The Embrace (32 page)

She wriggled as much as she could, and I could see pain in her eyes. Somehow she managed to loosen my grip and she began to run away from me across the tiled floor. Her feet were still wet from the bath and she slipped on the tiles as she fled, hitting the floor with a violent thump.

I seized the advantage and ran up behind her, wrapping my hands around her neck. She clawed at my skin, her long nails leaving tiny grooves. She didn’t have any breath so I wasn’t choking her but I still had enough strength to decapitate her with my bare hands, and we both knew it.

She reached forward as far as she could and grabbed a box which had been left discarded on the floor. She threw it behind her with surprising precision and I only just managed to move out of the way in time. I let my hands leave her neck for just a second and she turned, pouncing on me and pinning me to the ground.

Her fangs were now fully extended for the first time. She truly was a magnificent creature. For a second I forgot how deeply I hated her, and the feeling of admiration resumed.

She leaned down to press her lips against my neck again. “Nice try.” She whispered against my skin.

That was all I needed to reminded me of my abhorrence. I managed to pull my leg from underneath her and I kicked at her stomach with full force. She flew through the air, colliding with a mirror on the opposite wall. The glass shattered as she fell to the ground, her body covered in tiny cuts.

I walked past the coffee table and broke the table leg off in my hand as I passed. I knew every inch of the room and I didn’t even need to look to make sure I had picked the right object.

My vision was blinded by my old friend, the red curtain of hunger. I stopped in front of Dahlia and she looked up at me with those cold eyes, licking blood away from the corner of her lips.

She rose to her full height and came eye to eye with me, a clear show of intimidation, but then she laughed. That sound was so harsh, like the cackle of bullies in the playground, the kind of sound which makes you feel exposed and vulnerable.

Before I even realised what I was doing I plunged the table leg in to her heart, driving her backwards and pinning her in to the wall. All of the energy drained out of her and she looked at me in a panic, her mean girl persona gone in a flash.

“What did you do?” She murmered as she lost control of her body.

I kissed her just as she had done to me. She was so perfect but I hated the way she made me feel, and I couldn’t risk Gabriel see her as a vampire. Although she wasn’t his usual type, I knew she would seduce Gabriel just as she had entranced me. I simply couldn’t live with that competition for the rest of eternity.

I didn’t know if my attack would kill her. If she was left alone for a long time then it might, but if Gabriel got to her then his rich blood might renew her. I had never seen a vampire die and my mate had never mentioned the process, other than the story of Emma’s suicide, so I didn’t know what to look for. All I knew was that I didn’t want to be there when Gabriel saw what I had done.

I grabbed a coat from the door and walked out. I knew Gabriel would come back and find his latest protege dead, or just on the brink of death. I could only imagine how furious he would be, but I knew that our bond couldn’t be broken that easily. I would have to return to him at some point, whether I liked it or not.

I told myself I would think about that later. All I knew was that I couldn’t be in the apartment that night. I had to get out before he came back and saw the state of his new addition.

I didn’t know where to go. I had spent a long time wondering the streets alone in the past but now it felt different. I was practically on the run so the situation was far more desperate than before.

I still hadn’t fed and suddenly the pang of hunger hit me. I had to forget about my predicimant for a while and focus on hunting, the thing a vampire is designed to do.

I tried to follow the heart beats. My mind felt foggy but a couple of rhythms poked through the throng more than the others, and so I followed them.

I walked for a while and eventually loud music and strong hearts drew me in to a busy area. There was some kind of night club, an underground affair with a narrow entranceway and a burly security guard outside. I wasn’t on top form but I knew I could find someone to feed on in the depths of this heaving building.

I was still wearing my night gown, and I hadn’t even looked at myself in the mirror since the fight with Dahlia, but I knew I would still have power over the humans. With that in mind I approached the bouncer with no fear.

I cut in front of the queue. I could feel some animosity towards me but as soon as the people caught a glimpse of who had broken the cardinal rule of queuing, the feeling disappeared. I stepped over the railings as elegantly as I could and pressed my body against the bouncer, stretching up to his ears.

“You’re going to let me in. I’m not going to pay and you’re not going to question me. Is that understood?” I whispered.

He nodded, confused by my compulsion. He pulled the corden away and let me into the club and the victims waiting beyond.

I followed a flight of stairs down into the core of the club. There were dozens of men and women writhing on the dancefloor to the pumping music playing through the speakers. As I took them in, I felt powerful emotions emanating from them: lust, jealousy, anger, confusion, the whole spectrum of human emotion.

Alcohol has a funny effect on people and the thoughts that washed over me were murky and surreal. I could sense the men and women trying to seduce one another, the lonely ones drowning their sorrows, the stressed figures trying to let off steam. It was fascinating.

As I stepped further in to the club, I felt as if my burden was lifted. The strobe lights fell over my skin and made me shine in an eerie way. My hair was so light that it seemed to glow under the bright ligts, and as I walked on to the dancefloor I felt all eyes fall on me. I felt powerful again, the way I used to feel before Dahlia walked in to my life.

The atmosphere was intoxicating. My whole body relaxed and I even started to laugh at some of the more amusing thoughts popping up in my head. If I had been a human, chuckling alone, I would have seemed crazy, but the people watching me were so enthralled by my appearance that they didn’t notice my strange behaviour.

I had never been much of a dancer as a human. Other than my brief brush with normality while dating Jared, I hadn’t been the kind of girl who got invited to a lot of social functions.

