Till the Break of Dawn

by Tracey H. Kitts

  “You mean, even David?”

  Marcus smiled and bent down to kiss my forehead. “I’ve got to go, or I’ll never get back at a decent time.”

  One flap of his wings and Marcus was gone. I remembered him saying that he could make the flight to Orlando in two hours. Two hours there and two hours back. I decided to use the time to get caught up on my laundry and some other cleaning I had been putting off.

  By the time I was finished the shorts and t-shirt I’d put on were a little dusty and I was covered with sweat. But, my floors were mopped, my bathrooms were clean, dishes were put away, and my laundry was almost finished. I was just about to go take a shower when the phone rang.

  “Hello.”

  “Dawn, get out of the house.”

  The sweat on my body felt like it turned to ice. “Terry, is that you?”

  “Please. Get out. RUN!”

  “Terry?!”

  I couldn’t tell if the line was dead or not, but there was no response on the other end. I didn’t know what to think. I had never known Terry to overreact to something before. If he said I needed to get out of my house, then I was getting the hell out.

  I snatched my keys off the table and opened the door. My brain hadn’t even registered the fact that someone was standing in front of me before I got hit in the face. I had never been punched before, but let me tell you it sucks. If I had to guess, I’d say my cheekbone was broken. I fell to the floor and kicked the open door, slamming my attacker in the face.

  “Motherfucker! Get the fuck out!”

  Whoever he was, he was wearing a black ski mask so I couldn’t tell how much damage I had done. I kicked the door once more before getting to my feet and running to the back door. Screw looking for a weapon. This guy was bigger than me and probably a lot stronger. I just wanted to get to my car and get the hell away from him.

  My head was spinning from the hit to the face, but that didn’t stop me from running full out for my car. I still had my keys and my heart raced with the thought of finding safety before my attacker found me.

  A sharp pain in my back brought me up short and I fell to the ground, scraping my knees on the gravel driveway.

  My attacker came staggering around the side of the house, holding on to his face.

  “Cunt. You broke my nose.”

  I was trying to pull the knife out of my back when he spoke and I froze. “Jesse?! What the hell?!”

  He pulled off the mask and my worst fears were confirmed with a tumble of dusty blond hair. Blood gushed from his nose. It was definitely broken. Considering he’d just knifed me in the back, I was glad.

  “There’s got to be some kind of mistake. You’re a bounty hunter.” I paused, trying to catch my breath. My back hurt so bad I could barely breathe. “I’m not wanted for anything. Why would you do this?”

  He propped against the side of the house, trying to stop his nose from bleeding. “Not wanted for anything that you know of,” he corrected.

  Confusion mingled with my pain, making the whole world seem out of focus. I wrapped my right hand around the hilt and snatched the knife out of my back with a yell.

  “Goddamn you!”

  “It’s nice to see you again too,” he said. “For what it’s worth, this was not my idea.”

  “Considering that I’m most likely bleeding to death I really don’t give a shit.”

  “Well, you might want to reconsider that.”

  “Fine. Who hired you? Is this about Marcus?”

  Jesse smiled as he pressed the mask underneath his bloody nose. “See, I knew you weren’t stupid. This is all about Marcus,” he said, spreading his arms wide. “It was never about you. The only reason I even knew your name is because you used to date him. But I liked you, I really did. If you hadn’t gotten involved with him again, none of this would have happened.”

  I was horrified and even through my pain I was beginning to understand.

  “Did you kill Mandy?”

  “I think you know the answer to that.” Until that moment I had forgotten that he also knew she was pregnant. How could he?

  “She was pregnant!”

  “She got in the way. When my employer heard about her upcoming marriage I was given the order.”

  “But—”

  “She was about to bring an abomination into this world!” His eyes bulged with rage and for a moment he reminded me of someone. The pieces were starting to fit together more and more.

  “Oh, my God. You’re related to him, aren’t you? Reverend Hammond, that crazy preacher on TV?”

  “I am employed by the Followers of the Light. He is their leader. He also happens to be my father.”

  He might as well have stabbed me again for all the effect his words had. “I trusted you. How could you?”

  “How could you?! You’ve betrayed your own race, lying with that monster!”

  “He’s a monster? Have you looked at yourself lately?”

  Jesse reached for something in his back pocket and I tried to get to my feet. “Did you kill Terry too?”

