Fading Darkness (Bloodmarked #1) (6 page)

“Right, and I’m sure you don’t have any
hidden agendas either?” I snapped.

“No, but you’re not going to believe me one
way or another are you?” he answered in a more exhausted tone. “Just don’t go
rushing into any vampire hunting parties. It’s too dangerous.”

“Ha. I think my life passed dangerous a long
time ago. Like I said, I can handle myself.” I felt myself shaking with pent up
anger.

At that, I turned away from him and with
long strides made my way back to the human world. I felt the heat of his gaze
on my back as I melted back into the mass. Feeling rebellious and stubborn, I
sought out Holly and the guys she was talking to at the nearby table.

A deep-seeded instinctual feeling told me
Gavin was in the crowd watching me. I still had no idea where that
connection
came from. Needing to prove him wrong, or maybe myself wrong, I engaged in
a very normal human conversation with the guys, even flirting with them. I took
cues from Holly since I really didn’t know what the hell I was doing. The
blond, all-American looking boy Hol tried setting me up with must have gotten a
major ego boost from my flirting because he took every opportunity to move in
closer and touch me. It all felt very awkward and uncomfortable to me, but I
pressed on, pulling him out of his chair and dragging him willingly out to the
dance floor.

I saw Holly’s eyes light up with my change
of attitude, and she fell in step behind us with her new friend. I drew
confidence from my lithe body, knowing exactly how each muscle felt when
contracted and how it made me move. I ignored the attention I was getting from
the many drunk and sweaty guys on the dance floor as my body twisted and turned
with the sound of the music.

Suddenly, I was overcome by some strange,
foreign feeling that seemed to stem from a place deep inside me I didn’t
recognize, and it was accompanied by a small wave of vertigo, followed by
slight allover numbness. I was exuding anger and possessiveness. It could only
be described as jealousy, based on what I’ve learned from Holly, but I had
never felt that before. It was powerful, and I couldn’t get control over
myself, as if my feelings didn’t belong to me, like they were hijacked. We made
our way back to our table resuming inconsequential conversations broken up by
the loud music and short attention spans of very intoxicated people.

I spotted Gavin in the throng of bodies
across the room giving me a very intense carnal gaze, and at the same time, I
realized Scott, the blond guy, had his arm around the back of my chair and was
leaning in beyond the boundary of my personal space. It made me wonder if that
transference of feelings theory had any truth to it.

Eventually the feelings dissipated, and I
was left with a drunken Holly to my left, whose attention was completely stolen
by Scott’s friend, and an even drunker and clingy Scott to my right. He was
making it very clear he was into me, and as we got up to leave, Holly made it
very clear she wouldn’t be going back to her condo alone.

†

The harder I tried to fit in to the human
world, the more obvious it was that I didn’t fit. Over the years, I have made
vague attempts at normalcy, but it never felt right. It was like trying to
force myself into a mundane human role, but I always ended up back in my own
crazy personal nightmare.

Sometimes I grasp onto humanity so tight
that I let myself hope- hope that maybe I could actually belong to that world I
read about in the newspaper. But then I’d blink, and I’m snapped back to my
reality, my world, the one where there are monsters lurking around every
corner. Sure the human world had its share of monsters, but in the world of
monsters to which I unwillingly belonged, there was no reasoning, no justice,
and definitely no level-1 super-max prisons. There was only cruelty, pain and
suffering, and for the lucky ones, death, which I just recently discovered could
be a real possibility for me.

The idea of dying was never something I have
considered before. I almost felt renewed, like there was hope after all. Maybe
there could be a balance to my screwed up existence.

I made my way back down the hall to my
bedroom where my most recent attempt at normalcy had been passed out, snoring
face down. Once we were outside of the club, Hol had done her best to play
matchmaker in attempt to get me laid, but all I wanted was a good night sleep
to forget everything about this night. Holly deserted me and took off with her
new friend, leaving Scott as my responsibility.

