Daniel left Mitch standing there, and walked back up the steps, and into his trailer. Mitch waited a few minutes, and when Daniel hadn't returned, he walked back to the door. The guy was standing in the middle of his living room floor, fully dressed in what Mitch had told him to put on. Mitch shook his head. "I guess I should have added that you needed to come back outside when you were done, huh? Follow me, we got work to do." Mitch put his hood back up and walked out of Daniel's trailer, with Daniel right behind him.
He didn't think that the compulsion stuff was so hard to do. It actually came a little natural to him. All he had to do was look in a person's eyes and tell them to do something.
They walked at a normal pace, through alleyways and behind trees, to get to South Shores Park. Mitch wasn't in a big hurry. It would take Lazarus a little while to find a junkie. Most of them were on the other side of the city.
The park came into view, and Mitch could see Lazarus' car parked at the west edge behind some trees. He glanced behind him. Daniel was still walking in a daze of his own, but following in his footsteps nonetheless.
He heard the young woman scream before he saw her. Lazarus covered her mouth with his hand. From only twenty yards, Mitch could tell that she was indeed not a junkie. He turned back to Daniel. "Meet me over there." He pointed to where Lazarus and the female were standing.
Daniel nodded, and Mitch ran to where Lazarus and the girl were. He didn't stop when he got there. He plowed right into them, knocking the girl out of Lazarus' arms. She landed about fifteen feet away, but all the adrenaline that was pumping through her body kept her from being aware of any injuries. Mitch didn't care that she was running away. Maybe the poor thing would find safety and tell the cops what she had seen.
Mitch had clouted Lazarus only twice before he found that he was on his back again, looking up at Lazarus.
"Go get her, Mitch. None of the twenty victims were crack heads or junkies. If we use one of them, our plan will fail. I did this to save you, son. Go get her!" Lazarus pushed to his feet, and brought Mitch with him. He pushed him in the direction the girl had run, but Mitch turned around and looked at him.
"I don't want my freedom if I have to take an innocent life to have it," Mitch said.
"She isn't innocent, Mitch. She is a high-class prostitute. She has been arrested four times in the last two years. She is going to die anyway. Couldn't you smell the disease in her veins? She is H.I.V. Positive. Go get her now. You don't want to go down, when a cheap hooker can save your ass."
It didn't make a difference to him if she was a hooker, or if she had of been the Mayor's daughter. He didn't want anyone to die just so he could wave at people again. He was fine without seeing anybody ever again. He didn't even like people. He glanced at Lazarus and sighed, then ran after the girl.
He didn't have to travel far. He had caught her scent when he had knocked Lazarus to the ground. Her blood, mixed with cheap perfume, didn't smell like any steak dinner he'd ever had.
She screamed when she saw him, and he was on her then. He covered her mouth with the palm of his hand, and the images began to flow through his head before he even looked at her eyes. Lazarus had been right. He saw more naked men in those short seconds, than he had ever seen during shower time at the jail. Bet her parents were proud.
"Look at me," Mitch said, and it was like she was obeying his orders even before she opened her eyes to him. "I will make sure that you don't suffer. If you have a God to pray to, I would advise doing that now." He took her arm and led her back to Lazarus. He could have picked her up and ran with her, but he could hear her praying quietly, and he wanted to give her time to ask God for forgiveness before she died. With her being a hooker, he was guessing that she wouldn't near be done with her Hail Marys before Lazarus took this into his own hands, but he would give her as much time as he could.
"What the hell did you do to this guy? He won't say a word to me," Lazarus said as he nodded his head toward Daniel.
Mitch looked over at Daniel. The guy was staring at him. "How you doing, Daniel?"
"It's a little cold out here, but I'm doin' all right," Daniel said.
Mitch looked back at Lazarus and shrugged. "He says he's fine."
Lazarus rolled his eyes. "Just tell him what he needs to tell the cops. I will take care of this little peach," he said, then took the girl by the arm and led her away.
