathed in the world? His head filled with confusion and his heart trampled beyond repair, he backed out of her hold and ran.
It would take him a while to take in all he’d seen that night. He had to drive past the pain and heartache and put himself to the task of killing them.
Forget about the girls who have played with your heart and deceivingly enticed you and tend to the killing of the vampires that they truly are, he ordered himself.
He promised himself he would do away with them. His heart would be set on a shelf and he would do what had to be done. Their next encounter would be better planned.
Death to the Stoker sisters was the only acceptable outcome.
Chapter 19
Her heart breaking and her head searching for ways to make it better, Sadie ran after Keegan. She’d only advanced a few steps when she felt the painful grip of her sister’s hand on her wrist.
“What are you doing? I have to stop him. I have to make him understand about me. This isn’t all I am. This isn’t all I have to offer. He has to see that there’s more to me than just being a vampire. Even if I have to use compulsion, I have to do something.”
Alexis’ eyes softened, something that rarely happened these days. “There’s nothing you can do for now. Let him think this through. He’s had too many shocks in too short a time. The death of his mentor and, in a sense, the death of the love he thought he had. Leave him be for a day or two.”
For once Sadie agreed with her sister.
“Did you know Dr. Franz had been his mentor?” Alexis asked.
“No, of course not. I never would have thought Keegan had ever been at Stoker Manor. But, now that I think about it, it might explain the instant sense of ease I felt from the very first time we met. It instantly felt as though we’d come from the same world; the same time.”
“To think that a sweet boy like Keegan could have been molded into an expert hunter by that vile little man who brought such pain and tragedy to our lives. And Keegan dares to blame us for the death of his parents. No doubt it is the very man who became his mentor who torched our beloved home and killed our parents. If anything, we should be the ones pursuing him for vengeance.”
“Don’t say things like that, Alexis. We don’t know what happened that night.”
Alexis grunted, but her hard glare told Sadie she knew exactly what had happened.
Sadie reached out to wipe the drying blood off her sister’s chin. “What have you been up to these past nights?” she asked.
“The usual. Cleaning up the mess this city continually spews out.”
“Dr. Franz was killed by a vampire.”
“So I gathered.” Alexis cast her reddened eyes to the side, avoiding Sadie’s gaze.
“Did you have anything to do with it?”
Alexis brought an offended hand to her heart. “Of course not,” she said with practiced indignation. “Unless he’d become one of the low-lives that trudge through these mean streets on a regular basis.”
“I think the pain of the loss is affecting Keegan more than I’d originally thought. He’s spent hundreds of years with him, training, learning and probably protecting him. Now the only person who has ever meant anything to him is gone.”
Alexis’ shoulders fell and she appeared ready to weep. Taking a step back, she leaned against the grimy wall of the alley then brought her hand up to inspect her chipped nails.
Sadie had seen this tactic many times before. It was Alexis’ way of hiding the pain she felt. Concentrating on her nails made her appear aloof and indifferent when all the while her heart ached.
“What is it?” Sadie asked.
“For the longest time I had dreams of mother and father. Dreams where they returned to hold
me, console me and tell me that everything would be all right.” Alexis brought her frank and candid gaze to Sadie. “I know I’ve treated you shabbily over the years, little sister, but I’ve always been thankful to have you, even if you were miles away.”
Sadie hid her surprise. It was so unlike Alexis to make such an admission.
“I knew that somewhere in the world there was someone who knew me, who understood me. Someone who was like me. I don’t know where I’d be if I didn’t have you. Keegan lost his parents at an earlier age than we,” she went on. “And now the only person in the world that was close to him is gone. It must be devastating.”
Touched by her sister’s empathy for Keegan, Sadie reached out to take her hand and give it an affectionate squeeze. Keeping a hold of her, she led her out of the alley and onto the unappealing street.
“You know,” Alexis said in a voice reminiscent of her pre-vampire days. “I saw the stake and I saw the determination in his eyes; the pain and the need to avenge. Though I’m not the one who is guilty of having killed his mentor, I was prepared to just stand there and…”
“You would have let him stake you?” Sadie was stunned by the admission.
Alexis nodded while a tear filled the corner of her eye.
“You love him that much?”
“I believe I do.” Alexis looked at Sadie. “I love him just as much as you do.”
Though her heart felt a twinge of pain, she understood her sister’s affections for Keegan. He was a joy to be with and easy to love. She couldn’t fault her sister for falling for him.
“I’m sorry, Sadie. I just realized how much Keegan reminds me of…”
“No,” Sadie cut in. She stopped at the corner of the street and looked straight into her sister’s eyes. “Don’t even say it. Keegan is nothing like Lord Ashwin. Nothing.”
Alexis looked away, her chin tilted up and her eyes narrowed with concentration.
“Are you listening to me?” Sadie hissed. She would never admit to her sister that the thought had crossed her mind a time or two, but she refused to acknowledge that fact, even to herself.
