Club Nosferatu ~ Part One
PREFACE
The steady drum of a human heart was becoming more and more erratic with every step. The girl was running through the dark, empty street, clutching onto her purse with one torn handle. They could smell the blood that trickled from her shoulder and down her arm. It was hot and fresh, pumping out of the large gashes in her flesh. They ran alongside of her, hidden in the darkness on the opposite side of the street. She ran looking behind her no doubt wondering if they were gaining on her.
The constant beat of music pouring out of the club ahead, successfully drowned out her pleas for help. The vampires knew they had only seconds to stop her before she reached the humans. The leader, Kris spotted a small alley just before the club doors. He took aim and timed his strike to push her into the alley before she reached help. They ran together, gaining speed and crossing the street to come up behind her. She was stumbling and pushing herself forward, trying to make it another fifty feet, help was so close now.
She looked over her shoulder and screamed; the vampires were only a few feet away, reaching out for her. The doors to the club burst open and several men stepped out, just ahead of her. Kris had already gotten ahold of her hair, but quickly released her and dashed into the alley with the other three vampires darting in behind him. They could hear her as she ran into the men screaming hysterically.
"Help me! Help me please!" She screamed over and over.
"Oh shit! What happened to you?" One of the men asked.
"They're chasing me!" She screamed. "Please, help me!"
"Calm down, it’s okay now." The panic in his voice was evident but he tried to remain calm. "Who's chasing you?"
"Men, vampires...please." She started sobbing.
"Vampires?" A couple of men asked.
Her sobbing increased.
"Uh, alright, well why don't we call you a cab and you can go home, okay?" One man asked.
"No, please don't leave me!"
"It's okay lady, there are no vampires chasing you alright?"
Kris stood silently against the brick wall waiting for the sound of retreating footsteps that would indicate the men had turned their backs.
He peered around the corner. She had gotten to her feet and was trying to get ahold of a hand, anyone just so she wouldn't be alone. Kris reached out and grabbed her neck, yanking her around the corner. She let out a tiny scream but it wasn't enough to alert the men that had abandoned her. He bit into her neck, piercing her skin; a fan of blood splattered the wall and then shot out again when the other vampires got her. Her heartbeat faded in seconds without a fight, her body slowly falling to the ground.
The music in the background had also faded; the men had gone inside and closed the doors behind them.
Kris wiped the hot blood from my face, "Humans, they're so heartless."
He crouched down next to her body and lifted her pale face. "If they had only known you like we know you, so kind and full of life. If it wasn't for your desire to live, you may not have fought us, not have seen us. We have taken your blood and your soul and so you will live inside of us forever; sweet, kind, Angelia." He brushed her lips with his and released her.
Gabriel, another vampire stepped forward, "You know, you don't have to make peace with your food anymore."
"What can I say, old habits die hard." Kris stood, wiping dirt from his pant leg.
"Well, she's not a buffalo or a deer, there was no honor in hunting and killing her."
"Not true. She crossed our path and she made the ultimate sacrifice, you still must pay your respects to her soul."
Gabriel didn't seem convinced.
Honor in killing was something that left them a long time ago. Kris knew that he was right though, he didn't make peace with people he killed, not all of the
time but this one was different; he didn't want to kill her, he had to.
"C'mon, let's not leave her here, we'll take her into the desert." Trent said.
"Supposing those guys see her face on the morning news, then what?" Johnny asked.
Kris laughed, "Then nothing. I'm sure it will be very uncomfortable for them to have to explain how she begged them for help and
why they left her to die. They won't say a word, not to anyone that matters anyway."
"You're right." Trent lifted her body and together they made the long trek into the desert.
CHAPTER ONE
KRIS
The last run in with Raven cost us some vampires. Our sister had built her pack of wolves to a new record breaking high, changing virtually everyone she came into contact with. We were fortunate, even with our losses we managed to fight her off and send her back into the snowy mountains of Alaska, where the near darkness kept her hidden and kept her safe. Her attack on us started out as a plea that went horribly wrong. She didn't come to protect herself or her people. She didn't come to fight for territory or feeding rights. She came to bring us together again, all under one roof and under one rule; hers. Fighting together, with our brother Trent we were at our strongest and arguably unbeatable. The problem in her theory was getting three strong personalities to agree who would be in charge. Raven with her impulsive, blood driven wickedness was a major concern for my brother and I. My brother had voted me to be the Patriarch of the covens because I was the eldest of the three, born only minutes apart from my siblings. It was also decided that I had just enough wickedness myself to keep the covens in line for the sake of getting along.
The idea failed, the covens had been separated too long and many of our extended family rejected the union. Ultimately, it was agreed that there was still too much hatred, competition and bad blood between us, decidedly enough to keep us apart for an eternity. In the end, Ravens numbers were impressive but nothing more. Her wolves were too young and too inexperienced, they couldn't stand against master vampires. Raven retreated quickly and we were left to decide what to do next. It wasn't safe to stay here any longer, we needed to find a new place to start our lives over again. My family and our remaining vampires decided with much debate that we would move south, to the desert. Arizona would be just sunny enough to keep her from surprising us again; it was hot and very dry. It would take an event of major significance to pull her willingly, into this environment. The probability of not having to see Raven again this century was all I needed to hear to finalize
my decision. I didn't simply dislike my sister, I hated her; between the three of us Raven and I had the worst relationship. I made it perfectly clear that I had no love or loyalty for my sister. All she needed to do was provoke me or push me slightly and I would gladly take her life. It was the major reason why she exercised her "flight" response in most of our "fight or flight" quarrels. She knew not to get too close to me. More often than not, she would push one of her strongest to the foreground to protect her from direct contact in a battle. Most of the time that was her lover, Sabre. A hateful, vengeful monster thatlived only to please my sister; I despised him with equal fervor. On the flip side there was one sibling I got along with great, my brother Trent. He and I were as close as brothers could be. He always lent me his support when it was critical but he made it clear that Raven was still our sister and so for the most part, he remained annoyingly neutral. Despite his major flaw in judging character, Trent was still the one I trusted above everyone else.
We chose homes that had just been built in a relatively underdeveloped area. We, my brother and our two cousins, had chosen
houses situated next to each other. We were always close, for protection and support and Tucson was no different. The rest of our clan chose areas around
town to live and clustered together for protection as well.
We had unpacked and settled in and finally chose a business that we wanted to invest our fortunes in. A nightclub was the
consensus, partly because of the demand for night time adult socializing and the other part was to attract a steady flow of young, attractive people to us. To
maintain the illusion of youth, we surrounded ourselves with Tucson's young crowd. Health and vitality pumped through their veins, providing the desired
facade and an ample supply of fresh blood. Club Nosferatu was born, five years ago and had thrived since year one. The name was cliché and also the reason for
our immediate success. With the steady fascination with vampires, the name was a source of curiosity for even for the most timid of patrons.
Under the guise of club owners, we kept our secret hidden while operating blissfully in the dark. Though contact with sun wasn't lethal, it was highly uncomfortable at best so it was a welcome relief that we wouldn't be expected to keep day time hours. Content to stay busy and
survive the ages, we began cultivating relationships with the humans, although personal relationships were a bit different. Serious relationships were
something that I never ventured into, I refused to risk discovery by making a human part of my life. They served their purpose, in more ways than one and I
was satisfied with that type of "relationship".
The only woman that was close to me was my friend Norah. She was a childhood friend that had been changed early in our
friendship. She had been with me before my powers had fully developed into what I am today. She knew Kris, the person that I was before I became a master
vampire. It was that friendship and loyalty that I valued as much as I valued my family.
As a vampire, she had developed a lust and thirst for life and blood, most of the time the thirst for blood ended in a loss of life but we tried to spare as many souls as possible. Rising body counts led to rising suspicions and that was not something that we wanted to deal with.
Two more purebloods made up the last of my immediate family, my cousins Gabriel and Nathaniel. Born as vampires, like my
siblings and I they were the strongest we had, without being masters. Gabriel was the eldest and the smartest of us all. He never allowed his temper to
control him or his decisions. He never flew off the handle, like I had tendency to do, instead he thought things through calmly; at least when it came to
personal matters.
Overall, he had the highest amount of kills between all of us. Gabriel was unforgiving and lacked a conscience when it came to dispatching a soul. He was our protector, the one that would see every request through to the end. He only questioned my decisions once and it turned out that he was right. Other than that, he fulfilled every task given to him without remorse or hesitation. Nathaniel was his opposite. Nathaniel, who we called Johnny, was the
youngest and by far the tamest. His dark side only came out when my sister came into town, otherwise he chose to enjoy a quiet life, content to live and let
live. He balanced us and more often than not, was the voice of reason when tempers ran too high. Nothing shocked him or surprised him, he was blissfully
immune to all of our antics. Ever trustworthy and loyal he never failed to lend a hand when asked but some requests would afford you some interesting facial
expressions. His disapproval was always just beneath the surface and for that reason, we employed his brother to carry out the majority of our unpleasant
errands.
The four of us, kept each other in line and safe for over two centuries now. We virtually stood still and watched time pass by.
Through economic devastation, subsequent recovery and the natural course of human evolution we found ourselves living in 1996 with humans and struggling to
blend in. One thing that was good about surrounding yourself with the young crowd, odd and different behavior was embraced. Our idiosyncrasies were just
strange enough to be considered fascinating.
I walked through the crowd of people, making my way to our table and my cousin Gabriel, who was waiting patiently. He looked up when I approached.
"Where have you been?"
"Sorry, I got held up. Norah." That one name was all I needed to say, it explained everything and nothing at the same time. Gabriel knew it had to do with her flying off the handle in some way, he just didn't know the specifics.
"When are you going to get tired of her?"
"I don't know, should be any day now."
"Yeah, right." He slid a newspaper article under my nose, "They found her this morning."
I looked at the face that was on the cover of the Tucson Sun. It was Angelia, the woman that we killed several weeks ago. I cringed to think how long her family had suffered, waiting to hear from her. The truth was, I felt bad about killing her and I rarely felt guilty about anything, especially when it came to survival. This one was different, her blood still lingered in my body and I could feel it surface sometimes when I experienced a memory that wasn't mine. I knew that she was close to her parents and her brother and wondered how they would take her death. I looked at Gabriel who no doubt had those memories surface too. He looked back at me with his dark green eyes, not showing a hint of remorse.
"Do you still feel her?" I asked.
"Sometimes."
"I still feel her sorrow, in the last few seconds of her life how she thought of her family..."
"Kris, stop. You're feeling her pain, her life, they aren't your memories, let them go."
"It's hard."
"It will get better. You absorbed what was human in her, it will wear off but you must push it away. Soon she will be a distant memory."
I nodded. That was the worst part about taking someone's soul, absorbing their life. It was fine if you absorbed someone that was good and kind but it got nasty if you absorbed someone that was crazy or violent. You took on their personalities for a short time, feeding off of their anger and frustration.
Gabriel sighed, "You know, another problem we have is Norah. She has to stop killing, I'm tired of cleaning up her messes. Plus, she only kills emotionally psycho women; I don't know how you handle her mood swings. You get her to stop killing and her personality will even out, then maybe you can reason with her."
It was true, Norah was also heavily affected by her victims. The problem with selecting a certain type of person is you start to
crave them. You become familiar with their emotions and soon all their memories blend together in a nasty ball of energy. My sister Raven violently killed
anyone she fed off of, absorbing their terror. When your body lives on terror, you must continually feed it terror, at least that's what Raven did.
My family and I chose not to kill whenever we could avoid it, it was better not to have to deal with the whirlwind of
emotions. Gabriel was right, I would get better as soon as I let myself. I needed to push her aside and allow my emotions to stabilize. I would be back to
normal soon.
I got up and went into the back to find Trent. He was sitting at the bar talking to the bartender.
"Well, what did you want to talk to me about? It seems like someone always has something to say around here." I said.
"What did you say to Rachel?"
Rachel was a waitress that worked for us for a whopping two weeks. Apparently, she didn't like me much, the feeling was mutual.
"Nothing much, I just suggested that she may want to work somewhere else."
"Okay, from here on, Gabriel is in charge of hiring and firing. I don't want you to look at my employees and I want you to
limit how much you talk to them. That's the fifth girl that you ran off this month. Honestly Kris, what's the problem?"
"You want all of them or just a couple?"