  “If not then I’ll go back and finish the job later. He stopped by to meet his new neighbor and found me sharpening this.” He held up a black spandex glove. It was tipped with metal claws that shined in the moonlight.

  “You killed his neighbor too?”

  “That fang bait bitch was nothing but an embarrassment, bringing home vamps all hours of the night. I couldn’t get a decent night’s sleep.”

  “You disgust me.”

  Before I knew it he had me by the throat. The glove was on his other hand and as I looked down at it I felt sick.

  “He’s already bound you to him, hasn’t he?”

  “What?”

  “That’s right, I know about that. If I kill you, there’s a good chance Marcus could die too. If not, he should be weak enough for me to finish him off.”

  That was it. Hurting me was bad enough, but with his threat to kill Marcus I had no trouble driving the knife into his ribs. I shoved as hard as I could and when Jesse slumped forward I ran around the other side of the house. Since he was right beside the car I seriously doubted I could get in and drive away without him stopping me. My only chance now was to kill him before he killed me.

  I made it inside and was looking for a bigger knife when Jesse came crashing through the front door. I turned and stabbed him in the side at the same time he stabbed me in the chest. I fell to the floor and watched in mute horror as he pulled back his gloved hand to strike.

  “Dawn!”

  “Marcus!”

  My eyes closed. I heard a crash as Marcus tore through the house like a hurricane. My eyes fluttered open again and I could see Jesse through the kitchen, sprawled on the living room floor.

  Marcus knelt beside me, embracing me with his arms and his wings. It took me a second to realize he was crying.

  “I’m alive,” I said, my voice weak. “Guess you got here just in time. Go head, bind me to you.”

  I knew that I was dying, but I was completely unprepared for his response. “It’s too late for that now. You’ve lost too much blood.”

  “You mean I’m going to die?”

  “Your only chance now is to let me turn you. Turn your face from the light forever and come into the eternal night with me.”

  His words seemed to cause Marcus a great deal of pain. I knew he didn’t want me to share his curse, not if he could help it. But I also knew he didn’t want me to die. That made two of us.

  “Do it.”

  “Are you certain? I would never force this life on you …” His words trailed off as he wept. “But I don’t want to lose you.”

  “Then take me now. Make me yours.”

  Marcus ran a hand over his heart and a trickle of blood poured down his skin. He pressed me to the wound and I found I was so weak I could barely make my lips move. “Drink.” I lapped at the wound, taking all I could. Before I knew it my strength felt renewed though not completely and I sat up, drinking hungrily of his blood
. At the same time I did this, Marcus brought my wrist to his mouth and I moaned as his fangs pierced my skin.

  “I must take a little of your blood too,” he explained. “Blood of my blood.”

  With his words a thrill ran through me. I knew it was magic. I was becoming a part of him and even under the circumstances I don’t think I’d ever been more excited.

  Marcus pulled me back from his chest with a gasp and as he brought his lips to mine he whispered, “Flesh of my flesh.”

  And so it was sealed with a kiss. My back arched and white-hot pain shot through me. He laid me gently to the floor. “It will only hurt for a few minutes. Your injuries are healing. I’m sorry, Dawn.”

  “Don’t be.” I gasped again, arching from the pain in my back. “Is he dead?” I nodded toward Jesse.

  “No. I can hear his heartbeat.”

  “Don’t kill him.”

  “What?!”

  I put a hand on his arm for support as I pulled myself up. “Give him to David.”

  “Why thank you, Dawn.”

  We both turned to see the werewolf in the doorway. He looked at Jesse and licked his lips. “Sorry I’m late.”

  “How did you know to be here?” I doubled over, grabbing my chest as the wound there began to close.

  “I stopped by to check on Terry. He’s fine,” he added before I could ask. “Although, he’ll be growing some more hair in a few days.”

  “I thought you couldn’t turn him?”

  “I didn’t. Earl was with me. In a way this asshole here did him a favor.” He kicked Jesse, who remained on the floor, groaning in misery. “He shot Terry in the knee, only he got the leg that was already injured. In a few days, it should grow back just fine.”

  Although I was relieved to hear that, I still wanted to know something. “What are you going to do, kill him?”

  “That would be too easy. No, I’ve got other plans. You want to watch?”

