Immortality Bites, Part 1

An immortal party girl spends her nights dancing and munching on humans until a good-looking cop interrupts her latest dinner date.

---

I preferred the taste of men. I don’t mind women, but given a choice, I leaned toward the tastier option. I liked the bold flavor of male flesh and the chewy texture of his muscle. Not to say that the human female didn’t have its own savory bits. The female heart was one of my favorite delicacies, and I’d splurged on occasion. Tonight, I was splurging on a different kind of treat.

In my favorite Los Angeles dance club, I partied with the most entertaining humans I could find. I wanted fun and a good meal. I danced and laughed while rubbing against the man with which I planned to fill my freezer. He enjoyed the sensation of my petite build and gentle, female curves pressed against him on the dance floor. His hands roamed across the tan skin of my back along the curls of my long brown hair. When my heart-shaped lips curved, they smiled only for him that night.

As expected, a few hours into the party, he took me outside through a side door into a dark alley to meet of few of his buddies. He paid the drug dealer for the molly and tossed one back before offering me one. I declined. Not on principle; in fact, I would’ve loved to experience a drug-induced high. I considered mankind’s imagination with narcotics one of their best achievements, along with sex orgies, dance parties, and MMA fighting. I kept my schedule filled with each, although my unique metabolism forced me to find my high another way.

As my date packed away his remaining stash, I glanced at the two drug dealers and offered a smile. Then I hummed a familiar tune. My music invaded their senses and caressed their minds. At my command, their brain pumped their body with endorphins until they stared at me slack-jawed. Once enthralled, the humans belonged to me. I told the two drug dealers not to move. I didn’t want anything from them, but I couldn’t say the same for my date. I pressed him against the brick wall of the night club, and he complied, eager to please me.

“Tanya,” he said my name with love and devotion. “I’ll do anything to make you happy.”

“I know,” I said.

I opened my mouth wider than humanly possible to allow my second set of teeth to descend. Razor-sharp, my carnivorous teeth came in handy during my hunts, but they weren’t the only weapons at my disposal. With the molly coursing through his veins, he’d make a scrumptious meal and offer a fun, if not short-lived, high. I didn’t want to wait all night for the ecstasy to marinade his brain, so I settled for a spiked drink. I plunged my teeth into his neck and sliced into his jugular to taste the sweet tang of his blood. My date cried out because my enthrallment didn’t dull his pain, but the jump in his heart rate thrilled me. I was only a few sips into my delicious beverage when I heard a new voice call out to me.

“Stop what you’re doing. Now.”

I pulled free of my meal and glared at the human cop, pointing his gun at me. I sheathed my carnivorous teeth because I couldn’t sing with them in the way. Blood dripped down my lips, and I licked it away. I wanted to do the same with the blood trickling from my date’s neck, but first thing’s first. I stared at the cop and sang my song for him, but his eyes didn’t soften under my influence. Instead, he flinched away as if my music caused him pain. This was unusual.

When I stopped humming, the cop shook off the sensation and aimed his gun at me again. I frowned at him, not because of his firearm, but because few things protected a human from my song. Neither of which saved the human from my other skills.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“Detective Rick Davison, and you?”

“Tanya Drake.” I dropped my meal, and he stumbled to the ground with his hands against his bleeding neck. Rick glanced at my drug-laced date and then back at me.

“What did you do to him?”

“I ripped his throat out just like I’m going to do to you.”

Rick’s eyes grew wide as I extended my arms, and my fingers morphed into dangerous claws. I lunged toward him with a growl but stopped when a bullet ripped through my chest. It hurt, but not as much as it should have hurt. It wasn’t a silver bullet. That was odd. If the cop was sent on the misguided mission to kill me, why wouldn’t he use silver? They wouldn’t kill me, but they’d slow me down. I sheathed my claws and caught the bullet as my body expelled it from my healing wound.

“What the hell are you?” Rick said.

