Beating Hearts

by Lucretia Stanhope

  She heaved his legs up, and pulled and tugged him into a laying position.

  Once he was lying flat out, she looked at him more closely. His face already showed bruises from the blows to his jaw, and his lip was swollen and bleeding. She could see two nasty holes in his neck. She knew what they were, it appeared that Teddy monster fed on him. “Jesus, Nick, what can I do?”

  He reached a hand up and touched her face, and then it dropped to his side. His eyes were fully closed. He didn't move, but she could tell he wanted to, and that he wanted to say something as his jaw twitched. When it stopped and the pained expression left his face, she thought her heart might stop.

  Her mind raced, her heartbeat quickened. She put her head on his chest, his heart was still beating, barely, it was so faint. She wondered if that was normal since the sun was coming up now, and Nick was no longer with her.

  He laid there, still, colder than usual, it looked like he barely made it back alive.

  She couldn't take her eyes off of him. He had really been in a fight for his life. She sobbed a moment, and then gathered herself.

  She walked to the bathroom and wet some rags, then walked back to the bed and started to clean his face. Her hands wiped very gently, even though she had the feeling Nick couldn't feel what she was doing.

  It crossed her mind to go get something to put on all of the cuts she was finding as she wiped off the blood, but she didn't dare leave him alone and vulnerable in a strange place. That, plus she didn't want to open the door and expose him to the danger of the sun.

  With no idea what happened, if Warren, or Teddy, did this, or if either of them had walked away, she opted for caution. She made do with what she had, and after she got his blood cleaned up it looked even worse. Someone really pounded on his face.

  She tried not to look too long or think too hard about how badly he suffered, as she managed to tug off his clothes. A nasty cut on his arm caught her eyes. Even though it wasn't very big and didn't look very deep, it was red and angry looking. There was some sort of infection, she didn't even think vampires could get infections.

  She wiped it as gently as she could and covered him up.

  He never stirred, didn't seem affected by her movement at all.

  She checked the door lock, once, twice, ten times, before she laid down beside him, and put her head on his chest. “Please be okay,” she whispered, and couldn't help fall asleep herself.

  “G

  et away,” Nick said.

  The sound of his voice startled Kate awake. She opened her eyes, sat up slowly and took his hand. “Thank God, I was so afraid I lost you. How can I help?”

  “You need to get away from me. I need blood. I need blood to heal.” He tried to sit up but couldn't, and fell back on the bed.

  “Okay, I'll go find the vending machine.” She leaned down to kiss his forehead, but he pushed her back.

  “Please stay away, I need blood badly. I can't help what happens.” His eyes stayed closed.

  She thought back to his story about his first kill, and how he would attack savagely if he went too long without blood. She stood up and backed away. He still looked horrible, whatever it was in him that was supposed to heal him, was not working right. She had seen vampires, weak vampires heal from cuts and bruises in hours, even minutes. A vampire like Nick should have healed from a fight easily.

  He tried to open his eyes. “Blood, Kate, please.”

  “Okay let me go find the machine. I'll be back very soon.” She grabbed the room key and walked out quickly.

  After she checked a few times to make sure the door locked behind her, she walked rapidly to the corner closest to their room. The machine flashed empty, and she sighed. Then she turned, and walked back toward the other end of the hall and found another vending machine. She said a little prayer as she approached it.

  Two vampires stood by it, chatting, they looked at her as she walked up, regarded her with sneers, but they didn't say a word.

  She looked at the machine, and tried to ignore the vampires. It was also empty. She felt herself start to get panicked for Nick.

  “Do they keep blood in the office?” She looked at the machine, and tried not to look at them, or do anything that might be considered disrespectful.

  “Might be, I'd not be walking around alone,” one of the vampires said.

  “I, well, my, he isn't feeling well,” she offered weakly.

  The other one stepped into her space. “Is that so. You know, he should have warned you that not everyone is going to care about your marks.”

  She backed up and felt the machine behind her. Her panic started to rise, but not because he was in her space, it was because Nick needed her to get blood, and he looked like he needed it fast. “I must go, please. He needs blood.”

  The other man placed a hand on his friend's shoulder and pulled him back a little. “Hey man, leave her be. You know we will get tossed if you start any more trouble. Then where will we party?”

  The vampire stepped out of her space making a pfft sound, and looked away.

  “Thank you.” She hurried away, in the direction of the office.

  These vampires didn't scare her as much as the thought of being without Nick.

  As she made her way to the office, she passed a few more unfriendly faces, but was careful to keep her eyes down and not engage them. She was relieved to see that no one was loitering at the entrance, and she reached out and turned the knob, slowly opening the door.

  She stepped in, and smiled what she hoped was a friendly smile.

  When she glanced up, the man behind the counter gave her a stern look. “Did your master send you for something?” he asked, in a tone that suggested the only appropriate answer was yes.

  She kept her eyes down. “Yes, he did. Do you have any canned blood; the machines are empty still.”

  He made a snort. “Why would he need canned blood?”

