by Dani April
“I’m sorry…I don’t know you…” Marty started to back away.
“No, you don’t,” the woman admitted. “But I have something to tell you, and you’re going to want to listen to me very carefully, Marty.”
“How do you know my name?”
The woman laughed. She was wicked. “I know a lot more than just your name, Marty. Now get inside the fucking car, and I will drive you to the hospital. On the way we’ll have a little talk and get a few things straight. How does that sound?”
“Who are you?”
“Someone you don’t want as an enemy.” The icy smile was back. “I’m used to having people do as I say, especially young vampire girls.”
The woman’s eyes glowed red in the dark. That was when Marty knew what this woman was. She had just met her first vampire. Far from the hunk of a man she had envisioned her first vampire encounter to be with, this was a wicked witch of a woman, albeit a beautiful one. The fact that the woman standing before her was a fellow vampire did not reassure her. It frightened her to her very core.
The interior of the limo was pitch-black. As a vampire, Marty had never been afraid of the dark until now. The darkness inside the limousine sent a shock wave of fear through her. There were more glowing eyes peering from the blackness. They were all staring out of the dark toward her.
Marty knew she couldn’t get in that car. Every fiber of her being told her there was nothing but horror and death waiting for her. The black hole inside that limousine represented hell on earth.
She turned around and bolted back in the direction of her house. Realizing she was extremely vulnerable running along the street, she darted across an embankment and through the local park. She turned her back on the nightmare that was behind her and ran with every ounce of energy she possessed.
The lawn felt dewy as she tramped down the grass with her nurses’ clogs. This was an old park that had survived in spite of the urban sprawl. It had even been there in the fifties when she had been a girl. Her father used to take her and her dog to play there. Now she was running for her life over that very ground.
She had run about five hundred yards through the open ground of the park. Having put enough distance between herself and the danger looming in back, she started to slow and think of a plan of escape. If she kept heading straight she would come out onto the same street as her house. From there, all she would have to do was make it a couple more blocks south, and she would be home. The thought of Barry waiting for her with his masculine strength and sure countenance had never been more satisfying. She would let him take her in his arms and comfort her. Then she would bolt the door behind her and call in sick to the hospital. One more day off wouldn’t kill her, but what was on the inside of that limo certainly might.
She chanced a random glance back over her shoulder. No one was following her, of that she could be fairly certain. Her vampire senses were serving her well. If someone had been back there, she would have seen them in the dark. At the moment, other than some rabbits scampering across the lawn, she had the entire park to herself.
“Get inside the car, my dear.” The female vampire and the limo were back. The limo had parked on the curb to the rear of the park at the exact point she had chosen to exit from. They were right in front of her again, and merely a few feet away.
The vampire woman reached out and grabbed her arm. Her grip was like iron. There was more power in that hold than Marty could imagine. Marty might have been a vampire the same as she was, but even to Marty the woman’s flesh felt cold, like that of a corpse. The hold the vampire had her arm locked in would brook no struggle. When Marty tried squirming away, the vampire twisted her arm painfully, forcing her to cry out.
Now there was no escape. Marty would have to do as this mystery vampire told her. She took a deep breath and climbed off the curb and inside the proffered door. The strength of the female vampire threw her the rest of the way, and she landed with a thud on the seat inside.
The darkness consumed her and took her away.
Chapter Eleven
Marty fell into the backseat between two male vampires. Neither spoke, nor did they bother to acknowledge her presence as she sat in the middle between them. She had no time to contemplate this because the female vampire had settled on the seat opposite her own and was regarding her from out of evil, bright-red eyes.
Marty wondered if this was the fear Barry had experienced when he became her victim. These were truly terrifying creatures. Now that she was finally up close to them, she realized that nothing about them was in the slightest way human.
Too scared to speak, Marty waited for the female to start. The limo had started in motion and was whizzing down the street. Its speed seemed off-kilter for the residential street they would have been driving through, although the windows were tinted, and she could not see a thing outside. Unused to the fast motion of the car, it was threatening to make her sick. As they continued to ride in silence she realized they were not going to stop, either. This was odd because she knew of at least three stoplights down the street in the direction they were headed, and her bus got stuck by at least one of them every night.
The female leaned back in her seat and got comfortable. She had long fingernails painted red, and she was tapping them against the armrest of her seat in an annoying fashion. “So, Marty,” she began and purred. “How does it feel to be a vampire?”
“You tell me.” Marty brought up her courage and looked the female in the eye.
The female smiled at this. “Touché.” Her eyes went from red back to cold ice. “Don’t be too scared of vampires, my dear. There are far worse things roaming the night than us.” She clicked those annoying long nails against the armrest and continued to regard her. “You have a lot of questions.”
Marty did not reply but waited instead.
“It is only natural that you should have these questions since you don’t have a maker around, but some questions are better left unanswered.”
