Dangerous Love

by Stephanie Radcliff

  “Well, lots of blood, that will be true,” she said their walk turned into a run. They followed Molly’s sent everywhere it lead. Their vampire speed took them through the streets all the way to Brooklyn where they stopped in front of a tall apartment building. Molly’s scent was strong there. This had to be her apartment building. An evil smile crossed Vayna’s face as she turned to him and said, “Care to join me?”

  “With pleasure,” he replied with a purr. The two entered the building and made their way up to the apartment where Molly’s scent was the strongest. Jeran pulled out a lock kit and jimmied the door. It swung open without a single sound. The two were as silent as cats as they moved through the apartment toward Molly’s bedroom. They paused for a single moment outside her door while Vayna grew her wings out, the fear they would see in Molly’s eyes making the pain worth it. He stood beside her, one arm around her shoulders as he said, “I’m still jealous of you.”

  “Trust me. They’re not anything special,” she replied in a whisper, their voices too low for humans to hear. Another special ability of her kind, only one they all shared instead of just one of them. It came in handy when they wanted to talk without an annoying human overhearing them. Once Vayna was able to stand on her own without falling over from pain, they nodded to each other and walked into her bedroom.

  They moved like shadows as they approached the young human’s bed. Before she even knew anyone was in there with her, Jeran tied her up to the bed, a strip of cloth in her mouth to keep her silent. She looked in fear at the two vampires as they stood over her. Vayna shook her head as she said, “Humans. Really, as if a lock will keep you safe.”

  “That always amused me,” Jeran said as he sat on the bed and lazily trailed a finger down the young woman’s cheek. She looked at him, her eyes wide with fear and tears falling down her cheeks at his deathly cold touch. He grinned down at her, enjoying the fear that was rolling off of her in waves. It was such a long time since he terrorized anyone like this. It felt wonderful.

  “Jeran…” Vayna said as she stood watching Molly. It was true she wanted to kill the young woman, but Jeran always went overboard. Molly was cruel to her little human, that was true, but she wasn’t sure if she could let what he wanted happen. It was one thing to kill her… quite another to rape her.

  Jeran looked over his shoulder at her and raised an eyebrow. She knew how he hunted. She knew what he liked to do. When they were younger, she would join him sometimes. It was part of her past that she hated and wanted nothing more than to forget. She wasn’t a good vampire in her younger years, she knew that. Still… He turned and looked at Molly, remembering what he overheard earlier that evening. His voice was silky soft as he replied, “She condemned your human for being intimate with you, didn’t she?”

  Vayna didn’t reply, merely nodding. She didn’t need to say a word, Jeran already knew. If there was anyone on the planet that knew Vayna closely, it was him. As much as she hated him, he was her closest confident. He knew things about Vayna that no one else knew, and no one else would likely know. He murmured softly, “She’s probably disgusted with the thought of another woman touching her intimately. Perhaps you should show her how… wonderful it can be.”

  Vayna paused for a single moment as the idea echoed around her mind. Normally in a situation like this, she would jump at the chance to show a silly human just how amazing it could be with a vampire. But Sage popped into her mind, and she wasn’t sure she could. She didn’t want to go back to her human with the knowledge on her mind that she raped and murdered her human’s ex-best friend. It was bad enough that her blood was going to be on her hands. She didn’t think she’d be able to stomach the look in her love’s eyes if she ever found out just how twisted she truly was. Shaking her head, she said, “No. I can’t do that. Not this time.”

  “Poo… you’re no fun,” he replied as he pouted and got up off the bed. Molly looked relieved to hear Vayna say that, but still terrified about what was going to happen to her. She thrashed on the bed in an attempt to break free from the ropes holding her down. Jeran grinned maliciously as he said, “Oh, honey, there’s no way you’re going to get out of those. The best thing to do would be to just lay there like a good little human.”