Mitch stared at Daniel. It seemed like the guy would tell him just about anything that Mitch asked him. He had to know. "Why did you kill your wife?"
A flicker of madness passed behind Daniel's eyes, and he smiled creepily as he looked at Mitch. "I thought her insides would look better on the outside. Turns out I was right." He began laughing hysterically, and right then Mitch no longer regretted what he was about to do to the guy.
As much as it pained him, he walked slowly to Daniel; he wanted to tear the guy to shreds. He looked him in the eyes. "You are the murderer of twenty-one people here in Decatur. You are to tell anyone that asks that you drained the blood from all of your victims. You know how you did it, but you will never tell your secret as long as you live. You think it is a good idea that you stay in prison for the rest of your life. Do you understand?"
Daniel nodded. "I murdered twenty-one people by draining their blood from their bodies. I need to stay in prison for the rest of my life."
Mitch nodded, then walked around behind Daniel; he hit him on the back of the head. Daniel went down, and was out cold.
Mitch looked up, and saw Lazarus carrying the girl back toward him and the brand new serial killer. He laid her on the ground a little ways away from Daniel, then looked up at Mitch. "Get lost, Mitch. There is about to be cops and news crews all over the damn place. I'll tell you how everything went down when I get home. I have to go to work in a few hours, so lay low until your name is clear, all right?"
Mitch nodded, then ran along the side of the park. He stayed hidden from anybody that might be up at this late hour, or early hour rather. He actually felt relieved that he would soon have his freedom again, thanks to a madman and a hooker. He wanted to tell Ciera that someone else had taken the fall for her murders. He wondered where she was now, and what she was doing. Was she still on her way to Decatur to lie to him some more? He shook his head. He wasn't so sure that she had lied to him, but he wasn't going to trust her just yet. He wasn't going to trust anyone.
He had to know. He stopped at the edge of the park and looked around him. No one was out here. He closed his eyes and let the memories of her flood his mind. "Ciera," he whispered, then he felt his body tingling.
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Chapter 51
Dane kissed her tenderly at first. He knew that this was her first time, and that it would probably be his last time. No other woman could compare to her, not that he would bother looking for another woman after this. She was everything to him, and he wanted this time with her to be special.
She kissed him passionately, and he met her demands. She had already managed to get rid of her shoes and his shirt. He had unzipped her dress halfway, and she was working on his trousers when she felt the tingle run up her body.
She gasped, but he thought it was pleasure coming from her soft lips, and he kept going. She pushed hard against his chest, and he looked at her with wide eyes.
"You want me to stop?" he asked.
Her eyes filled with tears as she looked back at him. "Wait for me, please."
His brow furrowed. "I will wait as long as you need me to. What's wrong?"
"He is calling for me. I'm sorry."
He pulled her close, back to him. "I will be here when you return," he whispered as he reached around to her back and zipped the dress back up the rest of the way. His arms were there to catch her when her body went lax.
Ciera opened her eyes to trees and swing sets. She realized that she was sitting on a park bench beside Mitch. He looked hard at her body, or rather what she was wearing.
"Have you been out clubbing? Have y
ou finally taken my advice about not coming here?"
"No and no. We are staying at a friend of Dane's tonight in Utah. They had a party that I was required to attend. We are heading back out when we wake. He thought that you and I both needed a little time to think things through. He thought that you might reconsider trying to kill me after you knew the truth. And that I may reconsider wanting to die if you decide that you still don't want me."
He rubbed his fingers over his mouth as he looked at her. "Your lipstick is smeared. Are you going to lie about that as well?"
Her heart began pounding in her chest. She didn't want to tell him like this, but she didn't have a choice. She wiped at her lip. "I have come to care for Dane, Mitch. He isn't the guy I once knew him to be. He loves me."