I smiled at his wide-eyed surprise and delighted in the slight tremor of his hands as he struggled to keep the gun on me. Then he swallowed and exhaled to steady his aim. His thin lips pressed together as he set his square, stubble-covered jaw. From across the alley, I could see his muscular build under the leather jacket and blue jeans. I couldn’t tell the color of his eyes, but I spotted the dirty, blonde locks that were just long enough to start curls. I thought it might be fun to run my hands through his hair before I killed him.

“Answer me,” he said.

“I’m an immortal.”

“What does that mean?”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “I can tell that you’re new to this, so here’s a tip. Aim smaller.”

“What are you talking about? What did you do to him?” Rick motions with his gun to my meal and then to the silent the drug dealers behind me. “And to them? They won’t stop staring at you.”

“I’m not going to be your cruise director in all things supernatural. I’m a big fish. Go find some little fish to bother.”

I laughed at Rick’s confused expression and turned away from him and his gun. I jerked my date to his feet, and he stared at me with the same look of adoration as my drug dealers. As I pulled my meal past the two large men, Rick yelled at me.

“Stop, you can’t take him.”

“I can do whatever I want. I’m the big fish, remember?” I said. I glanced at my stupefied date when an idea occurred to me. I grinned at Rick and raised both hands as I backed away from him and my abandoned meal. “But I guess if you want this little fish, you can have him.”

“You’re just going to leave?” Rick said, gun still trained on me.

“Yes. It’s not like you can stop me.” I grinned when he frowned at me.

“I don’t know what you are or what you were doing, but I don’t ever want to see you again.”

“Detective Davison, I’d say you’re either stupid or brave, but I think you’re a little of both.” I turned and walked away then, but I’m certain he kept his gun aimed at my back until I left his sight.

---

A few days later, I strolled into my penthouse and tossed my gym bag onto the couch. I passed the panoramic windows overlooking the LA skyline on my way to the kitchen and yanked open the walk-in freezer hidden behind cabinet doors. I ignored the frozen legs and arms and snatched a treat from my kidney stash. For some reason, I always had a craving for them after a match. While withholding my abilities, mixed martial arts matches gave me a small thrill, especially the underground deathmatches. Los Angeles offered a never-ending supply of fighters eager to earn fast cash or die trying. Mostly they died.

As I finished my snack and leaned against the kitchen counter, a tall, dark man popped into existence in the middle of my sitting room and scared the living shit out of me. I jumped sky-high, yanked a kitchen knife from the magnetic strip along the splash, and flung it at his face before I recognized Dwayne. Had I identified his brooding form sooner, I wouldn’t have wasted my energy on hurdling the useless weapon at the witch. Not that it couldn’t hurt him; witches are as mortal as any human, but his power provided a list of skills that made it difficult to harm him.

I wasn’t surprised when Dwayne dodged the knife and appeared on the other side of the living room in the blink of an eye. One of his fingers glowed with an archaic pattern along his skin then disappeared as the magic he used to speed across the room dissipated.

“Do you know how to knock?” I asked Dwayne as I slipped a hand under the counter.

“You turned an alpha,” he said. I rolled my eyes at the disgust in his voice.

“And?”

He stomped toward me, lifting a clenched fist out. “And he’s killing people, innocents that don’t deserve to die.”

“Such is the way of the world.” I shrugged before finding the switch my fingers searched for under the counter.

Small lights around the apartment activated and added a blue tint to each room. Dwayne’s high-end, two-piece suit shimmered under the new light as it draped his broad shoulders. His previously smooth, dark skin now gleamed with ancient symbols. A familiar spell that Dwayne used to guard against my influence hid amongst the chaos of enchantment symbols that ran along the collar of his business shirt and spilled over onto his jaw. Even his shaved head sported complex scripture that continued across his high cheekbones and plump lips. I imagined the spell work covered every inch of his muscular form. It would’ve been fun to imagine if he weren’t such a douche bag.

“Is this really necessary?” Dwayne said as he adjusted the cuff of his suit jacket. “These lights won’t harm me, nor trap me.”