"I'm serious."
"Me too."
"You're such a dick. Stay away from my employees, got it?"
"Yes, fine. I got it." I sat on the stool next to him.
A female voice appeared behind me.
"Hi, I'm Caitlynn, what's your name?"
I turned to the blonde that intruded on my conversation giving her a dirty look.
"Caitlynn, do you realize you just interrupted me or do you not care?"
She giggled, "I'm sorry, I just saw you over here and I wanted to come over and say hi."
"So, you couldn't have waited a few more minutes to say that?"
"I'm sorry, I'll wait." She sat on a bar stool and faced me.
"It's too late now, what do you want Caitlynn, aside from the hi, of course."
She shrugged, "I..."
"So, you talk fine with my back to you, but as soon as I look at you, you can't speak, is that it? What did you think you were
going to do, just come over here and start a conversation so dazzling that I would fall head over heels for you?"
"Uh...no."
"Then spit it out! What...do...you...want?"
She turned and looked at her friends that were watching intently from their table.
"Ah, so your friends are watching you, you have to do something impressive. Did they double dare you to talk to me?"
"No." She whispered.
"I don't believe you."
She was starting to squirm.
"So, we are providing a little show for your friends, are we? Well then, let's give them a show."
I looked at her choice of clothes, it looked like she was wearing strings that were strategically placed. She must have been
wrapped in body tape to keep everything covered.
"What an interesting outfit."
"Thank you." She smiled.
"That wasn't a compliment."
She looked confused.
"A woman wears an outfit like that to attract men, a certain kind of man. Is that what you are trying to do?" I didn't wait
for her to answer. "Obviously the idea behind this choice was to catch a man on your looks and not your conversation skills. But wanting a man like that is not
the same as wanting me." I plucked at one of the strings on her shoulder and it popped, falling across her chest. "Hmmm." I didn't know why I was surprised with
how easy it fell apart.
"The kinds of women that have any chance of talking to me are the fully clothed kind because I know that it's the confidence
in their head that makes them approach me, not the confidence between their legs." I plucked another string and she gasped, grabbing at it, trying to hold
her top up.
"So, which one are you Caitlynn?"
"Uhhh..."
"You know what, never mind. Even common sarcasm doesn't work on you. Why...are...you...still...standing...here?" I said, plucking a different string with every word. She squealed with every pop of the strings, finally grabbing what was left of her top and running for the bathroom.
I laughed as she ran away, shaking my head and returning to my attention to my brother, who was also laughing.
"Women."
“Yeah."
I leaned against the bar, looking out into the club crowd. "Speaking of women, who is this brunette that keeps staring at you?
She never goes away." I nodded to a woman that was standing next to one of the pool tables.
"Her name is Tawnie, she's Billy's friend."
"Billy has friends?"
"She lives in Cali but visits often."
"Has she talked to you or does she just stare?"
"She talked to me the other day, she asked me to dance."
Now that Trent and I were facing Tawnie and obviously talking about her, she finally broke her stare and tried to act
casual.
"Did you sleep with her?"
"Maybe."
I shook my head again, "How do you do that?"
"It's easy."
"You know what I mean." I said. "Look at her, she's in lust. How are you going to keep her away from you now?"
"I don't want to keep her away, that's your thing, not mine." He said.
"So you're going to actually have a relationship with her?"
"I dunno."
"You're an idiot."
"I don't want to be alone forever, like you. I need to be with someone, I love having a woman in my life."
"Good for you, but this one is going to be a problem for you."
"No she won't. You should talk to her." He waved Tawnie over.
"I don't want to talk to her, having relationships with humans is dangerous Trent."
He ignored me and embraced Tawnie. "Hey, I wanted to introduce you, this is my brother, Kris."
"Hi." She smiled and extended her hand, which I just looked at.
"Hi." I was less enthusiastic.
She frowned and dropped her hand, she turned her attention to Trent. "Sorry if I was interrupting but I really wanted to see you tonight." She said. "I'm going home tomorrow."
"Thank God." I said not as quiet as my brother would have liked.
"And I wanted to make sure I got the chance to say goodbye."
"Bye." I said.
She glared at me. "Was I looking at you?"
I glared back.
"Then I wasn't talking to you, smiley." She said.
"Why don't you shut the fuck up and leave?"
"Kris." Trent put his hand on my arm. "C'mon Tawnie, let’s go outside."
"Lovely to have met you." She smiled her biggest phony smile.
"Lovely's not the word I picked."
She snarled at me and walked with Trent up the stairs to the exit.
"Smart ass..." I said when she was out of earshot.
"Who's a smart ass?"
I looked over and saw Norah approaching me. "Trent's girlfriend."
"His what?"
"Nothing, never mind. What are you doing here?"
"I came to see you. I was wondering if you were hungry and wanted to grab a bite to eat."
"Yeah, I guess so." We left the club.
The area surrounding the club was very run down, many of the buildings weren't occupied by business owners anymore. There were a couple of motels, some closed for years. Weeds were growing out of the cracked asphalt, windows were busted out of the rooms and faded graffiti adorned the walls that were still standing. This street was dark and usually quiet, with the exception of the traffic to the club and hookers nearby. There was a small patch of land dedicated to a park or golf course that extended just beyond the part of town that was deemed the historical district. That was the side of town we walked towards when we wanted to find food. There were a few small bars tucked away here and there in between a handful of mechanic shops. We walked quietly towards the tall towers of downtown Tucson, patiently waiting for someone to cross our path.
Norah spotted a man standing near a bus stop. The buses weren't running this late, he was waiting for something else. "I want that one, disappear for me, will you Kris?"
I vanished into a shadow across from the man and watched Norah. She waited for a car to pass before crossing the street. The man looked up and watched her walk towards him. Norah was a beautiful woman, I could only imagine the things that may be going through his head. She pulled her hair back away from her face and started a conversation with him, something about car problems. I watched the expression on his face change, he smiled brightly, looking at her body and her face again. Norah was a very voluptuous woman, she had amazing curves, the kind that would make any Roman goddess jealous. The man offered his assistance, if only she would let him open up his office, he could use the phone to call a tow company. She heartily accepted, thanking him profusely.
"It's right this way." He pointed around the corner.
A few moments later, Norah had disappeared from view. I waited for a few minutes, wondering if I should follow. I decided I was too bored to stand still. I crossed the street and followed her scent. I could hear a faded exchange of words, Norah was talking to the man. It sounded like he was getting a little touchy feely with her. I could hear her protesting softly in the alleyway. I stopped just short of the alley and leaned against the wall, listening to the exchange of words, it sounded like he was getting rough.
"C'mere baby, don't fight me, it'll be harder if you fight."
"Oh! Ouch." She said genuinely. "You've done this before haven't you?" She whispered in a husky voice.
"What?"
"You heard me. What? You not interested now that I'm willing?"
My head kept repeating, Wait for it, wait for it...
"Ow! What the fuck?!" It was his turn to protest.
"Did I hurt you baby?" She asked laughing.
I turned the corner and saw the man had originally had Norah pinned against the wall; he took a step back, starting to wonder what he got himself into. Norah glanced quickly over at me and back at the man. He turned his head to look over his shoulder to see what had momentarily distracted her. It was then that she bit into his throat.
She pushed him onto the ground, the weight of her vampire body was immovable to him. He couldn't free himself or protest with
her hand covering his mouth as she drank.
I walked into the alley and stood next to her, "Easy Norah, not too much."
The blurt of a close siren made me turn back around. I walked to the end of the alley and peeked around the corner. A cop was dispatching a couple of women that could have been prostitutes. I instinctively reached for my cross that hung around my neck. If I had to face the cop I wanted to make sure everything was in place. My cross was lying against my sternum, still keeping me human. I listened to their exchange of words, completely forgetting about Norah. When I turned my attention back to her I panicked to see her still drinking. "Norah!" I shouted as softly as I could. "Stop!"
I ran over and grabbed her pulling her off of him. His head fell back onto the concrete, his face white and eyes open. "Dammit Norah! I told you not to kill!"
"He was a bad man." She said licking her lips.
"But he tasted so good."
I grabbed her arm, "You have no control!"
I heard the sound of footsteps and saw a flash of light dancing on the sidewalk just beyond the alley.
"That cop might have heard me, we need to leave."
"What about him?" She asked, pointing to the dead man.
"He's coming with us."
"Do you want me to distract the cop?"
"No! Come with me." I heaved the body over my shoulder and we walked to the back of the alley. There was a chain linked fence with a small padlock, blocking the exit to the alley. I concentrated my energy on the lock and it fell open. Norah opened the gate and we ran out of the back just before the cop turned into the alley.
I had lost count of how many bodies we had dumped in the desert this month, but just as quickly as we were leaving them, they were found. We needed to either stop killing or find a new dumping ground. Eventually, I could see us running into a half a dozen cops out here in the dark. That would be awkward to say the least.
Norah and I were heading home when she suddenly remembered, "Hey, you didn't feed tonight."
"It's alright, I can wait another night, I just want to go home."
"You shouldn't wait to feed Kris, you know what will happen."
"No, really?" I stopped and looked at her, "Why don't you tell me."
She shrugged, "Okay, sorry I was just saying."
"Well maybe if you didn't kill a guy, we wouldn't have to drag his body into the desert and maybe I could have fed too."
"Oh, so you want me to feel guilty."
"Are you capable of guilt?"
She looked at me, "When it comes to you, yes."
I walked away from her.
"I'll make it up to you, I promise." She ran to catch up to me.
"Don't bother."
"No, I will, you will see." She took my hand and we walked together.
"Remember when we were kids and we used to sneak outside just to sit together in the dark and talk?" She asked.
"Yes."
"I knew we'd be together forever every time I looked at you."
I looked at her and met her gaze.
"I love you Kris."
"I know."
"Why don't you love me?" She asked after a few minutes.
"I do love you."
"But you aren't in love with me."
"We already tried that, it didn't work Norah."
"I think we should try again."
"You're my friend now." I was dreading having this conversation again.
"I don't want to be your friend."
"Norah please..."
"We're meant for each other."
"Because we came from the same tribe and are the same species it doesn't mean we're meant for each other."
"I know you Kris, I know you better than anyone."
"Not true."
"Any woman."
"Please drop it."
"I just think it's time for us to try again, I want you." She lifted my hand to her lips and kissed it.
I pulled my hand free. "We will never be together Norah, you aren't the woman for me, the sooner you accept that, the happier we'll both be."
"How could you say that to me?" She sounded hurt.
"It’s how I feel."
"If you weren't meant to be with me, then who are you going to be with?"
I looked at her, I knew she was fishing, she probably thought I had my eye on someone already. "I don't know, probably no one. There isn't anyone in the world that would want to be with me." I thought of the things I've done and seen in my life and tried to picture a woman understanding enough to see past it. I shook my head, it wasn't going to happen. Aside from that, there was this little pesky thing I could never get past...trust. I didn't trust anyone, especially humans. I had too much to lose, it wasn't worth the risk of discovery. Sometimes I thought it would be a lot easier to give in to Norah.
"Maybe you should stop looking for that woman and embrace what you have standing next to you." She said.
It made sense, but now was not the time to fall into a relationship with Norah. I had more important things on my mind and adding more drama to my life was not high on my priority list.
"This is not the end of the discussion Kris, you always do this, you think you can change my mind and it won't work. I want to marry you."
"What?! Are you fucking crazy? I would never marry you." I meant to keep that last part inside. I looked over at her to see her expression.
"I'm going to pretend you never said that." She smiled sweetly at me.
I hated when she did that. She always bottled things up and kept, what I believed was a running tab of every evil thing I'd ever said to her. She would hold it in until one day when she found the right moment; she'd unleash everything on me. I made another mental note to be careful about what I said out loud. She laid her head against my arm the rest of the way home.
We walked silently all the way home, there was nothing left to say. When we got home, I excused myself and went to bed. I wanted to lie down and do some thinking and usually my bed was the only place I could be left alone. I could hear Norah walking around downstairs, she was pacing as if she were bored. Sometime after three she left the house. I didn't really care where she went, just so long as she didn't jump into bed with me. I let myself rest, closing my eyes I fell into a dream, a dream for vampires that is.