He studied her a moment, then nodded his head once with his lips pursed together. "Uh-huh, I see. So we have a fight, and you jump into the first man's bed you come to?"
"It isn't like that at all. A fight - is that what you call it when you tell someone you hate them and that you want to kill them? I am in love with two men. He gets one night, and you will get eternity."
He laughed, but it wasn't a nice laugh. "I don't want eternity with you, Ciera." He stood and walked away from her a little ways, then stopped and let out a breath. He still had his back to her as he spoke. "I called you here to tell you that we have framed a madman for your murders. My name should be cleared by tomorrow evening."
She instantly jumped to her feet. "You can believe me or not, Mitch, but your father was the one who killed those people."
He turned on her. "Who is my father?"
"How the hell should I know? Dane told me his name is Lazarus."
His eyes narrowed. "You aren't lying about that, are you?"
"Do you have the skill to know if someone is lying? Because if you do, ask me anything you want to. You will find out soon enough who is lying to you."
"Actually, it's one of the only skills I don't have."
She looked questioningly at him. "Come again?"
"I haven't tried everything, but we've found that I have the skill of compulsion, clairvoyance, telekinesis, spirit pulling, and day walking."
Ciera covered her open mouth with her hand. Her wheels were turning in her head very quickly. "What is your father? What does he do?"
Mitch frowned and shrugged his shoulders. "He was my partner in homicide."
She shook her head. "No, that is a cover up. Has he told you what he does as a vampire? I'm a Finder. Has he said what he is?"
"Yeah, he said he's a Rogue, but that he used to be an Elder."
"Oh my God," she whispered, and found the park bench with her hand to sit back down again.
"What?" Mitch asked in a rude manner. "If you know something, then tell me."
She glared back at him. "Why? You won't believe it if I do tell you."
He sighed. "Look, Ciera, I'm not saying Lazarus is telling the whole truth. I'm sorry I called you a liar. I truly don't know. I don't trust anyone right now. I am only trying to figure out the truth on my own. I am smart enough to understand that if he thinks I don't trust him, he may kill me; he is that strong. I'm crossing my t's and dotting my i's, and trying to learn everything I can about these skills, just in case I have to use them on him to get away. I don't want to kill you anymore ... right now, but I still don't want to be with you. At least not until I get this all figured out. I tried to call Alice yesterday. I only got to speak with her briefly before the line went dead. The three other pay phones I tried were dead as well."
She thought for a minute, then shook her head. "Use your skill to talk to Alice."
She never thought she would see a dumb look on Mitch's face, but she was seeing one now. "How?"
She rolled her eyes. "Have you not pulled my spirit to you about four or five times now? Pull her to you. I want to know what she says, so call for me after you finish talking to her."
"How about I call you both at the same time?" Mitch said.
Ciera's eyes lit up. "That would be great! Yes…do that."
"I gotta know, Ciera. What are you not telling me about Lazarus? He told me that he confronted you about me, and told you to leave me alone."
She shook her head. "I've never met him, Mitch." She waited a moment then decided to tell him what she was thinking. "This is only my theory, so don't call me a liar if it turns out to be untrue." He nodded and she went on. "You said that he used to be an Elder, and now he is a Rogue. The way that I see it, he conceived you, so he already knew you would be very powerful if you were ever turned. He needed a different vampire to turn you, so that you would have some of their powers as well."
"What are you saying?" That was the second time she had heard that question tonight. Didn't anyone understand her?
"I think he wants to destroy the Elders, with you as his main weapon. Is he trying to find out all that you can do?"
Mitch bowed his head. "Yes, but he said he's trying to help me discover all my skills."
"My advice, if you want to take it, is to do very bad at the skills he tells you to try. Don't let him know how strong you are."
He nodded, and stayed silent for a long moment. He finally looked up at her. "Are you going to sleep with him?"
"Would you hate me if I did?" she asked without looking away from him.