However, as a vampire I had learnt how powerful I could be. Looking back on my human life it flashed before me in a series of boring moments, the only highlight being Gabriel’s entrance.

These boring moments were pushed aside when Dahlia flashed through my mind. Her cackle seemed to reverberate around my head and I had to do something to get it to disappear.

I let the music wash over me and I closed my eyes to block the thoughts out. The powerful bass pumped through my feet, making my body shake just a little. The people around me, though still sneaking looks at me, had returned to their dancing and I could feel their energy swirling around me. Even the salty smell of their sweat was enticing.

I felt myself being carried away by the music and the emotions as if I was on the crest of a wave. Even with my eyes closed I could sense the changes in atmosphere as the strobe lights made strange patterns around me. I spread my arms out to their full length like wings and let everything build up around me: the feelings, the thoughts, the smells.

I felt better than I had in months. I wasn’t under the thumb of anyone else while I was in this club. I knew I could destroy everyone in the room in the blink of an eye, and that balanced every blow I had experienced over the past night.

The song that was playing blended into another and I snapped back to reality. No-one would approach me, they were too scared. Like always I would have to make the first move to find a victim.

I scoped out the crowd around me. A group of tall, athletic looking men stood nearby. They looked uncomfortable and out of place on the dancefloor, but they were intently staring at something. I followed their gaze and saw one of their group, a handsome but timid young man, trying to flirt with a beautiful young woman. Perfect.

Moving in time with the music, I made my way over to the couple. I didn’t need to say a word. I pushed her out of the way and locked on to his gaze. I felt exhilirated and this obviously had a strong effect on my already impressive abilities. My skill was so strong that I didn’t have to open my mouth, he was already under my control.

We danced together, moving rhythmically in sync with the music. It was almost tribal, limbs moving and bodies dancing in time to the beat. More men started to drift towards me and I allowed myself to get lost amongst them.

We became a tangled mess of arms and bodies, lost in a power deeper than the music itself. Even the women who surrounded us could feel the energy sweeping out. It was probably a strange sensation for them. I could picture them leaving the club later that night and having this experience play on their thoughts for hours as they tried to work out what made me more desirable than them.

As I danced something else crept up on me. My eyes had been tightly closed to allow me to get lost in the moment, the feeling of the sweat and the sound of the heart beats swirling around me, but then the hairs on the back of my neck began to stand on end. I felt a cold chill run through my body. The feeling was unmistakeable, but it had been so long since I’d experienced it that I had almost forgotten.

It meant only one thing. My stalker was somewhere nearby.

I slowly opened my eyes and tried to act as if I hadn’t noticed anything. I knew my dancing would look stilted to my vampire observer but I couldn’t do anything about it. I tried to use my strong senses to pinpoint the location of this other vampire.

He was on the periphery. I could sense the empty space where a human would normally be. Instead of their life and vitality, I could feel the cold energy that only a vampire could have.

I turned my head to look for this mysterious figure. I wanted to put an end to this. I had gone through so much over the past few days. I knew my relationship with Gabriel would change forever when he found out what I had done to Dahlia, so I didn’t need my stalker adding to the long list of misery I had to think about.

I knew my stalker was powerful enough to hide himself if he didn’t want to be seen, but there he was. I could faintly make out his shape as he walked along the edge of the large crowd forming around me. His figure was shrouded in darkness but I could see that he was tall, probably taller than Gabriel. Although the humans were unable to see him, they instincitvely shivered as he passed.

I was frozen to the spot. The men in my circle were still dancing and writhing with the animalistic force running through them, but I was transfixed by my stalker’s new found willingness to be seen.

I watched him walk over to the stairs and make his way up them. I realised in a moment of panic that he was leaving the club. I had to go after him. This was too important a chance to miss.

I pulled myself away from the grasping hands of the men around me. As I left they regained control and returned to their girlfriends or friends, bemused by their unexplainable behaviour.

I had no time to think about them. I had to find this anonymous follower. I made my way up the stairs, hoping he would move at a pace slow enough for me to keep up with.

As I reached the exit, I pushed my way past the bouncer who I had charmed just before. His smell was attractive but for the first time that night my hunger was pushed away by something more important.

My feet moved quicker than they’d ever moved as I ran through the alleyways around the club. I could sense the stalker’s presence nearby but I couldn’t quite pinpoint him. As I reached one alleyway I was forced to stop. I couldn’t feel him anymore.

As I tried to find his presence again, some unseen force threw my body forward in to a brick wall next to me. I tried to move away but the power pinning me to the wall was too strong for even me to break. It had to be the stalker.

“What do you want?” I choked out, desperately trying to free myself from his grip.

I didn’t know what this creature planned to do with me, but he seemed hostile. He turned me around with a violent force and threw me back against the wall, making me hit my head against the bricks. For a second I felt dazed, almost like a concussion, but I shook it off.

Standing in front of me, pinning me to the wall, was my stalker. I had come face to face with him for the first time. After months of being followed and tormented, here he was.

The things I instantly noticed were his strong features. His jaw jutted out just enough to seem manly, while his rugged facial features looked authoritative. His hair had a soft sheen, but it lacked the sweeping, high maintenance look Gabriel sported. He was taller than I had anticipated, and more muscular, which just went to highlight his impressive appearance.

My fear was now mixed with intimidation, and yet somehow I felt a twinge of attraction. I tried to bury it but there was no denying my stalker was handsome, even for a vampire.

“Nice to meet you.” He said with a wicked smile on his face.

He still had me pinned against the wall. I hardly felt like being friendly when I wasn’t even free to move my arms.