The smell of warm, burnt grass permeated my senses. I never got over the way the plains smelled in the summer months compared to the winter. The scents were so much stronger in the summer, it smelled like everything was cooking out in the open and it probably was. There were some scents of flowers, nothing specific, just wildflowers. Little yellow and white flowers waved back and forth in the gentle breeze carrying smaller bits of pollen and dandelions.
Chahash'oh! I heard my name being called by a familiar voice. It was Nascha, my friend. Her father and my father were both elders in our tribe. She and I were about the same age so we spent most of our time together.
"Where are you going?" She asked.
"Nowhere, I'm just walking."
"Can I come with you?"
"Yes." I smiled, it was nice to have her company.
"Chahash'oh, why do the tribesmen fear your family?"
"I don't think I should tell you."
"Why not?" She looked concerned and hurt. Nascha was my best friend, she didn't understand why I had secrets from her.
She continued, " My father won't tell me either, but I overhear him speaking to others about you."
"And what do they say?" I sat in the field letting the tall grass cover me.
Nascha sat next to me, "They say you were born from a demon, you and your family."
" Yenaldlooshi, the demon that swallows souls..."
"Don't say that! If you call the demon, he will come!"
"That's what we are called Nascha, that's what the tribe believes us to be."
"But that can't be true." She looked at me with her golden brown eyes, pleading for me to tell her something different.
"There are things about my family that I still don't understand but I know that we are different."
She held my hand, "I don't believe it, you are not a demon."
I didn't know what to tell her. The older I got the more I understood what was inside of me. My parents had taken my siblings and me on a hunt last season and
they showed us how their bodies changed into monsters. My father, being cursed by a demon that resembled stories of the Yenaldlooshi and my mother by a wolf. There was no explanation for the things that they did that night, but I believed what I saw.
Our family was definitely different and in time my brother and I would take on our fathers' curse and my sister would gain our mothers' and her ability to
transform into a wolf.
I held onto Nascha, stroking her hair and dreading the day things would be different between us. One day, we would change and everything
that I loved would be gone from my life; all of it replaced by fear and hate.
"Kris..."
Norah's voice pulled me out of my dream. I opened my eyes and she was kneeling beside my bed.
"Kris...wake up." She stroked my arm.
"What is it?"
"Come with me."
She turned and walked to the door, waiting for me to follow her.
I got up from my bed and followed her downstairs.
I stopped halfway down the staircase because I saw a woman blindfolded, gagged and bound, laying on my couch.
"What's this?"
"I told you I'd make it up to you. I brought you fresh blood." She smiled brightly.
"No Norah!" I tried to keep my voice down, I didn't want the woman to hear the exchange of words. "Not here! Why would you bring her
here?"
"I told you..."
"No, get rid of her, let her go."
"Kris, you need to feed. You don't have to kill her, I'll let her go when you're done." She held my hand and gently led me to the couch, "It's
my peace offering, please accept it."
"Norah..."
"Shhh..."
Seeing a human was making me hungry again, I thought it best not to fight it off again. I knelt down and took the girl's hand. I placed it to my lips and bit into her flesh. She moaned through the gag and tried to move but her ties were too tight. Norah stood nearby, her eyes red as she watched me feed.
The warmth of the blood was just what I needed, I was hungrier than I thought, I wanted to keep drinking until she was gone but I knew better
than that. I continued to drink, careful not to take it too far. The girl began to thrash around, no doubt she could sense that she was fighting for her life.
Norah walked over to the girl and held onto her shoulders, keeping her from trying to sit up. I drank until I could feel the girl's breathing slow down, she was drifting into unconsciousness. I released her and sat back, drunk on fresh blood and savoring the moment.
Norah smiled, "How was she?"
I smiled back, still in a euphoric state.
Norah slid her hands up the side of the girl's neck and quickly spun her head ninety degrees around, snapping her neck bones.
"Why did you do that?!" I screamed at her and jumped to my feet.
"Because she heard our names, Kris. I am protecting us."
"Dammit Norah! Are you purposely trying to hurt our family? Are you really that stupid? I told you, no more killing!"
"This will be the last of it. We can't release her and hope that she doesn't remember anything, be serious Kris."
I walked up to Norah and slapped her. "Is that serious enough for you?"
When she looked at me I saw a gash in her cheek where the skin had split. There was blood pouring out of the wound. She pushed her hand up
against her face, trying to stop the bleeding and encourage healing.
I looked at her with her eyes wide, staring back at me. "Get rid of the body and don't ever bring humans to my house again."
The steady drum of a human heart was becoming more and more erratic with every step. The girl was running through the dark, empty street, clutching onto her purse with one torn handle. They could smell the blood that trickled from her shoulder and down her arm. It was hot and fresh, pumping out of the large gashes in her flesh. They ran alongside of her, hidden in the darkness on the opposite side of the street. She ran looking behind her no doubt wondering if they were gaining on her.
The constant beat of music pouring out of the club ahead, successfully drowned out her pleas for help. The vampires knew they had only seconds to stop her before she reached the humans. The leader, Kris spotted a small alley just before the club doors. He took aim and timed his strike to push her into the alley before she reached help. They ran together, gaining speed and crossing the street to come up behind her. She was stumbling and pushing herself forward, trying to make it another fifty feet, help was so close now.
She looked over her shoulder and screamed; the vampires were only a few feet away, reaching out for her. The doors to the club burst open and several men stepped out, just ahead of her. Kris had already gotten ahold of her hair, but quickly released her and dashed into the alley with the other three vampires darting in behind him. They could hear her as she ran into the men screaming hysterically.
"Help me! Help me please!" She screamed over and over.
"Oh shit! What happened to you?" One of the men asked.
"They're chasing me!" She screamed. "Please, help me!"
"Calm down, it’s okay now." The panic in his voice was evident but he tried to remain calm. "Who's chasing you?"
"Men, vampires...please." She started sobbing.
"Vampires?" A couple of men asked.
Her sobbing increased.
"Uh, alright, well why don't we call you a cab and you can go home, okay?" One man asked.
"No, please don't leave me!"
"It's okay lady, there are no vampires chasing you alright?"
Kris stood silently against the brick wall waiting for the sound of retreating footsteps that would indicate the men had turned their backs.
He peered around the corner. She had gotten to her feet and was trying to get ahold of a hand, anyone just so she wouldn't be alone. Kris reached out and grabbed her neck, yanking her around the corner. She let out a tiny scream but it wasn't enough to alert the men that had abandoned her. He bit into her neck, piercing her skin; a fan of blood splattered the wall and then shot out again when the other vampires got her. Her heartbeat faded in seconds without a fight, her body slowly falling to the ground.
The music in the background had also faded; the men had gone inside and closed the doors behind them.
Kris wiped the hot blood from my face, "Humans, they're so heartless."
He crouched down next to her body and lifted her pale face. "If they had only known you like we know you, so kind and full of life. If it wasn't for your desire to live, you may not have fought us, not have seen us. We have taken your blood and your soul and so you will live inside of us forever; sweet, kind, Angelia." He brushed her lips with his and released her.
Gabriel, another vampire stepped forward, "You know, you don't have to make peace with your food anymore."
"What can I say, old habits die hard." Kris stood, wiping dirt from his pant leg.
"Well, she's not a buffalo or a deer, there was no honor in hunting and killing her."
"Not true. She crossed our path and she made the ultimate sacrifice, you still must pay your respects to her soul."
Gabriel didn't seem convinced.
Honor in killing was something that left them a long time ago. Kris knew that he was right though, he didn't make peace with people he killed, not all of the
time but this one was different; he didn't want to kill her, he had to.
"C'mon, let's not leave her here, we'll take her into the desert." Trent said.
"Supposing those guys see her face on the morning news, then what?" Johnny asked.
Kris laughed, "Then nothing. I'm sure it will be very uncomfortable for them to have to explain how she begged them for help and
why they left her to die. They won't say a word, not to anyone that matters anyway."
"You're right." Trent lifted her body and together they made the long trek into the desert.
CHAPTER ONE
KRIS
The last run in with Raven cost us some vampires. Our sister had built her pack of wolves to a new record breaking high, changing virtually everyone she came into contact with. We were fortunate, even with our losses we managed to fight her off and send her back into the snowy mountains of Alaska, where the near darkness kept her hidden and kept her safe. Her attack on us started out as a plea that went horribly wrong. She didn't come to protect herself or her people. She didn't come to fight for territory or feeding rights. She came to bring us together again, all under one roof and under one rule; hers. Fighting together, with our brother Trent we were at our strongest and arguably unbeatable. The problem in her theory was getting three strong personalities to agree who would be in charge. Raven with her impulsive, blood driven wickedness was a major concern for my brother and I. My brother had voted me to be the Patriarch of the covens because I was the eldest of the three, born only minutes apart from my siblings. It was also decided that I had just enough wickedness myself to keep the covens in line for the sake of getting along.
The idea failed, the covens had been separated too long and many of our extended family rejected the union. Ultimately, it was agreed that there was still too much hatred, competition and bad blood between us, decidedly enough to keep us apart for an eternity. In the end, Ravens numbers were impressive but nothing more. Her wolves were too young and too inexperienced, they couldn't stand against master vampires. Raven retreated quickly and we were left to decide what to do next. It wasn't safe to stay here any longer, we needed to find a new place to start our lives over again. My family and our remaining vampires decided with much debate that we would move south, to the desert. Arizona would be just sunny enough to keep her from surprising us again; it was hot and very dry. It would take an event of major significance to pull her willingly, into this environment. The probability of not having to see Raven again this century was all I needed to hear to finalize
my decision. I didn't simply dislike my sister, I hated her; between the three of us Raven and I had the worst relationship. I made it perfectly clear that I had no love or loyalty for my sister. All she needed to do was provoke me or push me slightly and I would gladly take her life. It was the major reason why she exercised her "flight" response in most of our "fight or flight" quarrels. She knew not to get too close to me. More often than not, she would push one of her strongest to the foreground to protect her from direct contact in a battle. Most of the time that was her lover, Sabre. A hateful, vengeful monster thatlived only to please my sister; I despised him with equal fervor. On the flip side there was one sibling I got along with great, my brother Trent. He and I were as close as brothers could be. He always lent me his support when it was critical but he made it clear that Raven was still our sister and so for the most part, he remained annoyingly neutral. Despite his major flaw in judging character, Trent was still the one I trusted above everyone else.
We chose homes that had just been built in a relatively underdeveloped area. We, my brother and our two cousins, had chosen
houses situated next to each other. We were always close, for protection and support and Tucson was no different. The rest of our clan chose areas around
town to live and clustered together for protection as well.
We had unpacked and settled in and finally chose a business that we wanted to invest our fortunes in. A nightclub was the
consensus, partly because of the demand for night time adult socializing and the other part was to attract a steady flow of young, attractive people to us. To
maintain the illusion of youth, we surrounded ourselves with Tucson's young crowd. Health and vitality pumped through their veins, providing the desired
facade and an ample supply of fresh blood. Club Nosferatu was born, five years ago and had thrived since year one. The name was cliché and also the reason for
our immediate success. With the steady fascination with vampires, the name was a source of curiosity for even for the most timid of patrons.
Under the guise of club owners, we kept our secret hidden while operating blissfully in the dark. Though contact with sun wasn't lethal, it was highly uncomfortable at best so it was a welcome relief that we wouldn't be expected to keep day time hours. Content to stay busy and
survive the ages, we began cultivating relationships with the humans, although personal relationships were a bit different. Serious relationships were
something that I never ventured into, I refused to risk discovery by making a human part of my life. They served their purpose, in more ways than one and I
was satisfied with that type of "relationship".
The only woman that was close to me was my friend Norah. She was a childhood friend that had been changed early in our
friendship. She had been with me before my powers had fully developed into what I am today. She knew Kris, the person that I was before I became a master
vampire. It was that friendship and loyalty that I valued as much as I valued my family.
As a vampire, she had developed a lust and thirst for life and blood, most of the time the thirst for blood ended in a loss of life but we tried to spare as many souls as possible. Rising body counts led to rising suspicions and that was not something that we wanted to deal with.
Two more purebloods made up the last of my immediate family, my cousins Gabriel and Nathaniel. Born as vampires, like my
siblings and I they were the strongest we had, without being masters. Gabriel was the eldest and the smartest of us all. He never allowed his temper to
control him or his decisions. He never flew off the handle, like I had tendency to do, instead he thought things through calmly; at least when it came to
personal matters.
