Page 25 of Accidental Vampire

Silver flashed in the corner of my eye as he threw the knife, like it was an evil thing. It was too fast for me to track. I heard it ping off the wall and clatter to the floor with a sweet chime. We both panted and looked down at my hand. There was an incision, barely more than a paper cut. It wouldn’t even need a bandaid. One drop of blood, just one, beaded up and ran over the back of my hand. I swallowed again. My own blood spiking painful thirst. Slowly, much slower than his, the cut erased itself from my skin.

The screaming started in my very soul and ripped out of me and didn’t stop until everything was black.

NINETEEN

LACHLAN

Her screams had chased me from the basement. I paced upstairs, surveying the cabin. It looked normal, but what was normal? I had no idea. I hadn’t been in a mortal home in... ever. Would she find that weird?

I sat on the worn but plush couch, wondering how other vampires decorated. Did they choose their own furniture or model it off a mortal home? My penthouse had been given to me fully furnished by Veronica, but it never felt like mine. I often found myself wandering around it, as if it were a museum exhibit.

I wondered what her home looked like. Did she have carefully chosen art on the walls? Pictures of loved ones, family? I bet her bed was comfortable. I raked my hands through my hair, with some vapid belief that it would quiet the thoughts buzzing through my brain. The soft cushions cradled me as I slumped back into the couch. Exhaustion pushed my eyes shut.

Behind my lids, everything was painted red. Her hands in mine, blood pooling on golden skin. My gut twisted as I replayed the dagger blade kissing her. I felt my insides shatter. I shot to my feet and grabbed my side, testing for a wound. My mind was playing tricks on me, a sympathetic pain to mirror the actual pain I had inflicted.

The dagger was still in my pocket. I ran my fingers along the blade, feeling it cleanly slice my fingertips. That didn’t hurt half as much as the phantom gut pain. Not quite the thirst cramps she was experiencing, but similar.

I licked the blood from my fingers and stopped dead. I could hear faint murmurs. Voices. Not hers. Fear settled into my belly, pushing out the phantom pain. My pulse roared in my ears, making it hard to locate the source of the sound.

My bare feet soundless, I circled the room, desperate to hear more. I heard a crunch, like a boot crushing a twig. Outside then?

Two figures approached, their shadows emerging from the dark woods. There was just enough moonlight to see their comfortable pace and empty hands.

I hesitated. Couldn’t leave her alone, but I couldn’t let us be found. I put my palm to the door frame, like that alone would protect her.

I bolted for the figures. The distance between us insignificant, the dagger freed from my pocket and slicing through a throat before they even heard a creak from the porch steps. One man gurgled, flat on his back, moonbeams striking his face. He clutched at the dagger in his neck. I kept a foot on his chest to assess his companion.

Omar eyed me like a snake charmer, thinking if he stood still enough, he could command the viper. That was not how we were going to play this game. I stepped on the downed man’s neck, feeling the blade slice soft tissue and hit something more substantial. I didn’t want this man dead, not yet, just immobile.

I took a step toward Omar. Forest debris sticking to my blood-wet foot. He held his ground, just barely, until my anger rocked him back a step.

“Omar,” I breathed. My rage didn’t need volume.

“I thought…”

“That was a mistake, wasn’t it?”

His eyes flicked to the choking mess on the ground behind me. I was patient, waiting for his gaze to come back to me.

“You’re correct. I should have informed you of visitors.”

“Omar,” my tone was sickly sweet, “that’s not going to be enough. I would have thought you’d understand the delicacy of the situation given your centuries and renowned wisdom.”

His eyes narrowed just a touch, enough to communicate his ire without being downright insulting.

“So, let me make this crystal clear. No visitors.”

He nodded, rethinking all his life choices up until this moment. I turned my back to deal with the mess on the ground, letting the weight of my threat linger in the air.

“She will,” he cleared his throat, “require more blood.”

“Was he resupplying us?” I crouched next to the man on the ground. He was gasping for air, twitching. It was unsightly. The blade must be in a location preventing easy breath.

“No, he was…”

I leaned down and pulled the dagger from his neck, blood spurting in time with his slowing heartbeat. I watched the wound close, satisfied, and the pain in my side evaporated completely. I raised my eyebrow when Omar didn’t continue.

“No matter, now,” he said resigned.

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