I stepped into the living room and crossed my arms. “Of course not, I just want a good look at you.”

“You mean, my power.”

“Exactly.”

Dwayne stiffened as I circled him like a lioness eyeing an antelope that strayed too far from its herd. The patterns on his skin tell me this antelope has hidden horns and sharp claws. If I weren’t immortal, I might’ve been fearful.

“You’ve added to your repertoire. Even this suit’s had an upgrade.“

“I promised that I’d find a way to kill you someday.”

“You’re powerful, Dwayne, but not that powerful. Why come here? It’s not just about the alpha. You should’ve already cleaned up that mess, why haven’t you?”

“I have other priorities.”

“Ah, and there it is.” I smiled, and he narrowed his eyes at me. He was here for information. “What could I possibly know that the witches don’t?”

Dwayne cleared his throat and took a calming breath before he said, “Someone is selling Pulse in my territory. I want to stop them.”

“My alpha?”

“No, it’s been going on longer than that.”

“And you haven’t stopped them? Maybe you’re not as powerful as I thought.” I grinned when Dwayne clenched his jaw. Riling the witch up could be entertaining, but I had to walk a fine line if I wanted him to leave my penthouse intact. Finding an honest contractor in LA could be a challenge.

“I don’t know anything about this dealer. It’s not a drug one would find in the club scene. Anything else?”

Dwayne glanced out the window without answering, and I rolled my eyes. The uptight witch just needed to spit it out. I was losing my patience with the intruder.

“I don’t have time for this, Dwayne.”

“You have nothing but time.”

“And still, I don’t want to waste a minute more on you or any other witches. Get out.” I raised my arm to the door but paused when Dwayne’s brown eyes snapped to mine.

“What other witches?”

I dropped my arm and tilted my head in thought. “None. You’re the only one that bugs me in LA.”

“It’s my territory,” he said, and my eyes widened. I didn’t know that witches had territories. That must be a new ruling.

“And what if I came across another witch?”

“You tell me.” Dwayne clenched his fists at his sides. “I will deal with trespassers.”

“So you’re after another witch that’s trespassing? I thought all witches were benevolent and dedicated to protecting humans from monsters like me? If you’re starting to turn on each other, tell me now, and I’ll fetch the popcorn.”

“Your kind are the scum of the universe. I will banish you all from this world or die trying,” Dwayne said, pointing his finger at me.

“It sounds like you’re going to banish your own kind first.”

Dwayne snarled at me and flashed a hidden blade into his palm before flinging it at my chest. I snatched it an inch away from my chest and glared at him. The silver burned my skin, and I dropped the blade onto the carpet.

“That was a cheap shot,” I said, “and pointless since you’ve already tried killing me with a silver blade to my heart. It didn’t work then, why would it work now?”

“I didn’t expect it to kill you, although I hoped it would hit you. I thought it might make me feel better,” he said with a smirk. Then he disappeared.

---

Later that day, the doorbell rang in the midst of my shower. I sighed at the interruption and decided to ignore it. When the ringing persisted, I frowned and escaped my bathroom to don a plush robe. I answered the door with my hair hanging wet at my back. Detective Rick Davison stood in the middle of the hall with his hand on his holstered gun.

“Stupid it is,” I said, shaking my head. “I told you to stick with the little fish.”

“I need answers,” he said. I could see his deep green eyes now, and they watched me as though I were a wild animal that could turn on him at any moment. He wasn’t wrong.

“I don’t do newbies.” I swung the door closed and walked away. Rick caught the door before it shut and pushed his way into the penthouse. I spun around and snatched him by his throat to pin him against the wall. He struggled for his gun, but I batted his hands away.

“You disrupted my meal, then you barge into my home? Nothing about that is brave, only stupid. Tell me, Detective Davison, why shouldn’t I rip the flesh from your bones?”

“I know what you are,” he said.

“Doubtful,” I said, releasing him. “But let’s hear it. I could use a laugh.”

