“I know, I know…if I hadn’t come along and disrupted you. I apologize for being an unwitting human.” He grinned.
“In any case, the one who is plaguing your hospital has committed a trail of murders, dating back to the early eighties which I have been following in the hopes of making a capture.” He looked down at his hands then laced them together behind his back. He looked at me, studying my expression as he went on.
“At the present moment, I am unsure of which name the rogue is going by, but he has had many aliases in the past.” He was watching me closely. “Vampires can neither be photographed nor videotaped. I can only give a verbal description. He is very good-looking. Usually poses as a physician. He has an aquiline nose, and a square jaw, and looks as though he were of Scandinavian descent.” He had just described Mark to a t. The way that Jared was looking at me, I knew that he knew that I knew.
“What do you know?”
“What will you do if you find this rogue vampire?” my voice sounded hoarse. His face did not change as he said:
“I will kill him.”
“But…but what if you’re wrong?” I thought about how cold Mark’s hands were…but he had seemed so nice. Seemed being the operative word, there, Samantha.
“If I get close enough, I will be able to smell the blood of the vampire’s creator…all lineages of vampires have a scent,” Jared claimed.
“Wait? What are you? How can you do this?”
“I’m something special,” he said. “But you are as well.”
“What do you mean?” my heart was pounding as he stepped near to me again, leaning in and sniffing my neck.
"You are mine.” I felt my stomach clench in fear, but then, he kissed me. It was a kiss that had the ability to transfer all of the heat from his body into mine. I felt like I was on fire. It was as though all of the air had been sucked out of the room, or that something momentous had occurred to make the entire fabric of the world shift. It went on for ages, until I stepped back, looking at him. His eyes were smoldering. He nuzzled my neck with his nose, mumbling something beneath his breath.
“What did you say?” I asked, feeling out of breath.
“When this is done, I will tell you.” He stepped away from me his face was filled with regret and sorrow. I felt confused. But I also wanted more.
I stepped forward, pulling him back toward me. He answered, kissing me and it was like this was supposed to be. I ran my hands up and under his shirt, feeling the heat radiating from his skin. He pulled back, looking me in the eyes as he pulled my shirt up and over my head. I bit my lip, feeling the strength of my desire for him. He looked hesitant, but followed my lead as I pulled his shirt off.
He was well-muscled, and they rippled beneath the tanned skin. I stepped out of the pale blue pants of my scrubs, enjoying the sensation of being touched, feeling his hot skin, pressed up against mine.
“What are you?” I whispered.
“A monster,” he replied with an ironic grin. To my surprise, his eyes shifted. They went from the human-like brown to a bright, glowing green. They were almost reptilian, with irises like slits crossing through them. I startled, gasping in surprise, my hand covering my mouth. “Are you frightened, Samantha?” I paused for a moment, considering before I shook my head.
“No,” I said, and then brought him back to me. I kissed the tender skin beneath his ear, reaching with my teeth and biting the lobe of his ear. He growled; it was a low, deep rumble. It sounded…strangely animal, and I wondered again what he was. I was fumbling at the zipper to his jeans, and he picked me up, carrying me into the bedroom. I wrapped my arms and legs around his torso, letting him carry me as I trailed kisses along his neck. He threw me down on the bed. Removing his pants and then his boxers, he watched, eyes in a slow burn as I removed my underwear.
I let the straps of my bra slide down my arms, freeing my breasts from the cups. I let it fall to the floor beside the bed before peeling off my panties. He looked at me solemnly, and I could hardly bear it, being looked at like that—like I was something mysterious, yet precious at the same time. I was surprised that such animal, reptilian eyes could still convey such emotion. It seemed so far-fetched. I launched myself at him, pulling him close.
“I want you,” I whispered in his ear. “I want you now.” And then he was kissing me passionately, our mouths open, and he entered me, slowly at first, and I moaned delectably. I arched my back, pressing into him. As he began to move against me, inside of me, I felt like I was on fire, being consumed, immolated entirely.
“More,” I begged, “more.”