“Can you give me any answers?”
The female laughed. She seemed to love Marty’s vulnerability and the terror she inspired. “I can give you all the answers, but I’m not going to.”
“Do you know who my maker is?”
“That’s a long story, and a rather good one, too. But I don’t think you would like it very well. You see, your character in the story doesn’t have a very happy ending.”
Marty chanced a glance over at one of the males. He ignored her. She was able to notice that they were as beautiful in appearance as was the female.
“The Internet is a fabulous invention, don’t you agree?” the female asked and let out another purr. “Regardless of who invented the damn thing, it does have a lot of uses for these modern day humans.”
Marty tried to look out the window but could see nothing through the tinting. “Where are you taking me?”
“I already told you that, my dear. We’re driving you to work at your little hospital job. I shouldn’t think it will take us very long to get there.”
Marty suspected she was being dishonest because they didn’t seem to be heading in the right direction for the hospital. “Why have you taken me?”
“Because the ride gives us a chance to have a little talk about your Internet usage.”
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
“You’ve been sending e-mails to Peter von North. And that lovable oaf has even been sending some back to you.”
“I don’t know who you’re talking about.”
“Oh, come off it, my dear. I can read your mind. I know you know who I’m talking about.”
Marty looked the female in the eye again and tried to summon her mental powers, but they were no good against her. “If you can read my mind then how come I can’t read yours?”
“Because I’m considerably older than you. Anyway, child, it’s considered very rude to try and read the mind of your elders. I can see you really haven’t learned anything about our kind yet.”
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“That’s because my maker has been away. When he returns to me, I’ll know everything I need to know. You should be careful. He may not like the way you and your friends are treating me tonight.”
The female threw her head back and laughed. The shrill laughter frightened Marty, and at the same time made her want to reach out and punch the old witch. She was so smug in her knowledge and so uncaring in her feelings.
“Let’s get back to Peter von North, shall we?”
“He wrote me a couple of e-mails,” Marty tried to explain. “He said he believed my story. I liked him for that because I don’t think too many people would have believed me.”
“Go on…”
“He also told me he used to be a vampire. I didn’t understand that part too well. But he seemed kind and like he wanted to help me. I was planning to write him back and try and get more information. At this point, I need to learn everything I can about vampires. He seems like he’s very knowledgeable on the subject.”
Suddenly, the female was sitting next to Marty in her seat. Not even the blink of an eye had passed, and she had changed position in the limo. The two males seemed to make way for her but were still ignoring the conversation.
A long, beautifully sculpted hand reached out for Marty and took hold of her face. Those long nails played dangerously across her skin. Marty tried to move backward, but with the brutish vampire seated next to her, there was no place to move.
“You’re a pretty little thing.” The female turned her face about in her long fingers, examining her features like a specimen. “I’m very proud of you, Marty. I’m proud of the way you have survived on your own these past years. It could not have been easy for you. You’ve been so all alone, haven’t you?”
Marty swallowed hard and tried not to look at the evil female’s stare.
“You’ve survived the roughest part, my dear. You’re starting to come into your own now. You can have anything you want. You can feed on any human you choose. I understand there are some men in your life now.”
Marty wanted to scream as the witch moved her face about in her long hand and continued to examine her as she spoke. The mention of her boyfriends also shocked and frightened her. What new trouble was she about to bring down on them?
“Just be happy with what you’ve got.” The female released her and sat back in her seat, but her eyes never once left Marty’s face. “That’s good advice, you know. The past is the past. Let it be. You are starting to build a future. Cling to that, and forget about the rest.”
Marty suddenly realized why the old witch had brought her here. Even though Marty couldn’t read her mind, the female was making her point very clear. “You don’t want me to find my maker, do you?”
“If you keep searching, you won’t like what you find.”
“You know everything about me, including who my maker is. You could tell me and put an end to this nightmare right now.” Marty was suddenly furious, her fear being displaced by the raging anger she felt for the old witch.
“If I told you, the nightmare would only get worse. It would get far worse. Give up your search, Marty, and be content with those human men you were lucky enough to meet. Let them take care of you. Feed on them and take pleasure from their bodies and forget about everything else.”
“Or what?” Marty challenged her. “You’ll kill me?”
“I wouldn’t hurt you, Marty, but the knowledge would destroy you.”
Suddenly the motion of the limo came to an abrupt end. Marty was almost thrown to the floor. However, the three vampires in the seat with her maintained their poise as if nothing had happened.
The door seemed to open under its own power. “Well, here we are,” the female cooed.
Sure enough, the lights of University Hospital were just outside. They had arrived in front right where the bus would have been dropping her off. Marty had never been so glad to see this place before.