Overall, he had the highest amount of kills between all of us. Gabriel was unforgiving and lacked a conscience when it came to dispatching a soul. He was our protector, the one that would see every request through to the end. He only questioned my decisions once and it turned out that he was right. Other than that, he fulfilled every task given to him without remorse or hesitation. Nathaniel was his opposite. Nathaniel, who we called Johnny, was the
youngest and by far the tamest. His dark side only came out when my sister came into town, otherwise he chose to enjoy a quiet life, content to live and let
live. He balanced us and more often than not, was the voice of reason when tempers ran too high. Nothing shocked him or surprised him, he was blissfully
immune to all of our antics. Ever trustworthy and loyal he never failed to lend a hand when asked but some requests would afford you some interesting facial
expressions. His disapproval was always just beneath the surface and for that reason, we employed his brother to carry out the majority of our unpleasant
errands.
The four of us, kept each other in line and safe for over two centuries now. We virtually stood still and watched time pass by.
Through economic devastation, subsequent recovery and the natural course of human evolution we found ourselves living in 1996 with humans and struggling to
blend in. One thing that was good about surrounding yourself with the young crowd, odd and different behavior was embraced. Our idiosyncrasies were just
strange enough to be considered fascinating.
I walked through the crowd of people, making my way to our table and my cousin Gabriel, who was waiting patiently. He looked up when I approached.
"Where have you been?"
"Sorry, I got held up. Norah." That one name was all I needed to say, it explained everything and nothing at the same time. Gabriel knew it had to do with her flying off the handle in some way, he just didn't know the specifics.
"When are you going to get tired of her?"
"I don't know, should be any day now."
"Yeah, right." He slid a newspaper article under my nose, "They found her this morning."
I looked at the face that was on the cover of the Tucson Sun. It was Angelia, the woman that we killed several weeks ago. I cringed to think how long her family had suffered, waiting to hear from her. The truth was, I felt bad about killing her and I rarely felt guilty about anything, especially when it came to survival. This one was different, her blood still lingered in my body and I could feel it surface sometimes when I experienced a memory that wasn't mine. I knew that she was close to her parents and her brother and wondered how they would take her death. I looked at Gabriel who no doubt had those memories surface too. He looked back at me with his dark green eyes, not showing a hint of remorse.
"Do you still feel her?" I asked.
"Sometimes."
"I still feel her sorrow, in the last few seconds of her life how she thought of her family..."
"Kris, stop. You're feeling her pain, her life, they aren't your memories, let them go."
"It's hard."
"It will get better. You absorbed what was human in her, it will wear off but you must push it away. Soon she will be a distant memory."
I nodded. That was the worst part about taking someone's soul, absorbing their life. It was fine if you absorbed someone that was good and kind but it got nasty if you absorbed someone that was crazy or violent. You took on their personalities for a short time, feeding off of their anger and frustration.
Gabriel sighed, "You know, another problem we have is Norah. She has to stop killing, I'm tired of cleaning up her messes. Plus, she only kills emotionally psycho women; I don't know how you handle her mood swings. You get her to stop killing and her personality will even out, then maybe you can reason with her."
It was true, Norah was also heavily affected by her victims. The problem with selecting a certain type of person is you start to
crave them. You become familiar with their emotions and soon all their memories blend together in a nasty ball of energy. My sister Raven violently killed
anyone she fed off of, absorbing their terror. When your body lives on terror, you must continually feed it terror, at least that's what Raven did.
My family and I chose not to kill whenever we could avoid it, it was better not to have to deal with the whirlwind of
emotions. Gabriel was right, I would get better as soon as I let myself. I needed to push her aside and allow my emotions to stabilize. I would be back to
normal soon.
I got up and went into the back to find Trent. He was sitting at the bar talking to the bartender.
"Well, what did you want to talk to me about? It seems like someone always has something to say around here." I said.
"What did you say to Rachel?"
Rachel was a waitress that worked for us for a whopping two weeks. Apparently, she didn't like me much, the feeling was mutual.
"Nothing much, I just suggested that she may want to work somewhere else."
"Okay, from here on, Gabriel is in charge of hiring and firing. I don't want you to look at my employees and I want you to
limit how much you talk to them. That's the fifth girl that you ran off this month. Honestly Kris, what's the problem?"
"You want all of them or just a couple?"
"I'm serious."
"Me too."
"You're such a dick. Stay away from my employees, got it?"
"Yes, fine. I got it." I sat on the stool next to him.
A female voice appeared behind me.
"Hi, I'm Caitlynn, what's your name?"
I turned to the blonde that intruded on my conversation giving her a dirty look.
"Caitlynn, do you realize you just interrupted me or do you not care?"
She giggled, "I'm sorry, I just saw you over here and I wanted to come over and say hi."
"So, you couldn't have waited a few more minutes to say that?"
"I'm sorry, I'll wait." She sat on a bar stool and faced me.
"It's too late now, what do you want Caitlynn, aside from the hi, of course."
She shrugged, "I..."
"So, you talk fine with my back to you, but as soon as I look at you, you can't speak, is that it? What did you think you were
going to do, just come over here and start a conversation so dazzling that I would fall head over heels for you?"
"Uh...no."
"Then spit it out! What...do...you...want?"
She turned and looked at her friends that were watching intently from their table.
"Ah, so your friends are watching you, you have to do something impressive. Did they double dare you to talk to me?"
"No." She whispered.
"I don't believe you."
She was starting to squirm.
"So, we are providing a little show for your friends, are we? Well then, let's give them a show."
I looked at her choice of clothes, it looked like she was wearing strings that were strategically placed. She must have been
wrapped in body tape to keep everything covered.
"What an interesting outfit."
"Thank you." She smiled.
"That wasn't a compliment."
She looked confused.
"A woman wears an outfit like that to attract men, a certain kind of man. Is that what you are trying to do?" I didn't wait
for her to answer. "Obviously the idea behind this choice was to catch a man on your looks and not your conversation skills. But wanting a man like that is not
the same as wanting me." I plucked at one of the strings on her shoulder and it popped, falling across her chest. "Hmmm." I didn't know why I was surprised with
how easy it fell apart.
"The kinds of women that have any chance of talking to me are the fully clothed kind because I know that it's the confidence
in their head that makes them approach me, not the confidence between their legs." I plucked another string and she gasped, grabbing at it, trying to hold
her top up.
"So, which one are you Caitlynn?"
"Uhhh..."
"You know what, never mind. Even common sarcasm doesn't work on you. Why...are...you...still...standing...here?" I said, plucking a different string with every word. She squealed with every pop of the strings, finally grabbing what was left of her top and running for the bathroom.
I laughed as she ran away, shaking my head and returning to my attention to my brother, who was also laughing.
"Women."
“Yeah."
I leaned against the bar, looking out into the club crowd. "Speaking of women, who is this brunette that keeps staring at you?
She never goes away." I nodded to a woman that was standing next to one of the pool tables.
"Her name is Tawnie, she's Billy's friend."
"Billy has friends?"
"She lives in Cali but visits often."
"Has she talked to you or does she just stare?"
"She talked to me the other day, she asked me to dance."
Now that Trent and I were facing Tawnie and obviously talking about her, she finally broke her stare and tried to act
casual.
"Did you sleep with her?"
"Maybe."
I shook my head again, "How do you do that?"
"It's easy."
"You know what I mean." I said. "Look at her, she's in lust. How are you going to keep her away from you now?"
"I don't want to keep her away, that's your thing, not mine." He said.
"So you're going to actually have a relationship with her?"
"I dunno."
"You're an idiot."
"I don't want to be alone forever, like you. I need to be with someone, I love having a woman in my life."
"Good for you, but this one is going to be a problem for you."
"No she won't. You should talk to her." He waved Tawnie over.
"I don't want to talk to her, having relationships with humans is dangerous Trent."
He ignored me and embraced Tawnie. "Hey, I wanted to introduce you, this is my brother, Kris."
"Hi." She smiled and extended her hand, which I just looked at.
"Hi." I was less enthusiastic.
She frowned and dropped her hand, she turned her attention to Trent. "Sorry if I was interrupting but I really wanted to see you tonight." She said. "I'm going home tomorrow."
"Thank God." I said not as quiet as my brother would have liked.
"And I wanted to make sure I got the chance to say goodbye."
"Bye." I said.
She glared at me. "Was I looking at you?"
I glared back.
"Then I wasn't talking to you, smiley." She said.
"Why don't you shut the fuck up and leave?"
"Kris." Trent put his hand on my arm. "C'mon Tawnie, let’s go outside."
"Lovely to have met you." She smiled her biggest phony smile.
"Lovely's not the word I picked."
She snarled at me and walked with Trent up the stairs to the exit.
"Smart ass..." I said when she was out of earshot.
"Who's a smart ass?"
I looked over and saw Norah approaching me. "Trent's girlfriend."
"His what?"
"Nothing, never mind. What are you doing here?"
"I came to see you. I was wondering if you were hungry and wanted to grab a bite to eat."
"Yeah, I guess so." We left the club.
The area surrounding the club was very run down, many of the buildings weren't occupied by business owners anymore. There were a couple of motels, some closed for years. Weeds were growing out of the cracked asphalt, windows were busted out of the rooms and faded graffiti adorned the walls that were still standing. This street was dark and usually quiet, with the exception of the traffic to the club and hookers nearby. There was a small patch of land dedicated to a park or golf course that extended just beyond the part of town that was deemed the historical district. That was the side of town we walked towards when we wanted to find food. There were a few small bars tucked away here and there in between a handful of mechanic shops. We walked quietly towards the tall towers of downtown Tucson, patiently waiting for someone to cross our path.
Norah spotted a man standing near a bus stop. The buses weren't running this late, he was waiting for something else. "I want that one, disappear for me, will you Kris?"
I vanished into a shadow across from the man and watched Norah. She waited for a car to pass before crossing the street. The man looked up and watched her walk towards him. Norah was a beautiful woman, I could only imagine the things that may be going through his head. She pulled her hair back away from her face and started a conversation with him, something about car problems. I watched the expression on his face change, he smiled brightly, looking at her body and her face again. Norah was a very voluptuous woman, she had amazing curves, the kind that would make any Roman goddess jealous. The man offered his assistance, if only she would let him open up his office, he could use the phone to call a tow company. She heartily accepted, thanking him profusely.
"It's right this way." He pointed around the corner.
A few moments later, Norah had disappeared from view. I waited for a few minutes, wondering if I should follow. I decided I was too bored to stand still. I crossed the street and followed her scent. I could hear a faded exchange of words, Norah was talking to the man. It sounded like he was getting a little touchy feely with her. I could hear her protesting softly in the alleyway. I stopped just short of the alley and leaned against the wall, listening to the exchange of words, it sounded like he was getting rough.
"C'mere baby, don't fight me, it'll be harder if you fight."
"Oh! Ouch." She said genuinely. "You've done this before haven't you?" She whispered in a husky voice.
"What?"
"You heard me. What? You not interested now that I'm willing?"
My head kept repeating, Wait for it, wait for it...
"Ow! What the fuck?!" It was his turn to protest.
"Did I hurt you baby?" She asked laughing.
I turned the corner and saw the man had originally had Norah pinned against the wall; he took a step back, starting to wonder what he got himself into. Norah glanced quickly over at me and back at the man. He turned his head to look over his shoulder to see what had momentarily distracted her. It was then that she bit into his throat.
She pushed him onto the ground, the weight of her vampire body was immovable to him. He couldn't free himself or protest with
her hand covering his mouth as she drank.
I walked into the alley and stood next to her, "Easy Norah, not too much."
The blurt of a close siren made me turn back around. I walked to the end of the alley and peeked around the corner. A cop was dispatching a couple of women that could have been prostitutes. I instinctively reached for my cross that hung around my neck. If I had to face the cop I wanted to make sure everything was in place. My cross was lying against my sternum, still keeping me human. I listened to their exchange of words, completely forgetting about Norah. When I turned my attention back to her I panicked to see her still drinking. "Norah!" I shouted as softly as I could. "Stop!"
I ran over and grabbed her pulling her off of him. His head fell back onto the concrete, his face white and eyes open. "Dammit Norah! I told you not to kill!"
"He was a bad man." She said licking her lips.
"But he tasted so good."
