Reining In (The Network) (8 page)

“Uh, yeah. Just a little out of sorts. It was a long drive.” I said as I reached for the hand he had offered me. I could feel his hand tense up under mine as I spoke. When I was upright and looking right at him, I realized that he didn’t know it was me sitting there until I had spoke. He didn’t move; he didn’t say a word. He just stood there, staring at me, never letting go of my hand.

I couldn’t read the expression on his face. I couldn’t tell if it was shock or anger or maybe both. We both just stood there for a long time, neither of us saying a word. A pit in my stomach had started to grow, and when I could take it no longer, I finally spoke up.

“Jake, I….” I trailed off, looking away, trying to find the words. When none came to me, I looked up at him again, just as he reached up and took my face in his hands and pressed his lips against mine. If I had planned on saying anything, I had forgotten what it was.

Chapter Eight

The night air was unusually cool for the time of year. Moonlight splashed across the waves and I wiggled my toes in the warm sand. It was an odd combination, but somehow, it was settling. I had been out there for close to an hour, staring out over the waves, arms wrapped around my knees.

It was the dream that brought me out here. No, that’s not right. It wasn’t a dream, not really. It was a memory, one that crept into my dreams and ripped me from the best sleep I’d had in weeks. I had done my best to sneak out without waking Jake. It just wasn’t something I could discuss with him; not now, anyway. I just needed to be alone; to think. So here I was, listening to the waves crashing, and watching the sand crabs scamper past me in the dark.

It was the one memory I had tried to erase from my mind throughout my entire existence. No, it wasn’t some horrible bloody nightmare; far from it. But it might as well have been. The images that brought me here tonight were the memories of my end, and of my beginning. I had been reminded of the day I died, the day he took away my life, and gave me a new one.

I suppose if things had turned out differently, I would’ve been grateful for what he had done. My mortal life was not a pleasant one. Truth be told, before he found me, I had been ready to end my own life. So my death was not exactly what haunted me, but more what it represented. The events that occurred immediately after I became immortal were what had me here now, staring out at the ocean.

There were things I had never told Jake, or anyone else for that matter. Even Mack would be shocked to know some of the secrets I had kept from him. I leaned my head on to my knees and sighed loudly. I should’ve never gone to New Orleans. It was a stupid thing. I know Mack wanted me to squash Vyktor’s attempts to find me, but if Mack knew everything….

Vyktor didn’t even know the whole truth. How could I tell anyone else. I knew it wouldn’t make things better; maybe it would make things worse. So I kept it to myself. I suppose that is what turned me into this neurotic mess of a vampire. Nothing worse that a vampire who is losing her mind, is there?

A snapping twig broke the silence around me, bringing me back to reality. I knew it was Jake, even before he said anything. I knew his scent better than anything else. It was almost intoxicating to me. He had no idea how hard it was to leave him; ever. I leaned my head into his shoulder as he settled into the sand beside me.

“Having second thoughts?” he asked quietly. I could hear the fear in his voice as he assumed that he had guessed correctly as to why I was sitting out here alone.

“Bad dreams,” I answered, hoping that would be enough and I wouldn’t have to explain anything tonight.

“So you’re not unhappy you came here?”

“Jake, I’ve never been unhappy to be with you!” I paused and looked up at him. God he had the most beautiful eyes. But it was what I saw in those eyes that held me there. It was what I always saw in his eyes. He would never leave me; he would never lie to me; he would never hurt me; and he would never betray me. Most of all, I could see in his eyes that he loved me, truly, deeply and unconditionally. I wished I could say that I was all those things to him. I had hurt him, I had lied to him, and I had left him. My only redeeming quality was that I did love him; more than anything, I loved him.

I reached up to touch his face. It was so perfect; his skin so soft. I smiled as I traced his jawline with my finger. His warm skin was electric against my cool fingers, a feeling I never grew tired of. I lost myself in the moment and had almost forgotten why it was that I was sitting out here in the first place. Jake had pulled me onto his lap as I hungrily undid the buttons on his shirt. I was working my fingers around the last button when I heard it.