I had every intention of taking him safely
back to his place and dropping him off, but he conveniently “forgot” where he
lived, and I just figured he might be safer if I escorted him back to my
apartment where he could sleep it off on a futon instead of a dark alley with
one of those monsters, either from my world or his.

Reluctantly, I took him back to my place
where he snaked his way into my bedroom thinking he was getting some action. I
opted for the futon as I mentally thanked Holly for all her help with my love
life. I never could tell Holly about my lack of experience in that department
because it was just too strange talking about my fears of, not just emotional
attachment, but physically hurting a guy. Shane had voiced one of my unspoken
fears.

I crept down the hall on the balls of my
feet so I wouldn’t wake him and have to deal with any more groping or flirting.
I didn’t hear any snoring now, though, and something felt strange. A feeling of
dread slowly crept its way into the pit of my stomach as my collective senses
told me something evil had just happened here.

I stepped into the bedroom pushing the
half-opened door out of my way. Then I blinked, and my current hold on humanity
was abruptly broken in that one instant. I slipped quickly back into my own
personal hell.

I smelled the blood once the door was open.
It hit me immediately with the force of a swift punch to the face. It was
strong and metallic, and spilled over the entire bed. This wasn’t just a meal
gone wrong. It was murder.

It was a personal attack on me, a sign from
the vampire community telling me they were onto me. I never thought vampires
could enter into anyone’s home because it’s never happened, but then again, I’m
not exactly human, so maybe that rule didn’t apply to me. I think it was meant
to scare me off, but all it did was
piss
me off. I wasn’t sad so I
couldn’t cry. I didn’t know him, wasn’t attached to him. This was the reason I
couldn’t let myself get close to anyone.

I was, however, very, very angry. How the
hell did they sneak in so quietly? I must have been out like a light, but that
was no excuse for allowing such a heinous crime in my own home. They took his
life from him, his future, and now, his family had to mourn the loss of their son,
brother, nephew, grandson.

I knew this was on me. I was used to
bringing death into the lives I touched. I didn’t have to suck blood to be a
killer, because no matter how much I fought it, I was a part of this world. But
I would always fight like hell to bring what balance I could to my evil nature.
I had quite a few deaths on my conscience, but I used my killing capabilities
to keep that number from growing to be much higher.

The rage was turning to adrenaline and as my
body hummed with hate and anticipation, I could no longer stand still. I needed
to move, to hunt, to kill as many bloodsucking sons of bitches as I could.
There were only a couple of hours before sunrise so I burst out of my door into
the dark and hit top speed in seconds dodging obstacles and jumping over cars
like track hurdles. I was so fast that the normal human eye couldn’t process
the sight of me in time to even notice I was there. The rage was still brewing deep
within, begging to be released so I couldn’t even enjoy the run. I tried to
remember where the most recent vampire attacks were located, or according to
the news,
malicious acts of violence
, and I started with them.

There were still people leaving the downtown
bars, so I had no trouble finding my first kill. I found her stalking an inebriated
couple who were stumbling down the sidewalk searching for the next available
cab.

She stayed to the low lying rooftops and as
she sprung, I leapt and snatched her out of midair by her throat throwing her
to the ground under me. I landed easily with my feet at her sides. There was no
time for pleasantries with too many witnesses out tonight, I dragged her up by
her neck and threw her into the shadows of the alley.

After a battle cry and a few choice words,
she charged me, and I drew the knife I had grabbed from my kitchen on the way
out and tossed it in the air. I raised my hand above my head waiting for the
blade end to come back to me, and I carefully plucked it from the air. In the
same swift motion of my arm, I sent it sailing at her rapidly approaching
figure. It sank into her heart just feet away and her midnight ashes were the
only thing that hit me. They swirled around me like black smoke before
disappearing into the night air. That was hardly the fight I needed. With anger
still pulsing threw my veins, I ran to find more. I had to have more.