  Vayna stood there, watching Molly struggle and a part of her was overcome with guilt. Perhaps she wouldn’t kill her… Just merely scare her… Then the image of her human looking so heartbroken and hurt popped into her head and she straightened her shoulders. This helpless human hurt her female. Made her feel less than worth it, simply because she forgot who she was. No, she was not going to allow that. She sat down onto the bed and said, “I don’t care how much you hate me, or how much you hate the thought of two women together intimately. Sage was supposed to be your best friend, someone you stick by no matter what they do. Today you showed how much of a friend you are. I cannot allow you to hurt her anymore. By the power given to me as the one true Vampire Queen, I sentence you to death.”

  It may have been a bit extreme, killing the young human over the fact that she didn’t like the thought of Vayna and Sage together, but… Vayna could clearly remember what it was like when such fear allowed many of her own kind to be killed. Molly may not have been the one to hurt her kind all those years ago, but she hurt Vayna’s human. And that was enough to warrant death in her mind.

  Molly tried to say something, but the cloth prevented her words from coming out. She violently shook her head no, pleading with her eyes for Vayna to spare her. It wasn’t fair that she was being punished for simply having an opinion! Vayna pulled the cloth away from her mouth and she spat out at the vampire, “You’ll pay for this! Someone will find out what you’ve done and they’ll kill you!”

  “They won’t succeed. They’ll need a few more thousand years of experience before they can even get close to Pharaoh Vayna,” Jeran replied from behind her. He stood behind her, arms behind his back as he looked down at the helpless human. He stood much like a body guard would for someone important, which Vayna was indeed important to him and his kind.

  “Pharaoh Vayna…!” Molly gasped as she recoiled in fear. She knew that name! She took a vampire mythology class in college once and that name came up as being one of the most fierce vampires in vampire lore. Never did she believe that the vampire in the stories she read was a real vampire! She knew without a doubt right then and there that the two vampires were not going to let her walk out of that apartment alive. She was going to die, and no one would know what kind of danger her best friend was in!

  “Oh yes,” Jeran replied with a delightful laugh. He loved it when terrified humans found out who they were dealing with. Sure, Vayna wasn’t very well known as a vampire, but there were still rumors that went around. Tales of a woman from days of old who went by the name Pharaoh Vayna and terrorized towns and villages. Of course, they never knew she was a vampire, but they were aware of the ruthlessness which she could possess on occasion. He nodded his head as he said, “You should be honored. Pharaoh Vayna is the one going to take your life. She could easily task some low-life vampire to do so instead.”

  “Sage…” Molly started to say.

  “Will be looked after better than your people ever did,” Vayna replied with a growl. The girl in front of her had no right to be speaking her human’s name! Not with the way she treated her. As far as she was concerned, she was the only one worthy enough to say Sage’s name out loud. Everyone else was far below the both of them.

  As much as she hated it, her royal heritage did pop out from time to time. She couldn’t help herself. She grew up learning the ways of a Pharaoh, and it never left her. It was buried deep inside her, but never truly gone. Her royal side surfaced now as she looked down at the pathetic human with a sneer. This girl was far below her and she should really be grateful that it was Vayna taking her life. At least her virtue would be kept intact instead of her being torn to shreds both.

  The vampire Pharaoh tied the cloth back around her mouth to silence her. She ha
d enough of listening to the girl speak. The human began to thrash again and Vayna backhanded her across the cheek as she growled, “If you want a painless death, I suggest you stop struggling the way you are.”

  Molly stopped moving, but tears coursed down her cheeks. She didn’t want to die just yet. She was still young! There were still things she wanted to do. People she wanted to meet, and others she wanted to trample upon. What would happen to her family? There was so much she didn’t want to lose by dying… She didn’t want this!

  Vayna nodded her head in approval. At least the girl listened to reason when it was in front of her. She felt her fangs descending and she decided that enough was enough. She was going to finish this right then and there. They wasted enough time on this pathetic human’s life. Opening her mouth wide, she plunged her fangs into the girl’s neck, having enough pity for her to inject her venom into the girl’s neck so her death would be painless.