Rick coughed and touched his tender neck. “Steven Jackson’s roommate was attacked this morning. Something ripped his throat open and drained him of all his blood. The coroner thinks it was some kind of animal, but I think it was Steven.”

“Who?” I asked, tilting my head to the side.

“The man you...attacked the other night. I think you bit him, and he turned...” Rick paused to breathe and ran a hand through his short hair. “I think he turned into a vampire.”

I smirked at the detective as he searched my dark eyes for any other answer. He didn’t want to be right. He didn’t want the world to be freakier than it already was in his mind. Humans were strange creatures. They’d rather pretend the monsters away. The witches preferred it that way, so they spent their time policing the supernatural elements and keeping the peace between mankind and mine. I, on the other hand, couldn’t care less about keeping the peace, nor this poor human’s fragile psyche.

“Yes, he did,” I said, and Rick gasped as all his suspicions were confirmed. I frowned at the sweet relief that flittered across his face. That's not the expression I expected.

“I’m not crazy,” he whispered to himself, and I understood.

“No, just stupid.”

“I spent the last three days trying to convince myself that I hadn’t seen...” Rick’s eyes darted to my mouth and then my hands. “That it was just a trick of the light.”

“You shot me.”

“Yeah, that was harder to explain, but I tried. Then I got the case with Steven’s roommate, and I couldn’t deny it anymore. I did some research online about vampires, but that was a waste of time. I figured I was better off tracking you down for the truth.”

I leaned against him, and he pressed his back to the wall, swallowing hard. I tilted my head and wondered why a man so frightened of me would search me out. When his eyes darted to my lips, I understood. I took a deep breath, and Rick glanced at my cleavage peeking out from the plush robe then averted his gaze like a gentleman.

“You came for the truth?” I said, and he nodded. “What made you think that I wouldn’t kill you on sight? Was it my charming personality?”

He shrugged and shook his head. “You didn’t hurt me that night in the alley. I have the feeling that you could’ve killed me had you want to do it.”

“True,” I said. Stepping back, I slipped one hand onto my hip and smiled at Rick.

Rick frowned at me before slipping a small notepad and pen from his jacket pocket. “How do I stop a vampire?”

“You don’t. You police the humans, and the vampire is no longer human.”

“Neither are you.” He said it like a statement, but I knew he wanted confirmation as if my transformation the other night weren’t enough. I decided to throw the man a bone.

“No, I’m not human. Although, I find them delicious,” I said and licked my lips.

Rick furrowed his eyebrows as he considered my answer. I could tell he was trying to decide how much to believe. When he swallowed and nodded at me, I smirked in return. I enjoy watching humans squirm.

“He’s going to hurt someone else, isn’t he?” Rick said. “And you’re saying that I can’t stop him?”

“Yes, it’s in their nature. They need blood to survive. It makes them stronger and faster than humans. Imagine the Terminator versus, well, you. Who would you bet on?”

“But you could stop him, right?”

I laughed at the suggestion. “Of course I can, but I won’t.”

“Why not? If you can stop him-”

“Because I don’t care,” I said, interrupting Rick’s pleas. “I don’t care about human lives or little human problems. You’re nothing but free-ranging cattle. You’re lucky I haven’t eaten you yet.”

“So you’ve said.”

I rushed toward Rick, and his eyes widened as he back-pedaled until the wall trapped him against me. I leaned in close and flashed my carnivorous teeth while he seemed to forget how to breathe. I could see the sweat beading on his forehead as he stared at certain death. Then I stretched my jaw as my second set of teeth receded, and I licked my heart-shaped lips. My gaze darted over the angles of his face; even terrified, Rick was a treat for the eyes. When I turned away, the detective gathered his composure but didn’t leave the wall.

“Why haven’t you killed me?” He asked. I glanced at him over my shoulder and expected to find his green eyes drowning in trepidation, but instead, I found intrigue. Surprised, I looked away.

“Most humans run from the monster in the night, but you follow it into the darkness. I guess I’m curious to see how far you’re willing to venture.”

