by Melody Raven
When he shot her down the night before, he’d called her a demon and accused her of killing the “old” Gena. Although she was still pissed at him for killing her twice, she might think she was a demon too if she were in his position. It was the original murder she could never forgive.
She shuddered at the harsh memories. Though her murder was just days ago, the whole experience seemed as though it was in the distant past. Everything was so different now; everything from her old life seemed as if it had happened years ago.
A part of her heart mourned the loss of her old life. The scary part was that she was so much calmer about the situation now than she’d been when first talking to Hope. She had what could almost be called friends to help her find her answers. She had a (really nice) roof over her head and a way to make temporary income.
What might be scaring her more than anything was that the further she got pulled into the strange world, the less she missed her old one. Sure, she’d rather be in the comfort of her own home, but how could she ever go into her kitchen again after what had happened there? She liked being a nurse and helping people at the hospital, but with her new resources and abilities, surely she could find better ways to help.
Her parents and Joy were the biggest holes in her life that she didn’t know what to do without, but who said she could never see them again? Her parents surely loved her enough to get past whatever was happening to her and, with Hope’s help, she was sure Joy would take Gena’s transformation in stride.
Hope had called earlier in the evening, while Gena and Marcus were still out. The funeral for Gena was the next day. She couldn’t bear the thought of her friends and family hurting over her supposed death.
Hope had assured her that everyone was doing as well as possible under the circumstances. Police picked up Ryan’s prints at her home but hadn’t found him yet.
Restlessness drove Gena to stand up and do another lap around the penthouse. She was used to being on her feet all day and then going for a walk with Lady. The few hours walking around the city earlier with Marcus were not enough to release her pent-up energy. She’d tried reading a book to distract herself but couldn’t get into the story with so much on her mind, and the television couldn’t hold her attention either.
Lady had loyally followed her around the apartment the first ten or twenty laps, but now the dog just stared at her every time she’d randomly hop off the sofa and start to walk.
And why would the dog understand her frustration? Lady was at least allowed to leave. The doorman came up once every two hours to take Lady for a walk around the block. Gena only guessed what kind of tips Marcus left to get that kind of service at four in the morning.
Halfway through her latest lap around the penthouse, she heard a key turn in the door. She looked up expectantly and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Marcus come in. Completely of their own accord, her lips formed a huge smile at seeing him returning safe.
“I was going crazy here alone,” she said. “How did everything go?”
Marcus didn’t return the smile. His eyes briefly met hers before he averted his gaze. He rushed past her. “It could’ve been better.”
Gena’s face fell as she followed him. “What went wrong?”
With his back still facing her, he said, “I will discuss it with you next evening.”
She was taken aback. She was here to help him. He couldn’t just brush her off like that. She followed him upstairs. As he walked into the master bathroom and started to shut the door in her face, she stuck her arm in to stop the door from shutting.
“Gena!” he screamed as he turned to face her.
He grabbed her arm and pushed her backward. Her free hand struggled to get his grip off her wrist. As she struggled, she yelled back, “You left me alone all night and now you’re going to ignore—”
Her words were cut off as she noticed the large splotch of red marring his white shirt. “Are you okay?” she breathed. “Where are you hurt?”
As she calmed down, he loosened his grip on her. Her nurse’s instinct took over she reached up to spread the collar of his shirt and look for the wound.
His reaction was so fast, it was all a blur. She heard a muttered curse and then he was grabbing her again. This time, instead of pushing her away, he pulled her into the bathroom. “What are you doing?” he shot at her.
Wordless from being moved so fast, she said nothing as he flooded the sink with hot water. He grasped her hands and thrust them under the flowing water.
“What are you doing?” she asked in confusion.
She glanced up and caught his eyes in the mirror. He usually looked so calm and collected. Now his eyes had a wild glint to them. Her gaze traveled lower, to the skin she’d bared at the base of his neck and top of his chest. Though the red stain was still staring at her, she saw no marks on his skin.
“Whose blood is that?” She’d worked in a hospital long enough to know what blood looked like. She met his eyes again and saw guilt staring back at her. “What did you do?”
He said nothing as he reached for the soap and vigorously scrubbed her hands clean. She realized he was trying to wash any blood she’d touched off her hands. She ripped away from his grip. “Answer me! Whose blood is on your shirt?” she demanded.
His jaw clenched and the look of guilt was replaced with steel resolve. “I had to prove myself,” was all he said.
Her head spun. “Isn’t that why I’m here? I can’t die!”
He shook his head. “Even if we could guarantee you would come back again, this was going to go the way they planned. If these men aren’t stopped, thousands will die. If one has to die in order for that to stop, so be it.”
Gena backed away from him. “What is the point of me being here, if I can’t help you? If I can’t save people?
“How can you just murder someone?” she yelled. She regretted the question instantly.
If it was even possible, his jaw clenched tighter. He left her in the bathroom and walked wordlessly into the bedroom and stripped off his shirt.
“I didn’t mean ‘murder.’” She moved to the doorway of the bathroom to watch him.
“What do you think is a better word for it?” asked a bitter Marcus.