I was curled up beside Jared, my head resting on his collarbone. My exhaustion was complete, and I was just beginning to drift off. I had decided that I would be appropriately shocked over my impulsive actions later. Right now, I felt warm and satiated. He sighed, his breath blowing my hair across my forehead. He placed a warm hand in the dip between my ribcage and my pelvic bone.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered against my hair.
“For what?”
“What I am asking of you,” he replied. “I’m using you as bait for a rogue vampire…it feels wrong.”
“I would have willingly agreed to help you, either way,” I said. “I’m a doctor, and I believe that protecting and saving lives is the most important thing. By helping you stop the rogue, I am helping to save the potential lives that he would take in the future.”
“This is true,” he said, and I could feel the words as they echoed throughout his body, thrumming against his sternum. “How do you want to proceed?” I thought about that for a moment, the cogs of my brain whirring as an idea formed and gelled in my mind.
“I have plans with Mark,” I said. “We can use it as a trap…if he really is the one that you are looking for, I can make a signal to you, or lead him somewhere that you are waiting. From there, you should be able to take him, right?”
“Is there a coffee shop somewhere around—”
“The hospital coffee shop has a stairwell outside of it,” I replied confidently.
“Perfect. I’ll wait there. Do you think you can lure him there?”
“I can try,” I replied, thinking about the Hippocratic Oath that I took. “I just…”
“What?”
“I took an oath…to protect life.”
“Human life, Samantha,” he said. I shook my head, sitting up.
“Any living thing,” I replied. “Even if that living thing has harmed other lives. Every life is precious, Jared. Each one has meaning and importance. Promise me you won’t kill him.”
“I can’t do that,” he said.
“Can’t you take him for justice?” I asked. “Isn’t there like a supernatural prison, or something?”
“In a case like this,” he began with a grim face, “where a vampire has killed multiple humans and other vampires, that the only justice is execution.” I nodded, thinking about that. I couldn’t fully bring myself to support this; I needed to hear Mark’s side of the story first before I could fully commit one way or the other. I would talk to him, I decided, during the supposed date. Then, if it came down to helping Jared, I would lure Mark into the trap.
Chapter Six
As I entered the ER at Linda Vista for my next shift, my heart was pounding, and I felt queasy with nerves. I was sweating lightly, and I was a little horrified that my hands were shaking. As a doctor, you don’t want shaky hands; especially in an emergency situation. I buried my hands deep inside of the pockets of my white doctor’s coat, my left hand wrapping around the broken-off handle of a wooden ladle. It had seemed stupid at the time I’d done it—snapping off the bowl of the ladle in order to fashion a jagged stake for myself—just in case. I had also donned my grandmother’s golden cross necklace, hiding it on its long, delicate chain inside of the neck of my blue hospital scrubs.
I had woken in my apartment earlier to find Jared still there, his body warming mine. I had stretched, smiling at him.
“Hello stranger,”
I had said. He had laughed.
“Stranger? Hardly,” he placed his thumb on my chin, looking at me again like I was something precious, yet mysterious. I had never been looked at in that manner by anyone before—it made my heart race.
“So, you want me to start setting the trap?” I asked him, reaching for my phone.
“Yes,” he replied. Typing quickly, I sent a text to Mark, hoping that maybe he would text during the daylight hours, thus proving that he was, in actuality, human.
I looked around in the ER, pretending to check on patients, but really keeping an eye out for Mark. He had yet to respond to my message from earlier. I picked up a patient’s chart, glancing over the blood work results. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The night, so far, had been relatively quiet. There had been no sign of any patient with inexplicable anemia or blood loss; that combined with Mark’s absence created the feel of the calm before the storm. I felt like all hell was about to break loose.
I walked over to the nurse’s station, where several nurses and residents were gathered over cups of coffee and sandwiches, taking advantage of the slow night.
“Hey guys,” I said.
“Hey Sam,” a nurse replied. The others waved or nodded.
“So, the news is that Mark has asked you out," one of the other residents, a guy named Ben said, raising his eyebrows and giving me the in that I needed to find out what the others knew about the possible rogue vampire.