“So this is a game to you?”

“Exactly,” I said with a grin, and Rick shook his head with a sigh.

“Fine, I’ll play along. How do I stop Steven? If you’re not going to do it, I have to.”

I sat down on my couch across from the entrance and crossed my legs. “I told you, I don’t care about stopping him.”

“How can you not care?” He said, storming toward me. “Did you know that his roommate was supposed to have custody of his kids the night he was killed? By chance, they all came down with the flu during the week, so his ex-wife agreed to switch weekends at the last minute. What if they hadn’t been so lucky? Would Steven have stopped with just his roommate?”

A familiar tightness tugged at my chest for the first time in centuries, and I dropped my gaze to examine my nails. I shouldn’t have cared about the little humans any more than the big ones. I didn’t care. Really. I just wanted Rick to stop talking about them. I didn’t want to imagine their small corpses. I wanted to make Rick mine and tell him to go away. I glanced back and wondered at the effects of my song on him. Would it work, or was he still protected from my music?

“I’ll help you deal with the vampire if you do something for me,” I said.

He narrowed his eyes at me. “What do you want?”

“I want you to strip.”

“What?” He said, stumbling back. “I’m not having sex with you.”

I stood, jamming both hands atop my hips, and glared at the stupid human. My robe flowed around my lean, athletic form, hinting at the prize wrapped inside. “I wasn’t offering you sex. I just want to see you naked.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m curious.” I crossed my arms. “That’s the deal. Five minutes of nudity for a dead vampire. Take it or leave it.”

Rick sighed, and a few minutes later, he stood naked in my living room while I activated the blue lights. I grumbled while I inspected his body for witch symbols that might indicate what type of spell protected him from my magic. Most witches carry a protection mark that prevents my influence, but I’ve never seen one placed on a human. Rick didn’t seem to have one either. I roamed every inch of his skin while he fidgeted under my scrutiny and cupped himself for modesty’s sake. I smiled when I kneeled at his feet to scan his inner thighs, and he started humming the tune to a famous baseball song.

Satisfied with my search but disappointed with the results, I stood and pressed the length of my body against the detective’s naked form. I watched him swallow, and his eyes darted to my lips as their corners quirked upward.

“Was that as fun for you as it was for me?”

“Why are you willing to help me?” He asked, and I had to commend his laser-like focus. He refused to play into my distractions.

“I’ve been around for a very long time, Detective Davison. When someone’s lived as long as I have, life tends to get boring. You accept entertainment from where ever you can find it. And you seem like fun.”

---

“I thought riding in your undercover police car would be exciting,” I said to Rick, “but you drive like a grandma.”

Rick tightened his grip on the steering wheel but kept his eyes on the road. The detective may still be sore at me for his striptease, but I was more curious than ever. I hummed a few chords to him, and he flinched, placing one hand against his head. As soon as I stopped, it seemed that his headache also abated. How was he fending off my enthrallment?

Rick noticed me staring at him, and a blush spread across his cheeks as he cleared his throat. “So why are we going to Steven’s favorite bar?”

“You said that’s where he and his friends spend their nights,” I answered, enjoying his unease.

“If he’s a vampire now, is he really going to want a beer with his buddies?”

“No, he’s going to turn them, and then share a human blood bag with his buddies.” Rick glanced at me with a concerned frown, so I rolled my eyes and explained. “Vampires are the drama queens of the supernatural world. They feel things deeper than humans, and their emotions tend to override their rationale, especially newbie vamps. Most of them follow a predictable pattern during the first several days of their new existence.”

“Are you saying their first instinct is to turn all their friends into vampires?”

I opened the glove box searching for something to entertain me during this boring lesson in the supernatural. This was why I didn’t do newbies.

“No,” I said while I rummaged. “Their first, second, and third instincts are blood, blood, and more blood. Thus, the dead roommate. Their fourth impulse is to procreate because alphas always want minions.”