  Molly closed her eyes as the tears coursed down her face. She could feel her life slipping away and for the first time in her life, she felt regret for what she did to everyone. Vayna could taste her regret and she made it gentler, being almost tender with the human. She may hate her, and wanted her to pay for what she did, but she wasn’t going to be cruel to her. She cupped her neck as she held her gently, drinking her blood down in a way that made Molly feel like she was slowly slipping into a restful dream for the first time in her life.

  It was several moments later when Molly’s heart stopped beating, not having enough blood to continue. Vayna drained the last few drops from the human before pulling back. She licked her lips and gazed down into the lifeless eyes of the young human. Reaching out, she gently closed her eyes as she said, “Make sure the Gatekeeper comes and cleans this up. I want it to look like she just up and disappeared.”

  “Yes, Your Highness,” Jeran said as he bowed low. He personally would’ve left the body for the humans to find and deal with, but Vayna was not him. He sensed her compassion for the young human and almost sneered before he remembered himself. She was starting to go soft, and he blamed the human woman she found. Not that he said that out loud. His Pharaoh just killed a human for hurting the young one. He didn’t want to die either. He pulled a phone out of his pocket as he said, “You pitied her, a worthless human.”

  Vayna didn’t move for a moment, just staring down at the lifeless corpse. Slowly she stood up and turned to face him, her royal personality still present as she said quietly, “Do not forget who I am, Nikodemus. You exist because of me.”

  He flinched and bowed again. Vayna was difficult to get along with when she was her normal self. When her royal side came out to play, he watched both his step and his word around her. He forgot how easy it was to incur her wrath. He kept his voice humble and respectful as he said, “Yes, Your Majesty, please forgive me.”

  Vayna nodded her head and moved past him. She moved with a grace unlike any he saw in others, vampire or human. There was something different about her that he just could never figure out. He knew where she came from, what she was as a human, but even that could never explain how she was when her royal side came out.

  Vayna acted as one who could do whatever they wanted and no one could object. Of course, the Pharaoh in her demanded that when she let that side of her surface. She moved through the apartment as if she were a ghost, not touching a single thing but the floor. Her wings fluttered softly behind her, preparing themselves to take off in flight. She opened up one of the windows and paused as she said, “Oh, Nikodemus… thank you.”

  He smiled as he inclined his head. It was rare that she would offer thanks to him when she was like this, so he took it with pride. He watched her leave as he said, “You’re welcome, my Pharaoh.”

  Once she was gone, he turned around and sagged. It was very difficult dealing with that vampire sometimes. Opening his phone, he dialed a number not found in any phone book. One ring later, someone picked up and asked what he needed. His tone was tired as he said, “I have a job for the Gatekeeper…”

  By the time Vayna returned to her apartment, her royal side was well back in its cage and she was herself again. Landing quietly on the balcony, she opened the doors only to be thrown backwards by an armful of her human. She wrapped her arms around Sage as the young girl clutched her close and said, “What’s wrong, Sage?”

  “I thought you left me,” she replied as she held her vampire close to her. When she woke up, she saw that Vayna was not in bed and she couldn’t find her anywhere in the house. She became afraid as she waited and waited for the vampire to come back.

  Vayna held her close and was about to press a kiss into her hair when she remembered the blood drying around her mouth. She was planning on washing it off when she returned back home, but she wasn’t expecting to be greeted with a terrified human. She froze, unsure of how she was going to explain why she had blood drying on her mouth to her human.

  Sage felt her freeze and looked up into her eyes. She took note of the drying blood and frowned. She looked up into uncertain blue eyes as she asked, “Why…?”

  “I…” Vayna attempted when she realized she was at a loss for words. How was she going to explain without giving away what she did? She wasn’t expecting Sage to find out what happened at all. And now… “I went out to feed.”

  It was lame, but it was all she could say on the spot. She could see the frown deepen on her human’s face and the confusion welling up into her eyes. She hated being so vague with Sage, but she couldn’t help it! She just killed her best friend, even if they weren’t friends anymore. What else was she supposed to say?