I grabbed her arm, "You have no control!"
I heard the sound of footsteps and saw a flash of light dancing on the sidewalk just beyond the alley.
"That cop might have heard me, we need to leave."
"What about him?" She asked, pointing to the dead man.
"He's coming with us."
"Do you want me to distract the cop?"
"No! Come with me." I heaved the body over my shoulder and we walked to the back of the alley. There was a chain linked fence with a small padlock, blocking the exit to the alley. I concentrated my energy on the lock and it fell open. Norah opened the gate and we ran out of the back just before the cop turned into the alley.
I had lost count of how many bodies we had dumped in the desert this month, but just as quickly as we were leaving them, they were found. We needed to either stop killing or find a new dumping ground. Eventually, I could see us running into a half a dozen cops out here in the dark. That would be awkward to say the least.
Norah and I were heading home when she suddenly remembered, "Hey, you didn't feed tonight."
"It's alright, I can wait another night, I just want to go home."
"You shouldn't wait to feed Kris, you know what will happen."
"No, really?" I stopped and looked at her, "Why don't you tell me."
She shrugged, "Okay, sorry I was just saying."
"Well maybe if you didn't kill a guy, we wouldn't have to drag his body into the desert and maybe I could have fed too."
"Oh, so you want me to feel guilty."
"Are you capable of guilt?"
She looked at me, "When it comes to you, yes."
I walked away from her.
"I'll make it up to you, I promise." She ran to catch up to me.
"Don't bother."
"No, I will, you will see." She took my hand and we walked together.
"Remember when we were kids and we used to sneak outside just to sit together in the dark and talk?" She asked.
"Yes."
"I knew we'd be together forever every time I looked at you."
I looked at her and met her gaze.
"I love you Kris."
"I know."
"Why don't you love me?" She asked after a few minutes.
"I do love you."
"But you aren't in love with me."
"We already tried that, it didn't work Norah."
"I think we should try again."
"You're my friend now." I was dreading having this conversation again.
"I don't want to be your friend."
"Norah please..."
"We're meant for each other."
"Because we came from the same tribe and are the same species it doesn't mean we're meant for each other."
"I know you Kris, I know you better than anyone."
"Not true."
"Any woman."
"Please drop it."
"I just think it's time for us to try again, I want you." She lifted my hand to her lips and kissed it.
I pulled my hand free. "We will never be together Norah, you aren't the woman for me, the sooner you accept that, the happier we'll both be."
"How could you say that to me?" She sounded hurt.
"It’s how I feel."
"If you weren't meant to be with me, then who are you going to be with?"
I looked at her, I knew she was fishing, she probably thought I had my eye on someone already. "I don't know, probably no one. There isn't anyone in the world that would want to be with me." I thought of the things I've done and seen in my life and tried to picture a woman understanding enough to see past it. I shook my head, it wasn't going to happen. Aside from that, there was this little pesky thing I could never get past...trust. I didn't trust anyone, especially humans. I had too much to lose, it wasn't worth the risk of discovery. Sometimes I thought it would be a lot easier to give in to Norah.
"Maybe you should stop looking for that woman and embrace what you have standing next to you." She said.
It made sense, but now was not the time to fall into a relationship with Norah. I had more important things on my mind and adding more drama to my life was not high on my priority list.
"This is not the end of the discussion Kris, you always do this, you think you can change my mind and it won't work. I want to marry you."
"What?! Are you fucking crazy? I would never marry you." I meant to keep that last part inside. I looked over at her to see her expression.
"I'm going to pretend you never said that." She smiled sweetly at me.
I hated when she did that. She always bottled things up and kept, what I believed was a running tab of every evil thing I'd ever said to her. She would hold it in until one day when she found the right moment; she'd unleash everything on me. I made another mental note to be careful about what I said out loud. She laid her head against my arm the rest of the way home.
We walked silently all the way home, there was nothing left to say. When we got home, I excused myself and went to bed. I wanted to lie down and do some thinking and usually my bed was the only place I could be left alone. I could hear Norah walking around downstairs, she was pacing as if she were bored. Sometime after three she left the house. I didn't really care where she went, just so long as she didn't jump into bed with me. I let myself rest, closing my eyes I fell into a dream, a dream for vampires that is.
The smell of warm, burnt grass permeated my senses. I never got over the way the plains smelled in the summer months compared to the winter. The scents were so much stronger in the summer, it smelled like everything was cooking out in the open and it probably was. There were some scents of flowers, nothing specific, just wildflowers. Little yellow and white flowers waved back and forth in the gentle breeze carrying smaller bits of pollen and dandelions.
Chahash'oh! I heard my name being called by a familiar voice. It was Nascha, my friend. Her father and my father were both elders in our tribe. She and I were about the same age so we spent most of our time together.
"Where are you going?" She asked.
"Nowhere, I'm just walking."
"Can I come with you?"
"Yes." I smiled, it was nice to have her company.
"Chahash'oh, why do the tribesmen fear your family?"
"I don't think I should tell you."
"Why not?" She looked concerned and hurt. Nascha was my best friend, she didn't understand why I had secrets from her.
She continued, " My father won't tell me either, but I overhear him speaking to others about you."
"And what do they say?" I sat in the field letting the tall grass cover me.
Nascha sat next to me, "They say you were born from a demon, you and your family."
" Yenaldlooshi, the demon that swallows souls..."
"Don't say that! If you call the demon, he will come!"
"That's what we are called Nascha, that's what the tribe believes us to be."
"But that can't be true." She looked at me with her golden brown eyes, pleading for me to tell her something different.
"There are things about my family that I still don't understand but I know that we are different."
She held my hand, "I don't believe it, you are not a demon."
I didn't know what to tell her. The older I got the more I understood what was inside of me. My parents had taken my siblings and me on a hunt last season and
they showed us how their bodies changed into monsters. My father, being cursed by a demon that resembled stories of the Yenaldlooshi and my mother by a wolf. There was no explanation for the things that they did that night, but I believed what I saw.
Our family was definitely different and in time my brother and I would take on our fathers' curse and my sister would gain our mothers' and her ability to
transform into a wolf.
I held onto Nascha, stroking her hair and dreading the day things would be different between us. One day, we would change and everything
that I loved would be gone from my life; all of it replaced by fear and hate.
"Kris..."
Norah's voice pulled me out of my dream. I opened my eyes and she was kneeling beside my bed.
"Kris...wake up." She stroked my arm.
"What is it?"
"Come with me."
She turned and walked to the door, waiting for me to follow her.
I got up from my bed and followed her downstairs.
I stopped halfway down the staircase because I saw a woman blindfolded, gagged and bound, laying on my couch.
"What's this?"
"I told you I'd make it up to you. I brought you fresh blood." She smiled brightly.
"No Norah!" I tried to keep my voice down, I didn't want the woman to hear the exchange of words. "Not here! Why would you bring her
here?"
"I told you..."
"No, get rid of her, let her go."
"Kris, you need to feed. You don't have to kill her, I'll let her go when you're done." She held my hand and gently led me to the couch, "It's
my peace offering, please accept it."
"Norah..."
"Shhh..."
Seeing a human was making me hungry again, I thought it best not to fight it off again. I knelt down and took the girl's hand. I placed it to my lips and bit into her flesh. She moaned through the gag and tried to move but her ties were too tight. Norah stood nearby, her eyes red as she watched me feed.
The warmth of the blood was just what I needed, I was hungrier than I thought, I wanted to keep drinking until she was gone but I knew better
than that. I continued to drink, careful not to take it too far. The girl began to thrash around, no doubt she could sense that she was fighting for her life.
Norah walked over to the girl and held onto her shoulders, keeping her from trying to sit up. I drank until I could feel the girl's breathing slow down, she was drifting into unconsciousness. I released her and sat back, drunk on fresh blood and savoring the moment.
Norah smiled, "How was she?"
I smiled back, still in a euphoric state.
Norah slid her hands up the side of the girl's neck and quickly spun her head ninety degrees around, snapping her neck bones.
"Why did you do that?!" I screamed at her and jumped to my feet.
"Because she heard our names, Kris. I am protecting us."
"Dammit Norah! Are you purposely trying to hurt our family? Are you really that stupid? I told you, no more killing!"
"This will be the last of it. We can't release her and hope that she doesn't remember anything, be serious Kris."
I walked up to Norah and slapped her. "Is that serious enough for you?"
When she looked at me I saw a gash in her cheek where the skin had split. There was blood pouring out of the wound. She pushed her hand up
against her face, trying to stop the bleeding and encourage healing.
I looked at her with her eyes wide, staring back at me. "Get rid of the body and don't ever bring humans to my house again."
Part Two
A nice alternative to sleeping the years away, was finding yourself useful. For my family and I, we spent the majority of our
time at our club, immersing ourselves in the business and politics of it all.
I made it just in time for the nightly employee briefing. At my brother's request, I kept silent and tried not to make any
obnoxious sounds when I heard a really lame suggestion.
"Well," Tina was addressing the room,
"I think it would be a good idea to have happy hour. I really love Club Nosferatu, it's like my second home I want it to grow and I just know that our current customers would appreciate a price break and it would attract new customers."
I looked to my left and then to my right, wondering if my brother or our cousins, Gabriel and Johnny wanted to respond to that one. No takers...
I ran with it, "This is not a dive bar or a restaurant trying to maintain a steady flow of customers between lunch and dinner. People come here to dance and drink, not
the other way around. This is a club Toni."
"Tina."
"Whatever. And did you really say this was your second home?"
Trent nudged me in the arm, I looked at him, "What?"
I continued, "That's not what you told April the other day when you were smoking in the bathroom."
Tina looked a little flustered, "How...did you hear that?"
"I hear everything.""Kris..."
"What?!"
Trent just shook his head at me. "Sit down Tina."
She still looked a little upset, but she did what he asked.
"Suggestions are always welcomed and encouraged," Trent started, "in this case we have already discussed the pros and cons of having a 'two for one' or a 'happy hour' and it has been decided that it would not be a good idea for us. When you guys go home tonight, I encourage you to take a look at the bars that surround us and think about how they differ from Club Nosferatu, we maintain our set of standards and clientele that help us grow and prosper. Many of the bars in town have already gone out of business, yet we are still thriving, not one of the few bars left in town can afford the staff that we have here. Our customers come to us because we don't let just anyone in, we are selective and stay true to our theme and our promise that this is a safe place to dance, hang out with friends, eat and then drink if
you choose. Happy hour can't save the failing and it has no benefit to us."
"Any more questions?" Trent asked.
The room was silent so he dismissed the employees.
"I want to talk to you upstairs...now." He whispered to me.
I followed Trent upstairs to his office, feeling like a kid about to be scolded by his father.
I closed the door behind me, like that would make a difference in us being heard.
He sat down on the edge of his desk and faced me, "What's wrong Kris?"
Not the approach I was expecting, I thought.
"What do you mean? Aren't I usually this charming?"
"No, there is something else under the surface. You seem angry, distant and about ready to blow. What's going on?"
I shook my head, "There are a lot of things going on in my head."
"Like what? Tell me."
"I don't want to get into it Trent."
"I'm your brother, I want to know."
"I dunno..." I drifted off.
He walked over to me and rested his hand on my shoulder, "You are the most stubborn person I know. Why is it so difficult for you to express what you are feeling?"
"I'm angry."
"About what?"
"Norah, life...and time." I shrugged, already feeling defeated.
Trent sat back down. "I understand time. It gets tiring living on and on. I get it, believe me. And I can't help you with Norah, you will have to decide what to do about her on your own. But life, I may be able to help you with. Have you given any more thought into finding someone to spend your life with?"
I rolled my eyes and looked away from him.
"I'm serious Kris. You tease me about how much time I spend with humans but you need to live a little and enjoy relationships."
"I can't..."
"Yes you can. You are a man and a human above everything else. You think you are a vampire first but that's not true, it's a balancing act. Being a vampire is only a small part of who you are and it doesn't mean you don't deserve to be happy. You are not a monster, you need to stop telling yourself that. Do you think I stress
every day I spend with Tawnie? Do you think I run from the sun and hide in the shadows? No, because I'd miss out on life and the one thing that these two hundred years have shown me is that life is worth living. You need to go out on a limb, trust someone, date someone, do something wrong and then fix it the second time around. You've got to learn how to exist in this world, embrace change and explore the unknown." Trent sat and thought for moment before continuing.