“Yeah,” I said, playing it cool. “I haven’t really gotten to know him that well just yet.”
“I mean, aside from his good looks and obviously well-toned abs, what do you need to know?” Another resident replied. She was a girl, named Courtney.
“All I know is that he is visiting from St. Elizabeth’s,” I said.
“He prefers the night shift,” a middle-aged nurse volunteered. “Never works days. He’s switched with Dr. Ramsey several times in order to pull that one off.”
“Dr. Ramsey never switches,” Ben said, shocked.
“Evidently, he does for Doctor Mark Johnson,” the nurse said, raising her eyebrows as she scanned a patient chart. Just then, we heard the sound of sirens in the distance.
“Incoming!” Courtney shouted, heading for the door. We all followed, and just as we got to the door, Mark himself entered through it. He smiled when he saw me. The others had the unloading of the patient under control, so I could stop for a brief conversation.
“Hey,” he said. “I got your message.”
“Yeah?” My heart was fluttering nervously. Why did I suddenly detect an almost manic, predatory gleam in his eye?
“Yeah, I…” Just then, he was interrupted by the patient being brought in. Courtney was pumping the respirator.
“Hey, Sam,” she said, already in the zone. “Can you prep for intubation?”
"Yep," I said, automatically following them. The next few hours flew by. I looked at the clock, which read five minutes after ten. I wiped the sweat off of my forehead, walking to the nurses' station and filling a cup with water from the dispenser. I saw Mark, looking over a file, and I walked over to him.
“Sorry about earlier,” I said.
“Not a problem,” he replied, looking up. “All part of the job.”
“Do you want to go to the hospital cafeteria and get a cup of coffee before it closes?” I asked. He leaned in closer to me, his eyes smoldering sexily. It seemed as if he were about to say something flirtatious. Suddenly, his demeanor changed as his nose twitched violently. The usually jovial, warm expression on his face changed, and I saw beneath the kindhearted veneer. I saw the face of the killer; his eyes grew dark, almost black with a violent hunger. His mouth twisted in a cold smile. Shocked, I began to back away, but he grabbed my forearm in a vice-like grip. He began to drag me down the hall. I looked around for help, seeing no one, I began to scream, but my vocal chords failed me.
When he had me out of sight, he gripped me by the throat, pulling me in close to him, placing his hand on the flat of my lower back like a lover. Perhaps, anyone looking would think that we were in the middle of an illicit love affair. He squeezed my throat, and my vision darkened. I clawed at his hand, my lungs heaving for a breath.
“You reek of dragon,” he growled in an undertone, and I couldn’t understand what he was talking about, my brain reeling from lack of oxygen.
This is how I die, was my last thought as I passed out. It seemed to come from someone somewhere outside of my body.
Chapter Seven
I had been dreaming—I was on a table in one of the exam rooms of the ER. It was, I knew, the ER at Linda Vista, with its clean white and seafoam green walls and brand new medical technological instruments. I had been in some sort of accident, and I couldn’t move, and doctors and nurses that I didn’t know were all standing over me, the overhead light bright in my eyes.
“She’s losing blood!” One of the doctors cried out.
“Get us some O-neg!” another yelled.
“I have some,” It was Mark’s voice. They all turned, screaming in fright. Mark attacked them viciously, tearing out throats with his teeth. Suddenly, all was quiet in the exam room. All I could hear was the beeping of my heart monitor and the rushing of the ventilator that I was on.
I tried to move, but my limbs were locked. The light above me was suddenly blocked out. Mark’s face was above me; his teeth dripped with blood and gore.
“Your turn,” he hissed menacingly, his face ascending upon my throat, his lips twisted into a manic, hungry smile. I screamed, my body seizing in fear.
I jolted awake, freezing; I was wearing only my hospital scrubs. My face was pressed up against a cold concrete floor, and my neck ached. I sat up, the scent of mold and old, damp concrete in my nostrils. Looking around me, I found that I was in an abandoned warehouse; old, rusting machinery falling into disrepair from standing unused for several decades. There was light coming through the broken windows from the streetlights outside. I moved my legs, which had pins and needles in them. As I tried to get the blood flowing into my extremities, I heard the clink of a chain. Affixed to my right ankle with a leather-covered cuff was a chain, bolted into the nearby wall.
