Sitting in the center of the room was a large porcelain wash basin. Long chains hung from the ceiling directly over the basin, and a table sat next to it with several surgical blades laid out. A cardboard box sat next to the table. Even before Allison shined her light in the box, she knew what the contents would be: cheesecloth.
“You’re the one,” a voice said behind her.
Allison spun around, shining her light into the darkness. A figure stood about five yards away, and Allison pointed the .45 right at its head.
“Who are you?” she demanded.
“You...” the figure said. “You’re the one that got away.”
Allison took a closer look at the figure, which might have been called a man at one point. Now, he was a skeleton. He was horribly emaciated, deathly pale, and almost completely naked. A scraggly beard covered his face, and he reached out to her with hands that had long, curved fingernails caked in grime.
In any other situation, Allison would have suspected the man was a squatter.
But he knew her. How did he know her?
“What do you mean?” she asked. “The one that got away?”
“You were supposed to be there,” the ghostly figure said, stepping closer very slowly. “With the big man.”
Allison felt her heart speed up. Was he talking about Xander? Had The Sieve known he was coming?
Allison felt her eyes burn with tears. She blinked furiously to hold them back.
She took a deep breath, then said, “You killed Xander Reese.”
Now the man looked surprised. And suddenly, he grinned, showing a mouth half-full of rotted teeth.
“Me? I killed the big man?” The man cackled and almost fell over. He then righted himself. “I don’t kill anybody. That’s not my job. That’s his job.”
“His job? Who is he?”
“He?” the man cackled. “He is the one in charge. He is the one who is going to keep me from dying. He is the Seigneur!”
Even though she had the gun... even though this man looked like he’d break in two if he tripped... even though she clearly had the upper hand... Allison backed up. This skeleton of a man scared her. He scared her deeply.
“Ohhhhhh...” the man said softly, his voice gravelly. He clapped his hands together greedily. “Oh, the Seigneur is going to be so pleased when he gets back.”
Suddenly, two pairs of hands grabbed her from behind. Before she even whipped her head around to see who they were, she could feel the bony fingers, and she knew they were others like the emaciated man before her.
Allison fired her gun, but the bullets shot wildly into the air. The two skeletal men who had grabbed her from behind were impossibly strong. She felt their fingernail claws digging into her flesh beneath her jacket. She tried to scream, but one of them wrapped its hand around her mouth tightly. Only a soft “mmmph” escaped.
The emaciated man in front of her leaped forward and put his face close to hers. She could smell the rot of his teeth on his breath. He closed his eyes and leaned into her hair. She could hear him take a long, horribly sensual sniff.
“Ahhhhhhh,” he said, then touched her face with his ice-cold fingers. “You smell delicious. If only...”
Allison struggled to get away, but the skeletal men who held her were uncharacteristically strong.
“When the Seigneur returns,” the emaciated man said, “he will reward me. Perhaps he will reward me with you.”
Allison tried to speak, but the other skeletal man’s hands held her mouth tightly shut.
The emaciated man shuddered in anticipation as he giggled. “I only wish –”
But that was all he said. In mid sentence, Allison saw the emaciated man yanked upwards into the dark ceiling of the warehouse. She heard him scream unintelligibly against the sound of an animal growling.
“But you can’t!” the emaciated man screamed in the darkness. “I belong to him! You can’t!”
And that was the last she heard of the emaciated man. A fleshy riiiip and a splatter of what could only be blood punctuated his end.
At this moment, the other two skeletal figures who had held Allison let go. As soon as this happened, she spun around and aimed the gun. But Allison could only see shadows. The pale skin of the figures were barely visible in the darkness. One was already sprawled on the ground, and when Allison managed to shine her light into the warehouse, she saw a tall, dark figure holding the other one sideways. The figure turned his face away from Allison as he brought the skeletal man down on his knee. Allison heard the sharp snap of his spine breaking, and a chill crawled up her own back.
A second later, the figure was gone, as if he had simply vanished.
Allison spun around, flinging the flashlight beam around the room.
“Show yourself!” she yelled. “Are you the Seigneur? Are you The Sieve?”
“Allison...” a voice called from the darkness.
Allison froze. She knew that voice. One more time, she spun around and suddenly found herself staring up into the face of Xander Reese.
Allison felt her stomach drop down inside her. This was not the Xander she dreamed about for months. This was the Xander who visited her dreams just last night. His hair was freshly cut, and his face was rough with stubble. His crystal blue eyes were now a crimson orange, and his normally olive-toned skin was surprisingly pale.
She knew she should scream. This is the point where you should scream, she thought. But she couldn’t find the voice to do so. Instead, she felt suddenly at peace.
“Xander...” she said, not even trying to hold back the tears.
He smiled softly. “I told you to let me go,” he said.
“I... I couldn’t...”
“Shhh...” Xander said, touching her cheek gently. “Sleep.”
And she did.
CHAPTER 4
When Allison opened her eyes, she couldn’t help but wonder if she had dreamt the whole thing. She awoke, feeling fully rested... content. She remembered seeing Xander again, and that he had saved her. Had it been real?