"And you need to do something about Norah. She is destructive, violent and angry. She doesn't want to be a vampire any more than you do but she doesn't want to be separated from you either. She chose to live forever, next to you as a vampire. If you died tomorrow, she would kill herself to be with you. You need to find your path and fix your life so that you can help her, she's having a hard time too I can see it in her. Most of the time she's just an evil ball of energy but every once in a while I see Nascha, the little girl that held your hand and followed us everywhere. She needs you to show her how to live or the two of you are going to continue
down this spiral and live the lives that we've been running from for centuries."
I shook my head, "I know you're right but I don't know how to do it."
"Start by being nice to someone, you don't have a hard time attracting women. When one approaches you, try to be nice."
I smiled, "Easier said than done. The women here are stupid sluts."
"That's a generalization, not all of them are, Tawnie's not."
I looked at him about to say something, and then thought better of it.
"You see," He said, "Already you're learning how to be nice. Just try it, okay?"
"Lecture over?" I asked.
"For now."
"Alright." I stood up and left his office, thinking about what he said. I really didn't know how to be social or kind for that matter. I guess I'd have to learn unless I wanted to be with Norah forever. Not that it was a horrible idea, but I definitely couldn't be with her as is, she and I would both have to make changes.
It was my night to work the floor, I stood aside from the crowds and did my usual people watching. Every once in a while I would meet a pair of female eyes staring back at me. I looked away, which was usual but then I made an effort to look again. I felt like a teenager, too shy to make eye contact. This was ridiculous.
A brunette approached me with a smile.
"Hi, you work here right?"
I lifted one eyebrow, biting down on my tongue.
She giggled, "I thought so, I was wondering if you could tell me where the ladies room is?"
I raised the other brow. I lifted my gaze, just above her head and saw the neon signs pointing the way to the restrooms, big and bold, bright enough to land a plane.
I smiled slightly and pointed behind her, "Right behind you."
She turned around, "Oh, I'm so stupid, I didn't even see it. Thank you." She smiled.
"No problem."
She spun around and made her way to the corridor leading to the bathrooms. I shook my head thinking that if this is what it took to get to know someone, I'd be
screwed.
About five minutes later, the same brunette came back to me.
"Hi, it's me again. I was wondering if maybe you wanted to dance?"
"Did you wash your hands?"
"Huh?"
"Never mind. I guess so." I reluctantly left my seat and walked to the dance floor.
I turned around and pulled her to me and started to dance. A slower song than usual was playing so it gave us the opportunity to talk a little bit.
"Did you really go to the bathroom? You were only gone for five minutes."
"Oh, no I didn't. I was just checking my makeup."
I couldn't stop my eyes rolling to one side. I hated superficial bitches.
"You're a good dancer." She smiled.
"What's your name?"
"Kris."
"I'm Jessica."
This was the part where I started to zone in on the song so I could ignore the mindless chatter. When the song was done, I pushed her away from me and walked to the back of the club again. What a waste of time.
Gabriel walked over and leaned against the bar with me. "What the fuck was that?" He said half laughing.
"Shut up. It's Trent's idea of improving my love life."
He laughed louder this time. "Is he kidding?
You can't force it, you just have to be ready when it happens. I can't believe you'd take advice from Trent."
"Shut up."
"Alright, so now what? Time to pick out china patterns?"
"Fuck you Gabriel."
He laughed. "Why don't you just pick a woman that you like out of the crowd, go back to her place and instead of booking it after 'the moment of magic', hang out and talk to her. And then, you're gonna love this idea, give her your number, get hers and call her the next day. How about that?"
"How about I shove my foot up your ass instead?"
"It won't be as much fun, for either of us."
"I'll be the judge of that." I threatened.
"Just an idea, but I can see you're doing just fine on your own." He smiled and patted me on the back.
Gabriel was momentarily distracted by a woman, "How about that redhead in the blue dress?" He nodded towards a woman playing pool with some friends. "I've been watching her off and on, she seems kind of cool. She's been playing for a while, I'm sure she can use a break. Also, she's already rejected a handful of men that tried to get her attention; I think you could do better than them." He smiled at me.
"Do I have to find Ms. Right tonight?"
"Carpe Diem."
"Yeah, screw that." I thought for a minute, "Alright, I'll go talk to her but for the record, Kris 'the domestic' is a bad idea." I walked over to the redhead.
She was waiting her turn, leaning against the table watching her friend take a shot. She looked up when I approached her table and smiled at me.
"Nice game, you winning?" I asked.
"Of course." She smiled brighter, flashing her pure white teeth.
"Good, because I want to play the winner."
"In that case, in won't take but a minute to finish this game." She positioned herself over the table and sank two more balls before pocketing the eight ball.
"Good game." She smiled at the loser and took their stick. She turned and handed it to me, "So, are we betting on this one or just playing for fun?"
"Ladies' choice." I changed out my cue for one that suited me better.
"Let's bet, it'll make it more interesting."
"Okay, what's the bet? What do you want if you win?" I asked.
She got serious, she leaned into to me and gave me the once over with her bright blue eyes, "I want to take you home and have my way with you."
"That's funny." I laughed.
"Why?"
I mirrored her gaze, "Because we both want the same thing. Rack 'em up."
*************************************************
We busted through the door of her house and made our way to one of the bedrooms.
"So, do you want to be on top or on the bottom?" She giggled.
"Ladies' choice."
"I like the way you think." She pushed me down and started to pull my shirt off. She was a woman that obviously knew what she wanted and how she wanted it. I liked that, but I think she was a bit over zealous or maybe just trying to show off because by the time we were finished, she was exhausted. She lay across from me with her chest heaving. I thought I had better wait before engaging in some kind of conversation, especially if I wanted her to be able to respond.
Conversation...I thought. How am I supposed to force this? Then I thought, why do I need to force it, shouldn't I want to get to know her? It was no use, I did not want to be here right now.
She rolled her head to one side and looked at me, "You're amazing, I'm so glad you finally decided to talk to me."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I talked to you about a week ago and you didn't say anything to me."
"Oh, I'm sorry about that."
"That's okay." She smiled brightly.
I had to ask, "What's your name?"
She giggled, "I'm Mia and you're Kris right?"
"Yeah."
She was still breathing hard, "I guess I'm a little out of shape, give me a minute and we can start round two."
Oh great, exactly what I didn't want to hear. I was trying to be nice by laying here but the voices in my head were telling me it was time to go.
"This is a pretty big house for just one person." I noted. She struck me as the professional, successful type of woman but not one that would need such a large house. A house like this would no doubt require a lot of cleaning; something a professional, successful woman wouldn't have time for. I wondered if she
employed a maid but got my answer quickly when I noticed a dust pile on a nearby nightstand.
She laughed off my comment.
I looked at her and she was smiling at me, not a friendly smile but a stupid smile. The kind that would make most men want to change the subject.
I could tell she was hiding something. I was starting to figure that she must be married.
I sat up in bed, "Mia, are you married?"
She sat up next to me and put her hand on my back, "I'm separated, does that bother you?"
"Separated by what, an ocean? Or are you legally separated?"
She took too long to answer, I stood up and gathered my clothes.
"Are you mad?"
"No. You're married, what you do to your husband is your deal but don't expect me to stick around for round two."
"Alright, I'll tell you the truth, my husband has been gone for over a year now."
"Save the sob story." I pulled my boots on.
"Really, it's been so hard for me, I've been so lonely."
"Mia, what part of I don't give a shit do you not understand? You got what you wanted, don't expect me to sympathize with your situation, if I were your husband I'd beat the shit out of you, fuck the explanations."
"I'm really not a bad person, I would never want to hurt him or the kids."
"You have kids? Nice." I stood up.
"Please don't go Kris!" She tried to grab my arm.
"I've heard enough." I left her sitting on the bed with a sheet clutched to her chest.
I walked home thinking. It wasn't that I was upset that she was married, it wasn't the first time I slept with a married woman, whether it was known or not known by me. I just didn't like the excuses, they all try to validate why they do the things they do to each other. My husband doesn't pay attention to me, my husband isn't the sexual type, my husband has been overseas for over a year. It was all the same, all I heard was blah, blah, blah. Why don't they just admit that what they did was shitty and they're too scared to be divorced with kids that at least would be honest.
I smiled as I walked home, thankful that I had found a reason to leave. This getting to know you crap was not going to work for me, I could only hope that when and if the right woman came around that I would have enough foresight to not tell her to go to hell.
******************************************************
The next couple of weeks went by in a blur. Trent and Tawnie broke up and made up about half a dozen times already. The whirlwind that had become my brother's life was not enviable by anyone, including Trent. I just shook my head and was thankful that I didn't have to deal with all the crap.
Norah stood close while Trent and I talked.
"Why do you keep going back to her if she drives you nuts?" I asked.
"I don't know I wish I knew. It's something about her, aside from the fact that I know I love her, I dunno, I just can't leave her."
"Is this the life you wish for me?"
"Of course not, but it’s part of being in a relationship."
Norah was making uncomfortable sounds. She stopped when I glared at her.
"Well, if this is how you want to live, with drama and human bullshit, then go for it. Personally, it would drive me nuts."
Norah clutched onto my arm, obviously happy to hear my disapproving response.
"Of course it's not the way I want to live." He ran his fingers through his hair, "I just don't know what to do."
I looked up and watched Mia pick me out of the crowd and make her way towards me. I hadn't seen or heard from her in weeks, this could not be good, especially with Norah by my side.
She walked right up to me and Norah jumped off her stool to wedge herself between us.
"Norah, sit down and relax, I know her." She looked surprised but she sat down.
"Kris, I've been looking for you. I need to talk to you." She motioned for me to follow her.
"You can talk to me here."
"It's private."
"This is my family." I referred to both Trent and Norah. "Talk now or go away."
She sighed, "I'm worried because I think I'm pregnant and my husband comes home next month."
Trent turned to stare at me.
"Don't look at me like that, this was all of your idea." I said to him.
"Not all of it." He said.
I didn't bother to look at Norah's expression, the nails digging into my arm told me how she felt.
I turned my attention back to Mia, "I really don't see how that's my problem. After all, you are the one that turned out to be married with kids, without my knowledge and you willingly cheated on your husband. I didn't seduce you or drug into doing anything you didn't plan to do. So what do you want from me, money for an abortion?"
"No...I mean I dunno. He's going to freak out when he finds out."
"Again, that's not my problem."
"I know you're mad, but you don't have to be so insensitive."
"I'm not mad Mia, I just don't care enough about you to offer my assistance."
She looked hurt. "I know it's my problem, but I didn't think you'd be so cold towards me, it's your child too."
My blood was starting to rise to the surface, "That's not a good thing to say to me right now, I think you need to leave."
"Yeah bitch!" Norah shouted, "Get the fuck out of here and if you come near Kris again I'll fucking kill you!"
"Norah..." I held her hand, "Please don't make things worse."
Mia looked defeated and lost, "There was one more thing I wanted to say to you."
I paused and let her talk.
She shrugged probably not knowing how to start, "I...I really like you. I mean being with you was wonderful. I never...it never felt like that for me, I felt like we had a
connection."
There were the beginnings of tears in her eyes, "I know what I did to you was wrong and I'm so sorry. Jim and I got married for the wrong reasons, we had kids together. We never really loved each other and sex was never special or enjoyable to either of us, it was just something that married couples do. I'm so sorry for not telling you Kris, really I am but I couldn't. The truth is Jim, being gone for so long has made me realize that I really want to be happy with someone else, I just didn't want to be cold and file divorce papers while he was gone. There is no good time to do this so I decided that I'm going to tell him everything, when he gets home. I didn't want to tell you that, I didn't want you to think that I was some cold or stupid bitch."
"Well, you are!" Norah blurted.
Mia continued, "I know that we don't know each other very well, but I was kind of hoping that you would want to change that with me. Everything happens for a reason and I believe us coming together and this baby were meant to happen."
She sighed and pulled herself together, "I'm picking up the girls later this week and I'm going to tell them too. It's not fair to anyone that this continues they deserve to know what's going on."
"Where are your kids staying?" I asked.
"With Jim's mom. He doesn't like them to spend time with her when he's around so I thought I'd let them catch up before he gets home."
"You sound like a great mom." Norah stabbed.