  “I thought you drank from blood bags,” Sage said almost accusingly as she gazed up at her vampire. It was one thing to drink blood from a blood bag, but quite another to drink from an actual human. Well, one that wasn’t her anyways. Part of her anger stemmed from the fact that Vayna drank from someone other than her, and she didn’t care for that thought. Part of her was shocked that she felt that way, and she knew she should’ve felt weird for wanting the vampire to drink from her and only her, but was still too scared over being left alone to think about that.

  Vayna sighed and dropped her head, her hair hiding her face. She desperately thought up something, and even though it wasn’t the truth, it wasn’t a total lie either. Her voice was soft as she said, “I was angry about what happened earlier today. I needed to get rid of that anger somehow, but I swear, Sage, it was a criminal that I drank from! I don’t harm innocent people.”

  She felt hands cup her face and gent guide her to look back up. Her eyes were uncertain as she gazed down into Sage’s grey eyes. Sage saw the uncertainty that lay there and it flattered her. Vayna was over 3,000 years old and she still could be uncertain. How could she not find that adorable? She tilted her head up and pressed her lips to her vampire’s still bloody ones, kissing her softly and gently. It wasn’t a very deep kiss, or a very long one for that matter, but it spoke volumes to Vayna about her human.

  Sage pulled back far enough to whisper against her lips as she gazed into loving blue eyes, “It should repulse me to kiss you after you’ve fed when there’s blood still on your lips, but… you look so deadly beautiful that I can’t resist. Thank you for telling me.”

  “Oh, Sage…” she whispered softly as she tightened her arms around her human. Over the years, she tried to find people she could be with, not always romantically. Just people that would accept her for who she was. Humans usually feared her and vampires worshipped her. For the first time in centuries, Vayna finally felt like someone accepted her, “You’re welcome.”

  “Come to bed, lover,” Sage murmured as she eased herself out of Vayna’s arms. She stood up and helped the vampire stand back up, a tender smile on her face as she spoke, “I’m tired and I’d like to fall asleep with my vampire’s arms around me.”

  “Anything you wish for, Sage,” Vayna murmured as the two went inside. After Vayna cleaned herself up, the two proceeded to do just that. They fell asleep in each
other’s arms, unaware of the passing time. When reality finally pulled them from their sleep, it was late afternoon and the two lounged about in bed, content to just stay in each other’s arms until they couldn’t any longer.

  Chapter 10

  In the darkness of her mind, Vayna didn’t know who she was or what she was. She felt like she was floating in a dark abyss with no light, no sound, no feeling. There was nothing, she was nothing. There was only the darkness and her. What was she, she wondered. She wondered how she could wonder. How did she know she was floating in an abyss when she couldn’t feel or see anything? She couldn’t move her body; couldn’t open her eyes. Did she even have a body to move or eyes to open? She couldn’t understand what was happening. She felt so tired. So tired and so alone…

  She felt a sudden warmth drip onto her lips and she fought against the dark abyss, wanting to know what it was that she felt. She must have a body, otherwise she wouldn’t be able to feel such blissful warmth, she thought. She fought to open her mouth, to taste the warmth that was so foreign to her. A few drops dripped into her mouth and taste exploded on her tongue. It was sweet. So very sweet, and whatever it was, she was starting to gain strength enough to pull away from that dark abyss into the world of light that suddenly seemed to shine above her. The more she tasted, the stronger she became, and the brighter the light was. She struggled and finally raised her head, her mouth opening wide enough to suck on the warm skin where the blessed liquid flowed from. Her fangs descended and she instinctly dug them into the Sage’s arm. Her fangs caused the blood to cascade into her mouth and everything came rushing back to her.

  With a sharp gasp, she sat up and looked around wildly. The taste of blood was still in her mouth as she gazed around her darkened room. Nothing moved except her and the gentle up and down motion of Sage’s breathing.