Allison sat up, kicking off the covers. She looked down to see that she was still in her clothes from earlier that day. Her feet were bare, and she looked to the side of the room where she saw her boots, still dirty with mud from outside the warehouse.
Allison looked towards the window. Unlike so many nights before, it was closed. And latched.
She took a deep breath, smelling the air. She felt butterflies in her stomach. Could it be true?
“I know you’re here,” she said into the darkness.
There was a long pause... almost long enough for Allison to think she might have actually been dreaming. But just as she was about to flop back down on the bed in defeat, she heard a movement.
From the shadows, a figure emerged. It was a figure she was so very familiar with. A figure she had loved and had mourned for the past year.
Xander stepped forward. He had taken off his coat, and his black shirt was unbuttoned down to his waist. His muscular chest seemed to glow in the dim light of the room.
“Allison...” he said, stepping right up to the bed. Xander reached the foot and crawled upon the mattress. He still wore his tight black jeans, but he was barefoot. Allison could not respond. It was as if her voice had retreated back down into her chest. She licked her lips in anticipation.
Xander crawled across the bed like a cat stalking its prey, its very willing prey. Allison leaned back, letting his slender body climb over her. Xander slid between her legs, and she felt his powerful thrust even through her clothes. She moaned deep in her throat with longing.
Soon, Xander’s face reached hers, and she stared deep into his eyes. Yes, they were crimson orange, not the blue she was used to. But it was Xander nonetheless.
He touched her face softly with cold fingers and then let them trace a line down to her neck, then between her breasts. Almost effortlessly, her blouse came unbuttoned, and he reached inside, cupping her lightly.
Then he kissed her. His lips were cool, but not
unpleasant... cold and tingly like chewing mint gum and breathing in the winter’s air. Allison kissed back, and she reached up to grab the back of his head, pulling him tightly against her. She could feel the freshly cut hair on the back of his neck, and she knew it was him.
When Allison finally broke the kiss and gasped for air, Xander spoke.
“I missed you,” he said.
Now, she found her voice. “I knew you weren’t gone,” she said, feeling tears come to her eyes. “I knew it in my heart.”
Xander smiled kindly. “I could never leave you,” he said. “Not ever.”
Then he kissed her again, and his cold hands started to pull off her clothes. She submitted without question, and she started pulling off his black shirt and jeans.
A moment later, they were naked, pressing against each other, letting their bodies fully experience one another. The entirety of Xander’s body was cool to the touch, but not in a bad way. The brush of his flesh was like a cool breeze on a hot day, soothing and fresh.
Xander kissed her all over, from her lips down to her breasts, along her arms and down on her inner thighs. From there, he climbed on top of her and slid inside her.
Allison gasped at the feeling, something she had longed for all year. Xander thrust deep inside her, and Allison wrapped her legs around his waist, locking her ankles as she had the first night they had made love.
Xander nuzzled against her neck, and she moaned. She felt him kissing lightly under her chin, then nibbling slightly on the nape of her neck.
His cold member worked a steady rhythm inside her, bringing her quickly to climax. When she did, she dug her nails into his back and called out his name. And at that very moment, she felt him bite down on the tender skin of her neck.
Allison felt another surge of pleasure ripple though her when he bit and she couldn’t help but cry out again. The pain intensified every nerve in her body. She squeezed tighter with her legs, and Xander thrust harder.
Xander’s biting gave way to suckling, and his rhythm steadied yet became more purposeful. Then Allison noticed his member, which had been so cool early started to suddenly feel warm. The more he suckled on her neck, the warmer he got.
The feeling excited Allison even more. She tried to roll over on top of Xander, but before she could, another wave of pleasure traveled across her flesh like a powerful surge of electricity. She cried out again.
And then Xander climaxed, filling her with a erotic warmth. As he finished, spent atop her, he licked her neck, then collapsed.
They lay together, still connected, his face buried in the pillow next to her ear.
“I love you,” he whispered softly. “I will always love you.”
“I love you too,” she then said. “I could never let you go.”
And they said nothing else, laying in each other’s arms for the first time in a year... until they fell asleep.
† † †
The second time Allison woke that night, she wondered if she was actually still dreaming. This was because she woke up in the arms of her dead lover, Xander Reese. But deep down, she knew that it was true, as impossible as it seemed.
She opened her eyes to see Xander staring at her with his new crimson orange eyes. She smiled when she saw him and covered her face.
“Are you watching me sleep?” she asked, embarrassed.
“Of course,” he replied. “I miss watching you sleep.”
He smiled, and she smiled back. Then Allison noticed a thin line of red on the corners of his mouth. She sat up suddenly and touched her neck. She gasped when she felt raw, open flesh, and when she pulled her hand away, she saw a thin coating of blood on them.
“You... you bit me,” she said, stunned.
“Let me explain,” Xander said, sitting up and taking her hands.
“Then... then... then you are dead,” Allison gasped.
Xander touched her face. “No. Not dead. Just... different.”
“A vampire...” Allison whispered, embarrassed about how ridiculous she sounded.
Xander rolled his eyes. “That word has such an archaic connotation.”