It was not a distinct noise, nor was it close, yet it was enough to snap me back to reality. I stopped what I was doing and sat straight up. Jake reached for me, but I quickly stopped him, signaling for him to be still. He looked confused, but Jake had known me long enough to know not to question me in these types of situations.

I stood up and looked around, breathing in the salty air. I was looking for any trace of an intruder. I listened for several minutes, but heard nothing more. Maybe it was my imagination. Surely I had been on edge lately, especially after my visit to Vyktor’s house. But something kept me from relaxing.

I never questioned that feeling. It was the one thing that kept me alive for so long. I could sense danger, feel it, taste it. That is how I knew that there was something out there. I could hear anything; I couldn’t see or smell anything, but something was there.

“Go in the house, quietly!” I whispered to Jake, with as much urgency as I could muster. “Lock the doors behind you.” Jake started to protest, trying to get me to come with, but I insisted. Deep down, he knew I could take care of myself, but his pride often had him trying to take care of me. It was cute, really, but this was not one of those times when I could afford to let him take the lead. If my senses were right, we were both in very great danger.

When I made sure that Jake had done as I asked, I started walking in the direction that I was sure the noise had came from. Not walking really; more like stalking. I was, after all, a predator, and some other predator was invading my territory. I kept below the dunes, hoping that they would prevent my scent from giving me away.

The breeze was in my favor, and creeping into it, I was sure that I had not been detected. That is, of course, if whatever it was I was looking for had not been hunting me in the first place. As I neared a bay that led in to where an old plantation was sitting, falling apart in neglect, I once again heard something that stopped me in my tracks. Whatever it was, it was very careful not to make much noise. A hunter. “No,” I thought to myself, “a vampire.”

I knew it instantly. Many vampires can tell another vampire when looking at them. It’s just something we feel; like we’re connected in some way. But me, I could sense them from afar. It always set my teeth on edge. Mostly because there weren’t many left. It was rare to come across one. But also, because most were not like me.

Most fed off humans, exclusively, and most did not welcome other vampires when they came across them. I suppose it’s instinct really. Not so much that we hate each other. We’re just territorial, myself included. Certainly we form clans, because it is in our best interest. But to come across each other accidentally; usually it did not end well for at least one of the vampires involved.

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be involved in this sort of conflict tonight, or any night for that matter. But I also didn’t like another vampire being so close to my lair. My lair. Funny, I hadn’t thought of it in that term before. But there it was. Of course I would think like a vampire in this type of situation. I felt threatened. My territory was threatened. My man was threatened. And that was it.

Jake could be in danger, and I would do anything to prevent that. I had to do this now; tonight. I crept forward quietly; carefully. Even if this vampire wasn’t a threat, it was a bad idea for me to stumble in blindly. I had to scope out the situation before I made myself known.

I made my way towards the plantation house. That was where he was, I was sure of it. I stopped every few steps to listen and reassess the situation. Finally, I approached the front door. He was alone; I knew that much. From what little noise I heard, he appeared to be eating. I entered the house, careful not to give myself away.

I let my eyes adjust to the light as I stood in the entryway. I almost gasped as I took in the room. It had been, at one time, a most beautiful home. Despite the decay and disarray, I could see what a treasure it had been in its prime. I had spent much time in homes like this centuries ago, but none so beautiful.

I shook my head, bringing myself back to the present. There would be time to take in the sites later. I looked around, noting the circular staircase, leading up to the 2nd floor. As I listened for my new friend, I thought he appeared to be upstairs, so I slowly made my way towards the staircase. I saw trail of blood leading up, indicating that he had in fact drug his victim up the stairs. I slowly made my way up, concentrating on the noises coming from above.

When they suddenly stopped, I stopped. Had he heard me? Could he feel my presence? I waited, trying to decide the best approach. I hadn’t really thought of what I was going to do when we met face to face. And obviously I hadn’t planned on him being the one to initiate our meeting because I didn’t even know what hit me as I crashed through the banister and landed on the floor below.