I screamed, calling out for help. I wondered if there were any people out on the street—I could hear the sounds of cars—the freeway was nearby…maybe a mile or less, if I had to make a guess. My voice was raspy after Mark had choked me into passing out. As I screamed for help, to my horror, a shadow detached itself from a nearby wall. I froze in terror to behold Mark.
“You can scream as much as you like, Samantha,” he said, looking at me in a dark, coy manner. “It won’t matter. I know of the trap that you and your vampire hunter lover tried to set for me.”
“He’s not—”I began, but he cut me off.
“Don’t lie to me,” he hissed violently. “I can smell him on you. There is no scent so…distinctive, yet disgusting as a dragon in this world.” He paused, looking at me darkly, with disappointment. “I thought that you were smarter.”
“Anyhow, I have sent for Jared. Now, I am the one who has laid a trap. When he comes for you, I will kill your dragon shifter boyfriend. I will do it slowly, brutally, and in front of you so that you can see his agony.” Two thoughts occurred to me: wow, Mark was a psychopath. And, Jared was a Dragon shifter. This threw me for a moment. I recalled Mark’s comment, just before I had passed out, about smelling a dragon. I had not known, although from what I knew of the Dragon shifters (which was not much to begin with, having only come from supposed myths), Jared fit the description. Why would he not want me to know?
“He’s not my boyfriend,” I snapped. Now was not the time to be afraid. Death was coming to me, and soon. I wanted to go down bravely. “I am not even sure that he will come for me, to be honest. I was just a means to an end for him; bait, as he called me. If anyone, you’re the one he’s coming for.” Mark knelt down beside me, caressing my cheek with an ice cold hand; it sent chills down my spine, but I made sure to not move
a muscle.
“If he doesn’t,” Mark leaned in, whispering in my ear, his cold lips against my skin, “then I will have a tasty treat.” He stroked my cheek, and then got up.
“I’ve given Jared a deadline…” he laughed maniacally. “Get it? A deadline.” He laughed some more. I sniffed, looking about me at the old machinery for something that I could use as a weapon. Even if Jared came, there was a huge possibility that we would both end up dead. Mark was a wild card. We couldn’t expect him to act rationally.
I reached for my grandmother’s cross necklace, pulling the metal that had warmed against my skin out from beneath my scrubs. Mark turned around, coming back to play with me some more. I held it up like an amulet or a protective spell, praying that it was big enough to protect me. Mark paused for a moment before he laughed.
“This isn’t a movie, girlie,” he said, voice dripping with derision. My heart sank. His cell phone rang, and Mark turned, walking off to go and answer it. As I listened to his voice echo from far off, I pulled halfheartedly on the chain. It was bolted solidly to the wall. I looked at the lock on the cuff—it was heavy, and gleamed with newness. He had planned this…recently. I heard Mark’s footsteps as he returned. His teeth shone in the dark, light from the streetlamps flashing off of his noticeable fangs.
“Good news,” he said, clasping his hands before him. “Your boyfriend cares about you. Quite a bit, in fact. I am going to save you for something post-lunch. Dessert, perhaps.” I threw my head back, wondering why Jared had let Mark have the impression that I was special. He had completely ruined the angle that I had been working. I sat, trying to figure out where to go from here.
Chapter Eight
While I was waiting, I began to feel about me in the darkness. The floor was smooth and dirty with collected grit. It had been closed for several decades, at least. I felt about me in the darkness, going slowly. If I cut myself, it could spell the end of the line. To my surprise, I felt the familiar, smooth, thick cloth of my medical coat. With bated breath, I patted it, feeling for my makeshift stake in the inner pocket. I exhaled in relief when my hand met with its solidness. I pulled the coat on, hugging myself, making it look like I was trying to get warm, and hiding the fact that I was reaching for the handle of the stake.
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