Mia looked at her, her eyes pleading with Norah to stop the verbal beatings.
I took a breath and tried to be kind, "Look Mia, I understand what you're saying and the whole situation really sucks but you can't expect me to jump on the band wagon because you suddenly realize you're worth more than your husband believes you to be. You have lived your life and made your decisions, now you have to live with them. I am not ready to be your knight in shining armor and come to your rescue and make everything all better. We had one night together and I'm not willing to make you part of my life based on those few short hours. Besides, you sound like you have a lot on your plate right now and trying to start a relationship in the tailspin of leaving another is a very bad idea, I'm not a rebound kind of guy."
"Okay, I understand that but what about the baby? What should I do?" She asked.
"What do you want to do?"
"I want to keep the baby." She draped her hand over her stomach.
I shook my head, "That's a bad idea Mia."
"Why?"
"Because it is, you can't carry this baby."
She looked confused and heartbroken, "Why not?"
Norah stepped forward, "Because he said so bitch!"
Mia took a step back from her, alternately looking at me and Norah. "So what are you saying, you want me to have an abortion?"
"Yes."
"I can't do that. I don't want to do that, it's wrong."
Norah reached out and grabbed Mia who screamed in shock, "You will do what you are told!"
"Norah, let her go."
Norah released her. Mia looked at me for another second and turned and ran out of the club.
"Now what are you going to do?" Trent asked.
"She can't carry that baby."
"I know." I didn't know what to do. In a few short weeks, if the baby was truly mine, it would double in size and would start to absorb my energy. Vampire babies, even half vampire had accelerated growth, usually a third of the normal term. Sometime during the second month of pregnancy, I would be able to feel the baby pulling energy from me, taking on my characteristics and establishing its own vampire genetics. It wasn't something that I was prepared to explain to Mia after
knowing her for a few hours. I still couldn't believe that the baby was mine, in my experience, making babies was very difficult for us. Procreation was not on our side, it was just luck that our parents had me and my siblings and it was even more amazing that they had triplets. My parents were never able to conceive any other children after us. The problem with the situation was by the time I would know for certain whether or not the child was mine, it would be too late to abort; the baby would be too big. Having an abortion now was just as risky, but we couldn't wait any longer, too many questions would arise based on the date of conception and the size of the fetus. I had to convince Mia to get an abortion right away, one way or another.
"A baby?" Norah leered at me.
"Stop, okay? I'm not in the mood."
"You have to make her get rid of it." Norah said.
"I know that!" I yelled at her.
"So what are you going to do?" Trent asked.
"I need to think." I said.
"C'mon, let's go home." I took Norah's hand and left.
I was thankful that Norah was quiet on the way home, I thought for sure that she would be harping on me all the way but she never said a word.
I really didn't know what to do with Mia. I had to try to convince her, I would have to call her or go by her house and talk to her in private. Without Norah, without distractions, maybe she would agree to the abortion. I decided to drop off Norah and head over to Mia's house. The sooner I dealt with this the better.
"Where are you going?" Norah asked.
"To see Mia, I have to talk to her."
Norah frowned, she didn't like the idea but she didn't protest.
I immediately drove to her side of town and waited outside her house. She wasn't home and I wasn't sure when she would be back.
I tried her cell phone a couple of times but she must have turned her phone off, it went straight to voice mail. She probably wasn't very happy with my lack of support but she couldn't be made to understand my point of view. I decided to not leave a message and just hope that sooner or later she would come home.
I waited all night, until just before sunrise. I decided that she wasn't going to be home for a while and decided to go home.
I walked in to an empty house, Norah was gone. She left a note saying that she was going out to feed.
I lay down, just thinking. About an hour later Norah got back and came upstairs.
"Did you talk to her?" She asked.
"No, she wasn't home."
"Maybe you should try again."
"I will, but later. She may be home tonight."
I looked at Norah hovering in the doorway, "Where have you been?"
"I told you, I went to feed."
"At sun up?"
"I didn't think you'd take all night, I was waiting for you. I couldn't wait any longer." She walked over to my bed and laid down next to me.
"So, is that what you want, a relationship with a human?" She asked.
I shook my head, "I don't know, I was talking to Trent and he thinks that I should be living a normal life, as close as possible anyway. I can't see myself living side by side with a human, it's too risky. I mean look at what can happen, this is a nightmare."
"Everything will be okay Kris, don't worry." She snuggled next to me and we drifted off into sleep together.
time at our club, immersing ourselves in the business and politics of it all.
I made it just in time for the nightly employee briefing. At my brother's request, I kept silent and tried not to make any
obnoxious sounds when I heard a really lame suggestion.
"Well," Tina was addressing the room,
"I think it would be a good idea to have happy hour. I really love Club Nosferatu, it's like my second home I want it to grow and I just know that our current customers would appreciate a price break and it would attract new customers."
I looked to my left and then to my right, wondering if my brother or our cousins, Gabriel and Johnny wanted to respond to that one. No takers...
I ran with it, "This is not a dive bar or a restaurant trying to maintain a steady flow of customers between lunch and dinner. People come here to dance and drink, not
the other way around. This is a club Toni."
"Tina."
"Whatever. And did you really say this was your second home?"
Trent nudged me in the arm, I looked at him, "What?"
I continued, "That's not what you told April the other day when you were smoking in the bathroom."
Tina looked a little flustered, "How...did you hear that?"
"I hear everything.""Kris..."
"What?!"
Trent just shook his head at me. "Sit down Tina."
She still looked a little upset, but she did what he asked.
"Suggestions are always welcomed and encouraged," Trent started, "in this case we have already discussed the pros and cons of having a 'two for one' or a 'happy hour' and it has been decided that it would not be a good idea for us. When you guys go home tonight, I encourage you to take a look at the bars that surround us and think about how they differ from Club Nosferatu, we maintain our set of standards and clientele that help us grow and prosper. Many of the bars in town have already gone out of business, yet we are still thriving, not one of the few bars left in town can afford the staff that we have here. Our customers come to us because we don't let just anyone in, we are selective and stay true to our theme and our promise that this is a safe place to dance, hang out with friends, eat and then drink if
you choose. Happy hour can't save the failing and it has no benefit to us."
"Any more questions?" Trent asked.
The room was silent so he dismissed the employees.
"I want to talk to you upstairs...now." He whispered to me.
I followed Trent upstairs to his office, feeling like a kid about to be scolded by his father.
I closed the door behind me, like that would make a difference in us being heard.
He sat down on the edge of his desk and faced me, "What's wrong Kris?"
Not the approach I was expecting, I thought.
"What do you mean? Aren't I usually this charming?"
"No, there is something else under the surface. You seem angry, distant and about ready to blow. What's going on?"
I shook my head, "There are a lot of things going on in my head."
"Like what? Tell me."
"I don't want to get into it Trent."
"I'm your brother, I want to know."
"I dunno..." I drifted off.
He walked over to me and rested his hand on my shoulder, "You are the most stubborn person I know. Why is it so difficult for you to express what you are feeling?"
"I'm angry."
"About what?"
"Norah, life...and time." I shrugged, already feeling defeated.
Trent sat back down. "I understand time. It gets tiring living on and on. I get it, believe me. And I can't help you with Norah, you will have to decide what to do about her on your own. But life, I may be able to help you with. Have you given any more thought into finding someone to spend your life with?"
I rolled my eyes and looked away from him.
"I'm serious Kris. You tease me about how much time I spend with humans but you need to live a little and enjoy relationships."
"I can't..."
"Yes you can. You are a man and a human above everything else. You think you are a vampire first but that's not true, it's a balancing act. Being a vampire is only a small part of who you are and it doesn't mean you don't deserve to be happy. You are not a monster, you need to stop telling yourself that. Do you think I stress
every day I spend with Tawnie? Do you think I run from the sun and hide in the shadows? No, because I'd miss out on life and the one thing that these two hundred years have shown me is that life is worth living. You need to go out on a limb, trust someone, date someone, do something wrong and then fix it the second time around. You've got to learn how to exist in this world, embrace change and explore the unknown." Trent sat and thought for moment before continuing.
"And you need to do something about Norah. She is destructive, violent and angry. She doesn't want to be a vampire any more than you do but she doesn't want to be separated from you either. She chose to live forever, next to you as a vampire. If you died tomorrow, she would kill herself to be with you. You need to find your path and fix your life so that you can help her, she's having a hard time too I can see it in her. Most of the time she's just an evil ball of energy but every once in a while I see Nascha, the little girl that held your hand and followed us everywhere. She needs you to show her how to live or the two of you are going to continue
down this spiral and live the lives that we've been running from for centuries."
I shook my head, "I know you're right but I don't know how to do it."
"Start by being nice to someone, you don't have a hard time attracting women. When one approaches you, try to be nice."
I smiled, "Easier said than done. The women here are stupid sluts."
"That's a generalization, not all of them are, Tawnie's not."
I looked at him about to say something, and then thought better of it.
"You see," He said, "Already you're learning how to be nice. Just try it, okay?"
"Lecture over?" I asked.
"For now."
"Alright." I stood up and left his office, thinking about what he said. I really didn't know how to be social or kind for that matter. I guess I'd have to learn unless I wanted to be with Norah forever. Not that it was a horrible idea, but I definitely couldn't be with her as is, she and I would both have to make changes.
It was my night to work the floor, I stood aside from the crowds and did my usual people watching. Every once in a while I would meet a pair of female eyes staring back at me. I looked away, which was usual but then I made an effort to look again. I felt like a teenager, too shy to make eye contact. This was ridiculous.
A brunette approached me with a smile.
"Hi, you work here right?"
I lifted one eyebrow, biting down on my tongue.
She giggled, "I thought so, I was wondering if you could tell me where the ladies room is?"
I raised the other brow. I lifted my gaze, just above her head and saw the neon signs pointing the way to the restrooms, big and bold, bright enough to land a plane.
I smiled slightly and pointed behind her, "Right behind you."
She turned around, "Oh, I'm so stupid, I didn't even see it. Thank you." She smiled.
"No problem."
She spun around and made her way to the corridor leading to the bathrooms. I shook my head thinking that if this is what it took to get to know someone, I'd be
screwed.
About five minutes later, the same brunette came back to me.
"Hi, it's me again. I was wondering if maybe you wanted to dance?"
"Did you wash your hands?"
"Huh?"
"Never mind. I guess so." I reluctantly left my seat and walked to the dance floor.
I turned around and pulled her to me and started to dance. A slower song than usual was playing so it gave us the opportunity to talk a little bit.
"Did you really go to the bathroom? You were only gone for five minutes."
"Oh, no I didn't. I was just checking my makeup."
I couldn't stop my eyes rolling to one side. I hated superficial bitches.
"You're a good dancer." She smiled.
"What's your name?"
"Kris."
"I'm Jessica."
This was the part where I started to zone in on the song so I could ignore the mindless chatter. When the song was done, I pushed her away from me and walked to the back of the club again. What a waste of time.
Gabriel walked over and leaned against the bar with me. "What the fuck was that?" He said half laughing.
"Shut up. It's Trent's idea of improving my love life."
He laughed louder this time. "Is he kidding?
You can't force it, you just have to be ready when it happens. I can't believe you'd take advice from Trent."
"Shut up."
"Alright, so now what? Time to pick out china patterns?"
"Fuck you Gabriel."
He laughed. "Why don't you just pick a woman that you like out of the crowd, go back to her place and instead of booking it after 'the moment of magic', hang out and talk to her. And then, you're gonna love this idea, give her your number, get hers and call her the next day. How about that?"
"How about I shove my foot up your ass instead?"
"It won't be as much fun, for either of us."
"I'll be the judge of that." I threatened.
"Just an idea, but I can see you're doing just fine on your own." He smiled and patted me on the back.
Gabriel was momentarily distracted by a woman, "How about that redhead in the blue dress?" He nodded towards a woman playing pool with some friends. "I've been watching her off and on, she seems kind of cool. She's been playing for a while, I'm sure she can use a break. Also, she's already rejected a handful of men that tried to get her attention; I think you could do better than them." He smiled at me.
"Do I have to find Ms. Right tonight?"
"Carpe Diem."
"Yeah, screw that." I thought for a minute, "Alright, I'll go talk to her but for the record, Kris 'the domestic' is a bad idea." I walked over to the redhead.