“They would’ve killed you, right? They probably killed someone last night. And the night before that. They do need to be stopped.”
“Are you trying to reason this away until you make it right?” he asked with a sardonic tone.
“It might not be right, but it’s not wrong either.”
Marcus threw the shirt he was fumbling with on the floor in frustration and turned to her with a growl. Gena had the urge to back away but stood her ground as he approached her. When he was mere inches away, she had to crane her neck back to look up at him. She could feel the heat of his body through her clothes but still refused to give up any ground.
“Listen carefully,” he said softly. “I don’t need your acceptance or your forgiveness. I don’t need jack shit from you right now. This wasn’t the first human I’ve killed and he won’t be the last. I am a vampire.” He moved another inch closer to her and leaned his face close to her ear. “Now get out of my face.” His warm breath brushed across her cheek as he whispered the words.
Gena refused to let herself be intimidated by him. “I don’t know what you’ve done in the past, but I know I can help you with this—”
His mouth crashed down on hers. The force of it caused her to lose her balance, and she wrapped her arms around his big shoulders. He must’ve taken it as an invitation, as he cupped her face with his hands and tilted for better access.
She opened for him and his tongue swiftly plunged into her mouth. A moan escaped her throat as she gave in and kissed him back. She wrapped her arms tighter around him and pulled his body as close as she could while her own tongue met his.
His hands moved from her face to run down the curve of her waist. They slipped under the hem of her shirt and rested on the bare skin at the small of her b
ack. The feel of his warm hands on her skin just set her off even more. She rubbed herself against him and was rewarded with the feel of his hard erection against her stomach.
The hands on her waist held her tight as he lifted her off her feet. Without ever breaking the kiss, he turned her around and they fell on the bed together. He landed on top of her, and she parted her legs for him automatically.
He ground himself into her, and she broke the kiss as her back arched and a moan emerged from her lips. He reached for her top and lifted it over her head.
She was shamelessly helping him undress her when a loud beeping interrupted them from across the room.
They both froze in place as the noise continued. Gena’s chest rose and fell with her deep breaths, and even Marcus seemed to be breathing heavily. He stared down at her with his black eyes; his fangs poked out of his bottom lip. When had that happened?
Finally he gave a grunt of aggravation as he pushed off her and grabbed his phone from the pocket of his jacket he’d left on the sofa in the room. “What?” he bit out.
Gena couldn’t focus on the words of his conversation. She was too shocked by what had happened, or almost happened. She pulled her shirt down and stood from the bed as quickly as possible. What had she done? Just hours before, she’d told him she wouldn’t be doing this, and there she was sprawled on his bed and tearing at his clothes...
While he was still talking, she crossed to leave the room. When she was almost home free, his arm reached out and he tapped her on the shoulder. “Wait,” he mouthed.
Unable to think of a good reason not to, she turned back to pace in front of the sitting area. After another minute, he hung up and turned back to her.
To her amazement, he never even addressed what just happened between them. Instead, he said, “Good news. Vlad located a psychic for you. She should be here tomorrow night. Well, tonight if you consider that it’s four in the morning.”
Gena felt a mix of emotions. She was happy that as soon as tomorrow she might be finding out what was happening to her, but she didn’t know whether she wanted to know.
“That’s great,” she said.
Marcus nodded. “I’m going to take a shower. When I’m done, we can watch a movie or something, okay?”
Gena stared at him, dumbfounded. That was it? A movie? “Okay,” was all she said. Sure, she didn’t want to talk about it, but pretending it never happened almost seemed worse. So if she had to watch a movie with him to avoid that awkwardness, then that was what she’d do.
Gena was exhausted the next evening. Marcus had been keeping her awake the whole day in preparation for the psychic. If the psychic was going to see into Gena’s dreams, she’d have to be sleeping, and for her to sleep on command, Marcus had made it his mission to let her get no rest. Not even a catnap.
By the time seven o’clock rolled around, Gena was more than cranky. She was downright hostile. Her head pounded and her eyelids felt like lead bricks.
Marcus thought it was hilarious.
She wanted to be furious with him every time he laughed at her pain or threw a piece of popcorn at her to keep her awake, but she knew he was trying to make the best out of a bad situation.
He’d taught her a lot about vampires as they passed the daylight hours inside the dark penthouse. The most important knowledge she’d taken was how to hurt them.
There were lots of untruths sprinkled in the vampire mythology. The vampires had planted these to protect themselves. Simple things like reflections and holy water were all made up. That way, if they were ever accused of being a vampire, they could just hold up a mirror or drink water from the church to prove they weren’t demons.
The cross myth was partial truth. All vampires are highly reactive to silver, so a silver crucifix could burn them to the touch and cause them excruciating pain if it pierced the skin, but the cross itself did nothing to them.
This led to the even stranger revelation of the stash of weapons Marcus had hidden in the penthouse. A varied assortment of silver daggers and swords were in the closets and drawers around the living space and kitchen. There was a sword under the bed and even more daggers in the bathroom.
As if that wasn’t enough, Marcus even had a handgun loaded with specially made silver bullets.