I spotted a couple more tracking a very loud
bunch of spirited people near Citygarden. I tackled one to the ground in front
of a sculpture that looked like a giant bunny. He grabbed a handful of my hair
and slammed my head against the side of the sculpture. I staggered but regained
balance in time to avoid the next blow. I took the second punch to my stomach
and landed a right hook to his jaw. I never stopped moving. Using all the speed
and strength I had, I circled him, lashing out on him at every possible
opportunity. A flash of black eyes and bared teeth, and I could tell he wasn’t
happy to take such a bad beating.

I, however, could feel the smile on my face
growing as I used his face as a speed bag. But I knew I wouldn’t be satisfied
until I found the one responsible for the display in my apartment. The other
vampire was waiting nearby watching, waiting for his chance at me. I finished
the other one off in anticipation for the next.

He stepped out from behind another
sculpture, and he taunted me to make the first move. “Come on, honey,” he
egged.

“I’m not really in the mood for foreplay
tonight,” I responded icily.

He didn’t hesitate as he came at me like
freight train at full speed. He was huge and very sure of himself when he
moved. He faked a move to my right, and as I went left, he countered and landed
a punch across my left eye. He kept coming and as he grabbed two fistfuls of my
jacket, he shoved me up against a sculpture. He slid one hand to my throat, and
I began choking and gagging. My eyes became less focused as the swirling stars
cluttered my vision when the dizziness began to set in. I kicked at him hoping
to land one where it would count.

It must have made him mad because he lifted
me from the statue and slammed me to the ground. My head smashed into the
concrete, and those remaining stars exploded into bursts of light. The pain
reverberated against the inside of my skull, and I heard the sound of my own
whimpering as my fingers curled with agony, nails biting into the inside of my
palms. Before it had time to heal itself, I felt another blow to my face, and
another. He didn’t let up, and I realized I was now on the receiving end of
anger.

Okay, yeah, I did come out here to kill him
and every other vampire, but I think I earned my right to be even more pissed.
I wasn’t about to let him win. This was my fight. It always has been.

With both eyes swollen shut, I had to rely
on other senses. When he pulled away from me slightly, probably readying
himself for another big blow, I twisted out from under his massive body and
sprung lightly to my feet with all the remaining energy I could muster. Not
wasting any more time, I sensed him in front of me, and a windmill kick to his head
left him stunned enough for me to land a few punches on his face. My whole head
still throbbed, but I needed to hold it together long enough to end this evil
bastard’s existence.

With my eyes healing, now opened slightly, I
grabbed for my knife, but he knocked it from my hand. I hit him again and
lunged for the blade. He kicked me in the stomach sending me a few feet out of
reach from my knife. He grabbed my ankle and threw me sideways several more
feet away. I stopped abruptly when my back came up against a tree, curling back
in an unnatural way. I heard a snap and crumpled to the ground in a heap.

The healing process was almost as
excruciating. My vertebrae snapped back into place with equal force as the
break. The tree splintered down the middle with my impact, which was good for
me, because a few low hanging branches broke with more ease than my back.

The vampire was coming at me again, and I
curled a hand around a broken branch and drove it, with as much force as I
could summon, into the heart of my opponent. He went down hard, but I didn’t
stick around long. Moments later, when I could feel my legs again, I stumbled
off in search of more. My body still wasn’t fully healed and screamed in agony,
but I wasn’t wasting any dark time.

There was another one nearby. She saw me and
started backing away. I wasn’t sure what did it, whether it was the crazed look
I had, the look of a desperate madwoman, or of a senseless killer who would
stop at nothing for vengeance, but she was scared. She should be. All vampires
should fear me.

I picked up speed, but couldn’t quite reach
full speed. The cartilage in my spine was still painfully repairing itself, and
in the process of healing, one of the nerves was struck, causing my legs to
give out midstride. I stumbled forward, nearly face planting on the hard
concrete. I rolled out of the fall as quickly as I could, my back still aching
but rapidly on the mend. I ran through more sculptures and caught up to her at
the water plaza.