Combating emotions warred inside her. The anger won out over her fear. “I loved my maker as a human.” She pushed her shoulders up with pride as she addressed the witch. “He loved me enough to turn me into a vampire so we could live together. I promise you I will find him, and when I do, we will still love one another, and nothing you or your goons can do will drive us apart forever. Do you hear me?”
Marty stepped over one of the males and started to climb out to the curb. In a blur, the female was before her and holding her hand again. The expression on her face was hard to read. She did not look evil anymore, only sad.
“You need to feed more off the humans, Marty.”
“I’m doing just fine, thank you.”
“You’ll do even better after a nice meal. Besides, you need the energy.”
“I have plenty of energy.”
“Not anymore.”
One miniscule flick of the female vampire’s long nail was all it took. A gash had been opened in the vein of Marty’s wrist. Blood flowed out freely, and as it fell to her nurses’ whites, it stood out in stark contrast. Marty fell to her knees on the pavement.
“Consider that a warning.” The female loomed above her like a vulture waiting for an animal to die. “Now go home and feed on your men and regain your strength.”
Just as quickly as they had arrived, the limo with the female and her goons had disappeared into the night. Pulling up right behind it was the bus that Marty should have been on. Some of the disembarking passengers streamed passed her. A couple of them cast sidelong glances in her direction. She knew she looked bizarre kneeling down on the pavement, covered in blood. A middle-aged woman walking down from the parking lot, who was probably on her way to see a patient before visiting hours closed, came over to see if she could help her.
“Are you all right, honey?” she asked with evident concern and bent to help Marty back to her feet.
Marty looked down at her wrist. The wound had already healed, leaving no more than dried blood in its wake. “Yes. I think I’m okay now. I don’t know what happened.”
“Did you fall and cut yourself?”
“I must have. I think I just tripped getting out of the limo.”
“The limo?” The middle-aged lady seemed confused.
“Yes, the limousine that dropped me off here.”
“What limo?” Now the woman was regarding her as if she was crazy. “Honey, you just got off the bus. I saw you. The next thing I knew, you were down on the pavement. I guess you must have fallen off the steps and landed down here on your knees.”
“Sure. I guess that must have been what happened.”
Marty couldn’t understand what had just happened to her or why it had happened. She felt an overwhelming fog descend on her mind from the blood loss. The next thing she knew, she was blacking out and falling back to the pavement, unconscious.
Chapter Twelve
Marty was riding through the night once more. This time, she was in the open air and holding on tight to Derrick’s back as they raced down the freeway on top of his Harley. The storm that had threatened earlier had blown over and now the night has humid, but the blast of air sitting on the back of the bike was quickly clearing the cobwebs from her mind.
“Thank you for coming to pick me up so fast, Derrick.”
“Thanks for calling me.”
“Yours was the only number I had in my phone.”
“Are you sure you’re all right?”
“I think so. I’m just a little scared still, but other than that I’m fine.”
“When I heard your voice on the phone I was scared. You didn’t sound at all like yourself.”
“Right now I really don’t feel much like myself.”
“What happened?”
They were swerving off the freeway onto an exit ramp. The blast of the wind started to quiet. Marty sighed because it had felt so good.
“You won’t believe what happened to me.”
He turned back to her and gave a smile. “Marty, with you I would believe anything.”
“Okay, I
was kidnapped by a group of fellow vampires.” She gave him a challenging look, as if daring him to disbelieve her. She had almost forgotten that she could read his mind, and when she remembered her ability, she reached out to see what he was thinking. She had his full attention now as they pulled up to a red light and waited.
“A female vampire was the leader. She threatened me, and before she left me she cut my wrist.”
“So that’s where all the blood on your uniform comes from.”
“Yes, but the cut has already healed.”
“What did she want with you?”
“She wanted me to stop looking for my maker vampire.”
Derrick grimaced. She already knew his thoughts on this issue and did not want to get into it with him right now. “I hate to say it, Marty, but that may be good advice.”
“Well I didn’t take the advice. I basically told her to go to hell, and that’s when she cut my wrist.”
He looked down at her clothes. “From the looks of your uniform, you’ve lost a lot of blood. Perhaps we should have stayed at the hospital to get you some treatment.”
He revved up the motor and pulled away from the light as soon as it turned green, leaving several cars in his wake. Marty was holding on behind him shaking her head. “That would have been the worst thing we could have done. My hospital is for humans. I’m not human. I doubt they would have known what to do with me. Besides I still have to work there. If they found out what I was I’d lose my job.”
“I’m still worried about you. You don’t look good, Marty. You look pale.”
“I’m always pale. I haven’t been in the sunlight for almost fifty years.”
“Well, you look paler than normal.”
Marty looked around the street they were driving down. She didn’t recognize any of the landmarks. “Where are we going?” she asked.
“To my place.”
“To your motel?”
“The one and only.”
“Derrick, I thought you were taking me back to my house.”