She was waiting her turn, leaning against the table watching her friend take a shot. She looked up when I approached her table and smiled at me.
"Nice game, you winning?" I asked.
"Of course." She smiled brighter, flashing her pure white teeth.
"Good, because I want to play the winner."
"In that case, in won't take but a minute to finish this game." She positioned herself over the table and sank two more balls before pocketing the eight ball.
"Good game." She smiled at the loser and took their stick. She turned and handed it to me, "So, are we betting on this one or just playing for fun?"
"Ladies' choice." I changed out my cue for one that suited me better.
"Let's bet, it'll make it more interesting."
"Okay, what's the bet? What do you want if you win?" I asked.
She got serious, she leaned into to me and gave me the once over with her bright blue eyes, "I want to take you home and have my way with you."
"That's funny." I laughed.
"Why?"
I mirrored her gaze, "Because we both want the same thing. Rack 'em up."
*************************************************
We busted through the door of her house and made our way to one of the bedrooms.
"So, do you want to be on top or on the bottom?" She giggled.
"Ladies' choice."
"I like the way you think." She pushed me down and started to pull my shirt off. She was a woman that obviously knew what she wanted and how she wanted it. I liked that, but I think she was a bit over zealous or maybe just trying to show off because by the time we were finished, she was exhausted. She lay across from me with her chest heaving. I thought I had better wait before engaging in some kind of conversation, especially if I wanted her to be able to respond.
Conversation...I thought. How am I supposed to force this? Then I thought, why do I need to force it, shouldn't I want to get to know her? It was no use, I did not want to be here right now.
She rolled her head to one side and looked at me, "You're amazing, I'm so glad you finally decided to talk to me."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I talked to you about a week ago and you didn't say anything to me."
"Oh, I'm sorry about that."
"That's okay." She smiled brightly.
I had to ask, "What's your name?"
She giggled, "I'm Mia and you're Kris right?"
"Yeah."
She was still breathing hard, "I guess I'm a little out of shape, give me a minute and we can start round two."
Oh great, exactly what I didn't want to hear. I was trying to be nice by laying here but the voices in my head were telling me it was time to go.
"This is a pretty big house for just one person." I noted. She struck me as the professional, successful type of woman but not one that would need such a large house. A house like this would no doubt require a lot of cleaning; something a professional, successful woman wouldn't have time for. I wondered if she
employed a maid but got my answer quickly when I noticed a dust pile on a nearby nightstand.
She laughed off my comment.
I looked at her and she was smiling at me, not a friendly smile but a stupid smile. The kind that would make most men want to change the subject.
I could tell she was hiding something. I was starting to figure that she must be married.
I sat up in bed, "Mia, are you married?"
She sat up next to me and put her hand on my back, "I'm separated, does that bother you?"
"Separated by what, an ocean? Or are you legally separated?"
She took too long to answer, I stood up and gathered my clothes.
"Are you mad?"
"No. You're married, what you do to your husband is your deal but don't expect me to stick around for round two."
"Alright, I'll tell you the truth, my husband has been gone for over a year now."
"Save the sob story." I pulled my boots on.
"Really, it's been so hard for me, I've been so lonely."
"Mia, what part of I don't give a shit do you not understand? You got what you wanted, don't expect me to sympathize with your situation, if I were your husband I'd beat the shit out of you, fuck the explanations."
"I'm really not a bad person, I would never want to hurt him or the kids."
"You have kids? Nice." I stood up.
"Please don't go Kris!" She tried to grab my arm.
"I've heard enough." I left her sitting on the bed with a sheet clutched to her chest.
I walked home thinking. It wasn't that I was upset that she was married, it wasn't the first time I slept with a married woman, whether it was known or not known by me. I just didn't like the excuses, they all try to validate why they do the things they do to each other. My husband doesn't pay attention to me, my husband isn't the sexual type, my husband has been overseas for over a year. It was all the same, all I heard was blah, blah, blah. Why don't they just admit that what they did was shitty and they're too scared to be divorced with kids that at least would be honest.
I smiled as I walked home, thankful that I had found a reason to leave. This getting to know you crap was not going to work for me, I could only hope that when and if the right woman came around that I would have enough foresight to not tell her to go to hell.
******************************************************
The next couple of weeks went by in a blur. Trent and Tawnie broke up and made up about half a dozen times already. The whirlwind that had become my brother's life was not enviable by anyone, including Trent. I just shook my head and was thankful that I didn't have to deal with all the crap.
Norah stood close while Trent and I talked.
"Why do you keep going back to her if she drives you nuts?" I asked.
"I don't know I wish I knew. It's something about her, aside from the fact that I know I love her, I dunno, I just can't leave her."
"Is this the life you wish for me?"
"Of course not, but it’s part of being in a relationship."
Norah was making uncomfortable sounds. She stopped when I glared at her.
"Well, if this is how you want to live, with drama and human bullshit, then go for it. Personally, it would drive me nuts."
Norah clutched onto my arm, obviously happy to hear my disapproving response.
"Of course it's not the way I want to live." He ran his fingers through his hair, "I just don't know what to do."
I looked up and watched Mia pick me out of the crowd and make her way towards me. I hadn't seen or heard from her in weeks, this could not be good, especially with Norah by my side.
She walked right up to me and Norah jumped off her stool to wedge herself between us.
"Norah, sit down and relax, I know her." She looked surprised but she sat down.
"Kris, I've been looking for you. I need to talk to you." She motioned for me to follow her.
"You can talk to me here."
"It's private."
"This is my family." I referred to both Trent and Norah. "Talk now or go away."
She sighed, "I'm worried because I think I'm pregnant and my husband comes home next month."
Trent turned to stare at me.
"Don't look at me like that, this was all of your idea." I said to him.
"Not all of it." He said.
I didn't bother to look at Norah's expression, the nails digging into my arm told me how she felt.
I turned my attention back to Mia, "I really don't see how that's my problem. After all, you are the one that turned out to be married with kids, without my knowledge and you willingly cheated on your husband. I didn't seduce you or drug into doing anything you didn't plan to do. So what do you want from me, money for an abortion?"
"No...I mean I dunno. He's going to freak out when he finds out."
"Again, that's not my problem."
"I know you're mad, but you don't have to be so insensitive."
"I'm not mad Mia, I just don't care enough about you to offer my assistance."
She looked hurt. "I know it's my problem, but I didn't think you'd be so cold towards me, it's your child too."
My blood was starting to rise to the surface, "That's not a good thing to say to me right now, I think you need to leave."
"Yeah bitch!" Norah shouted, "Get the fuck out of here and if you come near Kris again I'll fucking kill you!"
"Norah..." I held her hand, "Please don't make things worse."
Mia looked defeated and lost, "There was one more thing I wanted to say to you."
I paused and let her talk.
She shrugged probably not knowing how to start, "I...I really like you. I mean being with you was wonderful. I never...it never felt like that for me, I felt like we had a
connection."
There were the beginnings of tears in her eyes, "I know what I did to you was wrong and I'm so sorry. Jim and I got married for the wrong reasons, we had kids together. We never really loved each other and sex was never special or enjoyable to either of us, it was just something that married couples do. I'm so sorry for not telling you Kris, really I am but I couldn't. The truth is Jim, being gone for so long has made me realize that I really want to be happy with someone else, I just didn't want to be cold and file divorce papers while he was gone. There is no good time to do this so I decided that I'm going to tell him everything, when he gets home. I didn't want to tell you that, I didn't want you to think that I was some cold or stupid bitch."
"Well, you are!" Norah blurted.
Mia continued, "I know that we don't know each other very well, but I was kind of hoping that you would want to change that with me. Everything happens for a reason and I believe us coming together and this baby were meant to happen."
She sighed and pulled herself together, "I'm picking up the girls later this week and I'm going to tell them too. It's not fair to anyone that this continues they deserve to know what's going on."
"Where are your kids staying?" I asked.
"With Jim's mom. He doesn't like them to spend time with her when he's around so I thought I'd let them catch up before he gets home."
"You sound like a great mom." Norah stabbed.
Mia looked at her, her eyes pleading with Norah to stop the verbal beatings.
I took a breath and tried to be kind, "Look Mia, I understand what you're saying and the whole situation really sucks but you can't expect me to jump on the band wagon because you suddenly realize you're worth more than your husband believes you to be. You have lived your life and made your decisions, now you have to live with them. I am not ready to be your knight in shining armor and come to your rescue and make everything all better. We had one night together and I'm not willing to make you part of my life based on those few short hours. Besides, you sound like you have a lot on your plate right now and trying to start a relationship in the tailspin of leaving another is a very bad idea, I'm not a rebound kind of guy."
"Okay, I understand that but what about the baby? What should I do?" She asked.
"What do you want to do?"
"I want to keep the baby." She draped her hand over her stomach.
I shook my head, "That's a bad idea Mia."
"Why?"
"Because it is, you can't carry this baby."
She looked confused and heartbroken, "Why not?"
Norah stepped forward, "Because he said so bitch!"
Mia took a step back from her, alternately looking at me and Norah. "So what are you saying, you want me to have an abortion?"
"Yes."
"I can't do that. I don't want to do that, it's wrong."
Norah reached out and grabbed Mia who screamed in shock, "You will do what you are told!"
"Norah, let her go."
Norah released her. Mia looked at me for another second and turned and ran out of the club.
"Now what are you going to do?" Trent asked.
"She can't carry that baby."
"I know." I didn't know what to do. In a few short weeks, if the baby was truly mine, it would double in size and would start to absorb my energy. Vampire babies, even half vampire had accelerated growth, usually a third of the normal term. Sometime during the second month of pregnancy, I would be able to feel the baby pulling energy from me, taking on my characteristics and establishing its own vampire genetics. It wasn't something that I was prepared to explain to Mia after
knowing her for a few hours. I still couldn't believe that the baby was mine, in my experience, making babies was very difficult for us. Procreation was not on our side, it was just luck that our parents had me and my siblings and it was even more amazing that they had triplets. My parents were never able to conceive any other children after us. The problem with the situation was by the time I would know for certain whether or not the child was mine, it would be too late to abort; the baby would be too big. Having an abortion now was just as risky, but we couldn't wait any longer, too many questions would arise based on the date of conception and the size of the fetus. I had to convince Mia to get an abortion right away, one way or another.
"A baby?" Norah leered at me.
"Stop, okay? I'm not in the mood."
"You have to make her get rid of it." Norah said.
"I know that!" I yelled at her.
"So what are you going to do?" Trent asked.
"I need to think." I said.
"C'mon, let's go home." I took Norah's hand and left.
I was thankful that Norah was quiet on the way home, I thought for sure that she would be harping on me all the way but she never said a word.
I really didn't know what to do with Mia. I had to try to convince her, I would have to call her or go by her house and talk to her in private. Without Norah, without distractions, maybe she would agree to the abortion. I decided to drop off Norah and head over to Mia's house. The sooner I dealt with this the better.
"Where are you going?" Norah asked.
"To see Mia, I have to talk to her."
Norah frowned, she didn't like the idea but she didn't protest.
I immediately drove to her side of town and waited outside her house. She wasn't home and I wasn't sure when she would be back.
I tried her cell phone a couple of times but she must have turned her phone off, it went straight to voice mail. She probably wasn't very happy with my lack of support but she couldn't be made to understand my point of view. I decided to not leave a message and just hope that sooner or later she would come home.
I waited all night, until just before sunrise. I decided that she wasn't going to be home for a while and decided to go home.
I walked in to an empty house, Norah was gone. She left a note saying that she was going out to feed.
I lay down, just thinking. About an hour later Norah got back and came upstairs.
"Did you talk to her?" She asked.
"No, she wasn't home."
"Maybe you should try again."
"I will, but later. She may be home tonight."
I looked at Norah hovering in the doorway, "Where have you been?"
"I told you, I went to feed."
"At sun up?"
"I didn't think you'd take all night, I was waiting for you. I couldn't wait any longer." She walked over to my bed and laid down next to me.
"So, is that what you want, a relationship with a human?" She asked.
I shook my head, "I don't know, I was talking to Trent and he thinks that I should be living a normal life, as close as possible anyway. I can't see myself living side by side with a human, it's too risky. I mean look at what can happen, this is a nightmare."
"Everything will be okay Kris, don't worry." She snuggled next to me and we drifted off into sleep together.