  “He, he isn't feeling himself, please. Do you have any here I can buy?” she asked, her voice full of desperation.

  “Honey, if he is needing a nip, why don't you feed him some of your sweetness?”

  Her mind raced, but she didn't have any sort of answer for that prepared. “We don't, I'm here for his other pleasures,” she said, and paused before asking again. “Is there anywhere you know of that I might be able to get him something to drink. He is awfully famished.”

  “He is a strong willed one, not to feed on you.”

  “Blood, please,” she said, starting to get impatient.

  “Sorry, I'm fresh out, but if you take the highway one exit, turn right, and go two blocks, there is a drugstore. I wouldn't go alone,” he said, and laughed again. “I can't imagine not biting that sweet ass.”

  She wanted to tell him something that wasn't so nice, but didn't have time. “Thank you, we both thank you,” she said, and walked out.

  She raced back to the room to get her purse and car keys. As she passed the two vampires at the vending machine she felt her heart race, and hurried her pace. She was glad they didn't stop her again, glad to be back at the room.

  Nick was still in bed, it looked to her like he hadn't moved.

  “They have nothing here. I have to go to a drugstore to get you blood. It is an exit away on the freeway. I will be back as soon as possible.” She wanted to reach out and hold him, but she didn't. He looked like he was in so much pain, and she didn't want to make it any worse.

  “No… can't go there alone. Not safe,” he said, with his eyes still closed.

  “I have to, Nick, it's the closest blood.”

  “No.” He tried to sound forceful, but didn’t do a good job. His voice came out ragged and pained.

  She stepped closer. “Did you want a little, to get the strength to go with me.” She reached out for his hand.

  “No!” He managed to get a loud shout out.

  “Then I am going. I am not going to hide in a corner and watch you suffer, don't ask me to do that. I love you. I can't do that.”
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  “Kate, no. Warren is still…”

  He still hadn't been able to open his eyes, and she could tell the conversation was taxing what little strength he had left.

  “Either you take some from me, or I go get some, those are the choices,” she said, and waited.

  He didn't reply.

  She leaned down, and kissed his forehead.

  He groaned in protest, but she ignored it, and left.

  Once she sat in the car, her nerves really started to act up. The gravity of going to a vampire store to get blood set in. A store where hungry vampires, vampires who didn't have access to fresh blood went. She might as well dive into a shark tank with a fresh wound. Unwise or not, it appeared the only option left to her.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  W arren woke, sat up, and opened his eyes. He could still sense both Nick and Kate. Nick sounded further away, weaker perhaps? Kate’s presence grew closer, her heart raced like a rabbit, and called him to go finish her off, if Paul remained too inept.

  Warren walked to the club floor that was still empty.

  The doorman came over to see if he needed anything special.

  “Teddy show up?” Warren already knew the answer.

  “No, neither did his two trainees,” the man said, and backed up a step. He hated to give Warren bad news. Over the years he came to know, and see firsthand, that Warren didn't mind at all about killing the messenger.

  “I see.” Warren let out a deep sigh. “I have a club to run. I don't have time for this, send…” He paused, and thought a moment. “Whoever the hell is capable, out stalking in the same area Teddy was last night. I'd like to know what the hell happened.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Warren stormed off toward the back, hungry and irritated. He walked past the prime humans, and headed toward the bitten ones. They already brought in what money they could, so he usually stopped in at the start of the night, and tormented one a little before killing them. It served to fill both his sadistic needs and his blood needs at the same time.

  He closed his eyes, and tried to clear his head before he opened one of the doors.

  It was impossible to ignore Kate's heart beating in his head, she wasn't in town, but she was close. His hand tapped on the doorframe while he looked in the room at the woman huddled in the corner.

  She looked up at him with eyes that said ‘please end this.’

  He was more than happy to comply, and not even in the mood to torture her. He was just hungry, so damn hungry.

  The woman didn't resist, didn't even whimper when his teeth sank in.

  While he found it totally unsatisfying, it would have to do. The club needed his attention and he couldn't very well go chasing down Paul and that annoying woman, even if it would end the craving.

  He also had to deal with Nick. Nick, who came to town to kill Teddy, which made no sense, and only added to his headache. He wiped his mouth, licked his fingers, and headed back out to the club floor.

  K ate pulled into the parking lot of the drugstore, the sign in the window boasted blood for a hundred dollars a pint.

  It was expensive to live right, even for vampires, she thought. It was no wonder places like Beating Hearts were so profitable. She pulled into a place as close to the door as she could get, and turned off the engine.

  She sat a moment and tried to gather her nerve to go in. Her attention drew to a small group of vampires stood just outside the door. After a few deep breaths, she checked to make sure all of the charms were on.

  Her fingers clasped around the necklace as she made a silent prayer it would be strong enough to ward off any unwanted attention. Before she opened the door, she reached down and felt to make sure she still had the stake in her waistband.

  She took one last deep breath in, and then she pushed opened the door and got out of the car. As she walked to the entrance, she reminded herself why she was there, and tried to relax and push her fears down.