“What’s an alpha?” Rick asked, and I sighed. I really hated the Q&A, but I’d made a deal. Then I found something buried under a mountain of papers that made me smile.

“I make alpha vampires. Alphas make run-of-the-mill vampires,” I said.

Rick jumped when the taser in my hand lit up like a burning Christmas tree.

“Jesus, put that away. Are you crazy?”

I laughed and tucked my new toy off to the side for later. Rick shook his head and sighed. He needed to lighten up.

“What’s the difference in alphas and...normal vampires?”

“Me, alphas, normal vamps. Big fish, little fish, minnows.”

“So normal vamps are easier to kill.” Rick nodded his head as though making a mental note. I thought it best to add some perspective before he tried anything crazy.

“Relatively speaking, that may be true. If vamps are minnows, humans are the ants that drown because they shouldn’t be in the water at all.”

“You like your metaphors, don’t you?” Rick said, and I glanced at him in surprise.

“Was that a joke, Detective Davison?”

He smirked without looking away from the road, and I decided that I like the curve of his lips. Of course, then he had to ruin it by opening them.

“You don’t seem to be ruled by your emotions.”

“That’s because I’m not a vampire,” I said with a frown. “Vamps feel everything to the max, all the time. I don’t feel anything, ever. I can’t be ruled by something I don’t have.”

“That sounds awful.”

“Then you’re not paying attention,” I said with a grin. “Did you really think I was a vampire?

“Obviously, I was wrong.” Rick shrugged and glanced across the car at me. “If you’re not a vampire, what are you?”

I peered out the window at the busy LA streets. Humans hurried along on their daily routes as they rushed to fulfill dreams that might never come to fruition. It was a wonder that any of them managed to accomplish anything within their short lifespans. Yet over the centuries, I had watched mankind build and destroy entire civilizations just to rebuild something different. I wondered how long it would take them to burn LA to the ground, and what they’d build in its place.

“I’m something more.”

Rick didn’t say anything after that. I guess he needed time to mull over everything while I played with his taser. After burning a toothpick in the two taser nodes' electrical currents, I paused to listen to the police radio.

“We have a 10-16, domestic violence, report in downtown.” The tin voice relayed an address in an upscale neighborhood on the other side of town.

“The entire city has lost its mind,” Rick said as he turned the volume down. “We’re getting more and more reports from that side of town. It’s been a slow uptick over the past couple of weeks. And they’re always crazy when we get there.”

“I guess it sucks to be a cop, right now,” I said, but I wondered at the increase in crime. Pulse, the drug Dwayne was tracking down, could cause odd behavior, even violence, and it cost a pretty penny. It made sense that people living in wealthier neighborhoods would be this drug’s target customer. If Dwayne didn’t put a stop to Pulse, LA would burn sooner than I’d anticipated.

---

I lived in LA because of the nightlife. I enjoyed parties, dancing, and the chaos of dance clubs. I thirsted for excitement, entertainment, and blood. Not the dirt, cigarette smoke, or depression that Joe’s Pool Hall offered. Upon enter the dingy establishment, the smell alone made my eyes water. Rick might’ve argued that the stench stemmed from the corpses, but I didn’t think they’d been dead long enough. The underlying smell of blood made the horrid little place tolerable, but I don’t think Rick agreed.

He called for back up and then scouted the rest of the bar with his gun in hand while I strolled across the bloody floor to the bar. I counted three dead men with knife wounds among the bar stools and several unconscious people scattered in between the pool tables. I narrowed my eyes at the bite wounds I spotted on each dead man’s neck.

“Let go of me,” a woman cried from the back room. Rick hurried through a pair of swinging doors with a young blonde woman in tow.

“Settle down and tell us what happened here,” he said.

“I don’t know nothin’.”

“Something gave you that bite mark.” Rick pointed at the wound on her neck, and the blonde slipped a hand over her neck.

“It was Steve. He just went crazy and started bitin’ people. He must’ve been high on bath salts or somethin’.”