He shook his head. "I've tried. I can't hate you. I can't even be mad at you with the way I have treated you since all of this happened. I really hope that you are the one I end up trusting when all of this is over."
She smiled. "Me too. I hope you are a really good actor. Dane tells me that Lazarus is pretty powerful. If he senses anything…"
"I got this, Ciera. Go back to your other guy, and leave the hard stuff to me. I will call you and Alice to me a little after Lazarus leaves for work."
"I love you, Mitch."
He only nodded, then closed his eyes to will her spirit back to her body.
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Chapter 52
When Ciera opened her eyes, she was lying on the bed in her and Dane's guest room. He was looking at her, and he had tears in his eyes. She quickly sat upright. "What happened?"
He shook his head. "I went with you. You told him about us. You told him that you loved me. You risked what you have with him ... for me."
"I am also risking what I have with you, for him. I guess you heard everything about Lazarus."
Dane sat up and nodded. "Yeah, and I think you are right about him wanting to take down the Illinois' Vampire Aristocracy," he grinned. "I will have to admit that Mitch's skills are rather impressive. He has only been a vampire for about twenty-four hours, and he's already discovered that he has five skills. At least you are not downsizing by being with him."
Ciera hit him with a pillow and he laughed. "I like him even more since he has, in a way, given you permission to be with me tonight. He took the news a lot better than I would have taken it."
She raised an eyebrow. "Does that mean I am going to have a problem with you when we get to Mitch?"
He thought about that for a few moments, then looked at her and shook his head. "I would be lying if I told you that I will be happy about it, but …" he shook his head again, "... I love you, Ciera. If he makes you happy, then I have no choice but to let you go with a big smile on my face. Even though it will be a lie." He took her hand in his, and put it to his lips. "I will not cause you any problems with Mitch when we get there." He looked away from her and laughed lightly. "I was actually hoping he would be extremely upset with you. I know that it is selfish of me, but I feel like I will lose everything when the two of you reunite."
She took his chin with her fingers and made him look at her. "It's true that you will not have my body, but you will always have half of my heart. If it is too much for you to see us together, I will understand if you have to go away, but … I don't want you to. I will not feel whole if you are away from me."
He grinned. "Can I lie to you right now and tell you that I wil
l stay?"
She nodded and her eyes filled with tears.
He fit his hand to the curve of her neck and pulled her lips to his. He kissed her long and passionately. He moved so his body was parallel with hers, and pulled her tight to him as he kissed her.
Kissing her was more than real to him. He had never had any one girl affect him the way that she did. He leaned back and looked into her eyes. "I will stay." He knew it would probably turn out to be a lie in the end, but right at that moment, he meant every word he said to her. He didn't know if he would be strong enough to stay and watch her be with Mitch, but he would try. He didn't want to let her down.
Ciera found his lips again, and ran her hands from his broad shoulders, down his chest, and rested her hands on each side of his hips. She pulled him slowly to her, and noticed that he was very happy to see her.
A soft moan escaped her throat, and she could feel Dane's hand reach around to her back. He unzipped her dress, careful not to move too fast with her. It still amazed him that she was a three century old virgin. She didn't feel like any virgin to him, though. The way her hands were touching his body, and the way she was moving against him, was all experience. He had to remind himself, about every five seconds, to slow down.
He moved the strap off her shoulder when he got the dress unzipped. He ran a trail of kisses down her neck and over her collar bone. He bared her breast, and massaged it gently, as he ran his thumb over her taut nipple. She screamed out in pleasure, and her body bucked against his. His eyes got wide as he realized that she was having an orgasm from him only touching her nipple. He quickly covered her peak with his mouth, licking and sucking her to release.
The pleasure he was giving her was evident. She ran her fingers through his hair, and pulled at him to give her more and more. He moved the tight dress away from her other breast and focused all his attention there as he shimmied the dress down and over her hips. Being free of the dress allowed her to press her leg against his sex.
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