“You drank my blood!”
“Just hold on,” Xander said, touching her cheek tenderly. “Let me explain. I’m not some Romanian count, rising from the dead as an agent of Satan. It’s not like the stories... not exactly.”
“Are you dead?” she asked, panic rising in her voice. Then she touched her neck again. “Am I going to –”
Xander shook his head and held her hands tight. “I can’t tell you exactly how this happens any more than you can tell me exactly how your own heart continues to pump each day of your entire life. There’s a lot that science doesn’t know. What I can tell you is that I am very much alive, just in a different way.”
“You’re cold to the touch.”
“Yes, but not dead. My heart continues to beat, only much slower than yours. And my body temperature is closer to seventy degrees. When I was turned, my body became dormant to go through the change.”
“Like a caterpillar in a cocoon?”
“Exactly.”
“Will it happen to me?” Allison asked, scared.
“No, that’s not how it works. I would have to drink a lot more, enough to make you appear dead. Then you would have to take my blood. That is what causes the change to happen.”
“Then why did you do it?” Allison asked, touching her neck again. “Weren’t you afraid you couldn’t stop?”
Xander laughed. “You’ve been reading too many paperback books, honey. Only those of us who haven’t fed for an extended period of time – or the ones that truly believe they are agents of evil – will feed without end. For us, it can be a sensual act. Just as we shared our bodies, we have shared blood.”
Allison stood up from the bed and walked across the room to fetch her robe. She suddenly felt very naked. “It’s a lot to take in, Xander,” she said.
“I know,” he replied. “But I want to make sure you know everything now. I’ve had to keep this a secret for so long.”
“Why did you keep it a secret?”
“The Sieve,” Xander said coldly. “He was the one who turned me. He knew I was coming, and he attacked me when I got there. Then he made sure I’d turn and left me to fend for myself. Believe me, I wanted to reach out to you, but I didn’t know anything of this life myself. Like you, I was afraid I had become some sort of monster.”
Allison shook her head. As fantastic as all of this sounded, she knew it had to be true. She felt it deep inside of her.
“Normally when you’re turned, there’s someone there to show you the ropes, so to speak. I had to figure them out for myself. Took me months, but soon I met others like me.”
“Why didn’t you come find me?” Allison asked. “I could have helped you.”
Xander shook his head. “By the time I felt comfortable enough to be around you, I had discovered The Sieve’s plan for me.”
“He abandoned you,” she said.
“Yes, but he abandoned me hoping I’d finish with you. You see, he planned to have us both show up that day. He originally was going to kill us both, but when it was just me, he turned me, hoping I’d finish the job one day.”
“Why?”
“We had gotten too close. He needed to get rid of us to continue his work.”
“His work?” Allison asked, stepping over to the bed and sitting down again.
“Yes,” Xander replied. “He doesn’t do this for fun or for some compulsion. Oh, he gets off on the power of the kill, but he’s in business here.”
“Business?”
“The blood business.”
Allison felt a chill run up her back. Xander noticed the disbelief in her face, and he nodded.
“Yes,” he said. “The blood business. Fresh, clean human blood is a huge commodity for...” Xander paused for a minute, as if not ready to say the next thing: “...my kind.”
Allison shuddered again. “How does this blood business work?”
Xander took a deep breath. It was clear he wasn’t comfortable telling all of this to Allison, but he trusted her.
“It’s a fact of life that all of us have to drink human blood at some time,” Xander said. “We don’t need a lot, but it’s part of our biology, a necessity to survive.”
For the first time in this entire conversation, Xander averted his eyes from hers. Allison recognized his shame.
“I am not proud of this, but I’ve taken blood before,” Xander said. “Never killed anyone. But I’ve taken it without their permission.”
“But if you didn’t kill them...” Allison began.
“It’s more than just a meal,” Xander said. “It’s a pact. If I take someone’s blood, they’re marked by me. A little bit of myself enters their blood stream, and it marks them as mine. Others can’t feed off of them. It just doesn’t taste right.”
Again, Allison touched her neck, and the realization was clear: she now belonged to him.
“In my world, there are humans who give themselves willingly to us,” Xander said. “They let us drink from them for years with the promise of becoming immortal.”
Allison nodded, and in the back of her mind, she heard the words of the emaciated man from the warehouse: But you can’t! I belong to him! You can’t!
Those things in the warehouse. Those were The Sieve’s food.
“But The Sieve,” Xander said. “He believes that humans are like cattle, a food supply to be harvested at our leisure. He farms blood from people in a systematic way, five pints at a time, more or less.”
Allison shuddered again. She paused for a long time, then said, “We need to stop him.”
All the fear and dread seemed to disappear from Allison’s face. With this new understanding, she was already laying a plan in her head. She was thinking like a cop again, and her fear was gone.
“What?” Xander asked.
Allison came over to the bed again and sat down next to Xander. This time, she was the one comforting him. She grabbed his hand with one of hers and touched his face with the other. She turned his head to look in his eyes.
“Let’s stop him,” she said.
“How?” Xander asked.
Love In Death Page 2