It took me a second to gather my senses and realize what had happened. As quickly as we had hit the floor, I was up on my feet again, ready to attack. My attacker was not nearly as quick to recover, apparently injuring himself on the way down. It was good to be me. Winning most every battle I had been in was due mostly to my ability to avoid injury.

But my opponent was not without skills, and he recovered quickly, springing at me as soon as he regained his footing. I could’ve dodged his advance, but I didn’t really want to play this game all night. I wanted to end this as quickly as possible. I reached up as he came crashing down towards me, grabbing him and throwing him off to the side.

Before he could get back up, I leaped onto him, pinning his arms behind his back. He struggled against my grasp, but I was stronger than him. I could hear an animal like growl escaping his chest, sending chills through my spine. I knew that sound. It was the sound of a wild animal. It was the sound of a vampire who had been out of circulation for a while; one who had not fed for a very long time. Centuries.

This was a newly awakened vampire, and that made him dangerous. He would make up for centuries of fasting, and he would feed on anything, including other vampires. This was not something I was prepared for. I wasn’t sure what to do next. Killing a vampire was not an easy thing to do, not even for me. I didn’t know who he was or how strong he was. Certainly I was stronger than him at the moment, but was it just because he was weak from hunger?

I held on as he struggled against me, but I wasn’t sure how long I could hold him there, or what I should do next. I had thought I was coming to scare off an intruding wanderer, not someone who would be blind to anything but his thirst. There would be no reasoning with him if his thirst was that strong. I began to look around for a weapon.

I found nothing of use, and began to wonder if I could lead him out of this area. Certainly that was worth a try. But what if he was faster than me? I certainly didn’t see him coming when he attacked me the first time. Buy some time! That’s what I needed to do, so I could figure out what I really needed to do.

I loosened my grip just enough to allow him to turn over. I wanted him to look into my eyes while I spoke. I might just be able to reach the part of his brain that was not overtaken by his hunger. I suddenly jumped back, tripping as I did, and landing on my back. I moved quickly, not wanting to leave myself vulnerable, on the ground.

Even if I had no plans of attacking, I wasn’t sure if he had seen my face, or if he would recognize me after all these years. Markus. He was one of the few vampires who I still considered a friend. But would our friendship keep him from killing me now? I knew that I couldn’t make myself kill him, especially knowing that if he were in a normal state, he would never attack me.

But I was uncertain how to keep him from killing me. He rushed me then, knocking me to the ground. He was stronger than I had originally judged; perhaps gaining his strength as his recent feed took. It would’ve been nice if it also brought back some of his sanity.

I held him off as his teeth grazed my throat. He tightened his grip around my throat, cutting off my gasps. It was fortunate that I was not human at that moment, because he could’ve finished me off right there. I tried in vain to shout out his name, hoping to break through to him on some level, but his grip prevented any sound from escaping my lips. His nails, long and jagged from years of growth broke through the skin on my jaw, and I could feel the blood trickle down the side of my face and neck.

His grip was becoming stronger, and mine was becoming weaker. I could feel my arms start to give way, and his face neared mine inch by inch. Soon I could feel his breath on my cheek. He was too close now. There was nothing that would stop him now. I shuddered as breathed in the scent of my hair.

He was enjoying this kill; taking his time so he could relish each moment. I tried to muster up what little strength I had left to push him off, but there was nothing. My eyes watered, causing a tear to slide down the side of my face as his tongue ran across my jaw line. I prayed that my blood, and the memories contained in it would snap him out of his ravenous state of mind.

I could see fire in his eyes as he tasted the trickle of blood that had run down my face. I closed my eyes and with every last ounce of energy in my body, I struggled to take in a breath. “Markus,” I whispered before the world went dark.

Chapter Nine

Dark spots clouded my vision as I slowly came to. My head was throbbing, as though it had been slammed repeatedly into some unforgiving object. Probably it had. I remembered very little about the hours leading up to this point, but I do remember the punishment inflicted on me. I winced as I opened my eyes further, bringing my hand up to my forehead.