Though the silver could cause intense pain, it would only kill if the heart was destroyed or if the head was removed. Well, that wasn’t specific to silver. Though legend said only a wood stake could kill a vampire, really any instrument that destroyed the heart would do the trick.
Gena hadn’t been happy to learn all of this, but they both believed it was necessary for her to learn how to defend herself. She just hoped she’d never have to utilize any of the knowledge.
Because of the vampires who might pop in for a visit at any moment, Marcus thought it would be best if she kept the gun with her. His reasoning was that it would be safer for her to have some form of self-defense, and he’d have Vlad bring him another gun for himself in the evening.
Despite the seriousness of their situations, not all their day was talk on how to kill a vampire. Most was spent lounging on the sofa with Lady curled up next to her as she watched various movies with Marcus. If she weren’t so tired, waiting for a psychic to tell her why she wasn’t dying, or learning about how to kill vampires, it might’ve been a relaxing day.
When the intercom finally buzzed, Gena breathed out a sigh of anticipation. Was this really going to work? She stood back as Marcus opened the door. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but it definitely wasn’t the young girl who stood in the entryway.
She couldn’t be more than eighteen and had wispy blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail. She was dressed casually in a t-shirt and jeans. The backpack over her shoulder identified her as a student. Gena frowned. “You’re a psychic?”
The girl smiled. “Yep. I’m Mia.” She narrowed her eyes at Gena. “Sorry I’m not a sixty-year-old gypsy with crazy long hair and lots of bracelets.” Apparently this was a sore spot for her.
Gena was speechless. She didn’t mean to offend her. Before she could apologize, Marcus defended her by saying, “She has been through a lot. You give her any more shit, I will throw you out of here quicker than you can say abracadabra.”
Mia turned her glare to Marcus. “I’m not a magician.”
Marcus changed topics. “Is there anything immediately noticeable about her?” He motioned to Gena.
Mia looked over at Gena and Gena fidgeted under the scrutiny.
“Are you kidding? This girl’s glowing brighter than a Christmas tree.”
Just like Ryan had said. “What does that mean?” asked Gena.
Mia shrugged. “I’ve never met anyone with an aura like that. I have seen a few on the streets, but you don’t just walk up to a mystical being and ask what they are, if you know what I mean.”
Gena could see how that would be awkward. “So I’m not the only one? Are you sure that makes me mystical?”
Mia responded, “Well, I’m not sure of anything yet. I am sure I’ve seen bright white auras before. As for you being mystical, isn’t your seeming inability to die the reason I’m here?”
That would be mystical, thought Gena. “That whole ‘dying thing’ has been an issue for me lately.”
Mia smiled. “Unfortunately, I’m not on speaking terms with a lot of others like me, so I can’t ask anyone what you might be. Vlad told me you have night terrors and you want me to try to read you during these terrors.”
Gena nodded. “Why aren’t you speaking with other psychics?”
“Let’s just focus on you right now,” said Mia. “I can try to read your dreams. However, true night terrors are not related to nightmares. If there are dreams causing these outbursts, I will be able to see them.”
Gena was relieved she might be getting answers. “What if I don’t have any? They only come once every couple of months and I had one last night.”
“Well, we can at least try. If these terrors are supernatural,
they’ll be much more likely to happen tonight. Marcus is probably acting like a beacon and my presence will enhance that beacon.”
Gena looked over to Marcus, who gave her an apologetic smile. “Whatever you do tonight, Gena will be safe?” he asked.
“I can’t imagine why not. All she has to do is sleep,” said Mia.
“Let’s get started,” said Gena.
Fifteen minutes later, Gena was lying in Marcus’s bed with Mia and Marcus both looking at her. “This isn’t awkward at all,” muttered Gena.
“I know it isn’t ideal, but he won’t leave.” Mia was right. Marcus refused to leave her alone with a stranger, no matter how small and harmless she looked.
Mia continued, “Just close your eyes and try to relax. You were tired before I got here, right?”
Gena nodded with her eyes closed.
“You will fall asleep eventually. Even if it takes a while, I’m not going anywhere. Just keep those eyes closed until you fade away,” said Mia with a soft whisper.
Sure enough, Gena did eventually drift away.
Marcus was useless at the moment. Gena was still in a deep sleep, and Mia was in a trance-like state next to her on the bed. One of the small blonde’s hands rested gently on Gena’s forehead while Mia’s eyes were also closed and her head was tilted back against the wall.
Marcus paced out into the living room. He could only take so much helplessness at a time. The previous night’s serving had almost been too much for him to bear.
He didn’t regret killing the human, though he did regret he was put in a situation where murder was his only option. Rok and his people, whoever they were, had to be stopped. They obviously had no regard for human or vampire life, and that made them incredibly dangerous.
If they ever came into power, the casualties would be too high to risk. Now Marcus needed to infiltrate their operation even more than ever. He’d known he’d have to prove himself somehow. He’d even guessed he’d have to shed blood to do so.
Marcus hoped having Gena pretend to be his human would show how far he was willing to go, but he also knew his refusal to share her was a mark against him.