  Three hours later we were in an abandoned building on the outskirts of town. There was a large cage in the middle of the room with a divider down the middle. On one side was the Reverend Hammond who was thankfully bound and gagged. On the other side was Jesse.

  “How did you pull this off?” I asked. I was still weak, and leaning on Marcus for support. My vampire abilities hadn’t kicked in yet, or so I guessed because I still felt the same.

  “As soon as Terry told me what happened, I broke into Jesse’s apartment and took a look around. I found out that the good Reverend here would be passing through the Dothan airport on his way to Atlanta this evening. How unfortunate for him. Some people might say it’s luck. But I call something this convenient fate.”

  The Dothan airport was only about a twenty minute drive from Terry’s house. Fate indeed.

  David walked over to the cage and grabbed Jesse so fast I barely saw him move. He pulled his arm through the bars and even though I knew he deserved whatever he got, I had to look away.

  “I’m not going to mangle him,” David assured me.

  At that I turned back.

  “I’m not a monster.”

  Jesse laughed. “What are you then?”

  “I’m the man who lost everything because of you. I want you to know what that feels like.”

  “How did you get my father? You were at your hotel.”

  “Oh, there are always friends willing to help with something like this. The cage for example is a prop for some of our acts. Wasn’t too hard to get my hands on one.”

  David held up his other hand and I watched as one long claw grew out. He ran the claw down Jesse’s biceps and he screamed. The cut wasn’t deep, just enough to do what he intended. David ran his tongue over the wound and released him. He hadn’t attacked him or killed him. Technically, he hadn’t broken his contract.

  Jesse fell to the floor of the cage, screaming all manner of insults. “You motherfucker! You turned me! You son of a bitch! I’ll fucking kill you!”

  With the flip of a switch David removed the barrier down the middle of the cage.

  “The full moon will be up tomorrow. Have fun.”

  Chapter Twenty-five

  I awoke to the smell of Marcus’ cologne on my pillow and rolled over to find a neatly wrapped gift box beside me. The room was full of candles, adding their soft light to the darkness. I looked up as he came walking through the bathroom door. His long robe touched the floor behind him, making a soft swishing sound as he moved. It was the only thing he wore, other than a smile.

  “Glad to see you’re awake.”

  “What’s this for?” I asked, picking up the present.

  “Open it.”

  When I pulled back the wrapper I almost cried. But then I remembered my tears would be bloody and stopped. Didn’t want to stain my gold pillows. It was a picture of us. It had been taken the night we first met, when I’d worked the ticket booth at one of his shows. I hadn’t seen it since he showed it to me, just before we made love for the first time.

  “Happy one month anniversary.”

  It had been exactly one month since I was turned and according to Marcus I was turning out to be a fine vampire.

  “I can’t believe you still have this.”

  “Of course I still have it. Surely I don’t need to remind you what we did the last time you saw this picture?” His question was soft and sexily spoken.

  No, I didn’t need a reminder. His kiss was like a drug and as he pulled me against him, I could think of nothing more than my craving for his touch. I no longer cared if my mother or anyone else approved. I just wanted to be loved.

  Marcus had agreed to do fewer shows and thanks to Nybras’ generous offer he now owned a small share in the company. I think Nybras felt guilty. But that didn’t matter now. For the first time, everything was working out for both of us. I was still coming to terms with never seeing daylight again and had accepted the fact that I would never have children. It was all right. Really. Marcus was my family and he was all I would ever need.

  So many times over the years I had wondered what love was and now I had the answer. It was in his touch. It was in his eyes. It was here, face to face, body to body with a man who completely adored me.

  “I love you,” I said as I pushed him back onto the crimson sheets.

  “How much?” he teased.

  “Let me show you.” I pressed my small body down the length of his, kissing him deeply. “How much time do we have?”

  “Till the break of Dawn.”

  The End.

  About the author:

  This multi-published author has been writing stories for her own entertainment since she was a child. Tracey has always been drawn to the macabre, with a fondness for anything with fangs. She writes what she enjoys reading in the hopes that others will enjoy her stories as well. Her main goal as a writer is to put emotions into words. She wants people to feel something when they read her work.

  Website – www.traceyhkitts.com

  Blog - http://traceyhkitts.blogspot.com/

  Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Tracey-H-Kitts/73968579374