“That explains those three,” I said, pointing to the three dead men with bite wounds.

“Was anyone bitten?” Rick asked the young woman, and she shook her head.

“I don’t think so, but I don’t know. I wasn’t really countin’. I was tryin’ not to get my face eaten off.”

Rick glanced around the room at the unconscious people, the dead men, and then me. “I don’t get it. He bites then kills them? What’s the point in that?”

“The alpha didn’t kill these men, did he?” I said to the blonde.

“You mean Steve?” She said, raising her eyebrows. “No, he didn’t kill anybody. It was some crazy voodoo woman.”

“What?” Rick said.

“She means a witch,” I said, rolling my eyes. “It’s not voodoo. It’s something else.”

“There are witches too?” Rick asked. The blonde glanced between the two of us as I nodded.

“Yeah, they’re all egotistical know-it-alls with savior complexes. They believe it’s their sacred mission to exterminate the evil creatures of the night.” I quirked my eyebrows. “Like me.”

The corners of Rick’s lips turned up, and a tiny thrill ran through me. I stood, shaking off the odd sensation, and motioned around the room. “I bet she stormed in, whammied the bystanders by the pool table, then gutted these three men with some type of silver knife.”

“Yep, that’s exactly what happened. It was crazy. I hid behind the bar after Steve attacked me, so she didn’t see me.”

“What happened to Steve?” Rick asked the young woman, and I glanced around in surprise. He was right. The witch would’ve been after Steve; his minions were just cannon fodder to her.

“She did somthin’ weird to him that made him pass out. Then she put a chain around his neck and drug him out the door,” the blonde said as she waved her hand toward the main entrance.

“Well that solves our problem,” I said, and Rick furrowed his brow in confusion.

“What do you mean?”

“The witches have the alpha now. Problem solved.”

The blonde leaned against the bar with her against her wound. “I don’t feel so good.”

Rick pulled a barstool over. “Here, sit down.”

As the young woman sat and hunched against the bar, Rick glanced at me.

“Is she going to turn into a vampire?”

“Yes,” I said, eyeing the small fleck of blood in the corner of her mouth.

“There has to be something we can do,” Rick said, waving his arms at me.

“She’s the only one that can stop it,” I said, and the blonde frowned at me.

“Stop what?”

“From turning into a vampire. Steve bit you then forced you to drink his blood just like he did with those three men.” The young woman shook her head, and tears welled in her eyes, but I continued. “Over the next few days, you’re going to grow very hungry, hungrier than you’ve ever experienced. The only thing that will satiate this hunger is blood. But once you give in, you’ll never want anything else.”

“That’s insane,” she said between sobs, and Rick placed a hand on the blonde’s shoulder.

“You said there was a way to stop it.”

“There is. Don’t drink the blood,” I said with a shrug. “It’s beautiful in its simplicity, but nearly impossible. If you have the mental fortitude to starve yourself for a few days, the urge to drink blood will eventually pass like a virus running its course.”

“No, y’all are crazy up here in LA. I’m movin’ back home to Texas.”

The ambulance pulled up then, and Rick helped lead the young soon-to-be-vampire away. I glanced around at the mess of blood and dirt and frowned. Something tugged at the back of my brain. Why did the witch kill these men? They hadn’t turned yet. The self-righteous, morally superior, douche-bags of the supernatural world avoided innocent people’s deaths, which meant waiting until they turned to kill vampires. Before they drink blood, they’re still human and have a tiny chance of avoiding the dark path. I have to admit, this way is more efficient.

“I have a question,” Rick said as he returned from showing the paramedics to the unconscious people. “Why didn’t the witch just kill Steve? Why take him instead?”

“That’s a good question. Witches usually shoot first and ask questions later,” I said, then shrugged. “I guess it’s a good thing that I don’t care. I fulfilled my end of the deal, so it’s time to take me home.”

Before Rick could argue, his dispatcher called about a situation a few streets over.

---

To Be continued...

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© 2020 by Kelly A Nix