  The group talked loudly about her as she passed with her eyes down.

  She did her best to ignore them, not react, and stay focused on the door.

  The things I could do to her …

  How many places would you bite that one?

  Shame to waste that on just one vampire …

  You wanna know how it feels to be bitten by all of us at the same time, sweetheart?

  When she stepped inside and the door closed behind her, she closed her eyes a second and then opened them, looking down at her feet. She made it past that nasty group. Apparently, the charms were as effective as Nick said.

  She walked toward the back counter, assuming if it were like most drugstores, that was where she would need to go. Along the way, she avoided looking at anyone or anything. She didn't want to see something startling that might start her heart racing, and draw undue attention.

  When she got to the back, it reminded her of any other pharmacy. There was a row of plastic chairs, a rack of magazines, and a counter that was slightly elevated. She saw a tall, pale man with a black ponytail, dressed in a long, white coat, standing behind the counter and looking at her with a look of curiosity.

  She glanced up for a second, being careful not to look at his eyes. “I need a few pints of blood please.”

  “Go to the ER, we don't serve warm bodies here,” he said, in a cold, hateful tone.

  “It's not for me. It is for my…” she paused. What should she call him that would be appropriate, she wondered. “It’s for my master. Please, if I can't get it for him, he will be angry. So angry.” She tried to sound as if she were terrified of him.

  The man laughed. “Oh this is rich. Hey come here, you have to see this,” he yelled toward the back.

  “Please, sir, if you would, just a few pints. I do have cash,” she said, now pleading.

  Another pale, tall man walked over, and looked at her. “You smell way too sweet to be here, darling. Are you lost?”

  “I, I. Just need some blood,” she said, trying not to sob. She had to get it, Nick was depending on her. “Please, I will pay double.”

  “It's for her master she says. Can you smell her mark, a strong one like that, sending a toy out to get blood? Vampires these days,” the first man said.

  “I don't get it, why drink this crap when you have something so sweet.” He started to walk around the counter.

  She felt her heart racing as she watched him come closer. It was beating so fast and hard; she was afraid she might faint.

  He walked closer, invading her space, circling her. “It's all charms. You unbitten?” He looked at her with disbelief.

  She didn't answer the question. “Please, just a few pints.”

  He continued to walk around her, and placed his finger on her necklace. “Jesus, she is unbitten? And with four markers. You are damn lucky he smells of strong blood, or I'd rip those off and…”

  “Back to work, last thing we need is a second generation tearing up the place. Grab two pints will you,” he said. “Is that all you need, dear?”

  “Yes, thank you,” she said, and started to relax a bit.

  The man who had been circling her leaned in close before he stepped back, and walked away. He went behind the counter, and came back with two glass bottles.

  Her hand shook as she handed the man the money. “Thank you so much. We both thank you.” She turned to leave with the two glass bottles, which were in brown paper bags that reminded her of liquor store bags.

  What I would do to her, she heard one of them say before she got out of earshot.

  She walked faster toward the exit, wanting to leave before her luck ran out, and she found another one like the one at the vending machine who didn't care about charms. A few more vampires looked her way, but no one did more than give her a sneer.

  Once she finally made it outside, she was almost feeling better. There was still a group, though it was not as big as before. They now stood between her and her car, and looked at her in a way that made her instantly know they were trouble.
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br />   “You wanna play?” one of them asked, and stepped into her path.

  “Please, I am in a terrible hurry,” she said.

  “Oh, I don't need long,” he said, and reached out. His fingers slowly wrapped around the chain of her necklace. He tugged it and it easily gave. After he regarded it for a second, he tossed it on the ground.

  She sucked in a breath. “If I don't get back soon, he will come looking.” She tried to sound bold.

  “He won't find much left,” he said, and was joined by two more.

  The three of them circled around her, and her nervous hands made the bottles clang against each other. The one who had pulled off her necklace, reached out and started to take off her earrings.

  “Please, please, I must…” she started, but was interrupted.

  The door to the drugstore opened and the man who rang her up, stepped out. “That's enough. Clear out before I call the cops.”

  She started to calm down a little, even though the three still eyed her as they walked away. She turned to see the man walking toward her.

  “You should go now,” he said, and then stopped and turned, walking away.

  “Thank you, again,” she called out to his back.

  When she made it to the car she sighed. She would have felt better, but there was still Nick, Nick who was still suffering.

  She got on the freeway and drove quickly back to the hotel.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  K ate was relieved to see there was no one hovering in the hall. She had her fill of rude vampires for the night. Once she gathered the bags, she made her way to the room quickly, but carefully, not wanting to break the bottles. After a little fumbling with the key, she opened the door to see Nick still asleep, in the same spot as when she left.

  “Nick, I'm back. I have some blood.” She started toward the bed. Afraid to startle him with a touch, she tried again to wake him with her voice. “Nick, can you hear me?”

  “Yes, stay away.” He sounded even weaker than before.

  “I have blood. I'm just going to put it by your hand.” She laid the glass container on the bed just beside him.