by Martha Woods
“I know,” Rick said, calmer now. “But what if he means it? I can’t let anything happen to you.”
“I’m pretty tough,” I smile. “Look, I’ll come in tomorrow, and we can talk. I don’t want or need protection. Is that clear?”
I hear Rick sigh. “Loud and clear,” he confirms.
“Do you want me down there?” I ask again.
“No,” he says. “The last thing I need right now is having to watch out for you.”
He hangs up. I find I’m a little offended. I don’t need watching. I am quite capable of looking after myself. And I know exactly what that photo is. It isn’t just a threat. It is a message. Vincent is taunting me, and there is no way I am going to let him see he has unnerved me.
***
I reach my apartment door and unlock it. I push it open and step inside, but as I go to push it shut, someone grabs my wrist. Before I have a chance to take a breath to speak, or cry out, a large hand is over my mouth. I feel a body pressed up against mine, my hands held behind my back.
I hear the lock engage as the man who holds me kicks the door closed.
“Mmmmm,” I protest indignantly into the hand. I wriggle and writhe, trying to pull myself free, but it is like I am a rag doll. Nothing I do has any effect on the man holding me.
I try to bite the hand that covers my mouth, but it is encased in a thick, leather glove.
“Mmmmm,” I say again.
That’s when I notice the scent. Musk. The man holding me is Vincent, I am certain of it. I should be afraid. He left a note saying I was next, and now, he is here, holding me. But, a little voice in my head reminds me, if he wanted me dead, he’d have done it by now. Still, I continue my futile struggle.
“Stop fighting me, Amy. We need to talk,” Vincent says into my ear. His voice is level, calm, and it has a calming effect on me. I relax in his grasp. I am vaguely aware of the goosebumps that spread deliciously down my neck as his breath tickles my ear. “Promise me you won’t scream.”
I nod my agreement. Of course I won’t scream. I’m not some scared little victim. Oh, no. Vincent has met his match with me.
He removes his hand.
“Let go of me,” I say, my voice coming out strong and confident. “Now.”
He does. I try to hide my surprise as I turn to face him, but I can see from the amused smile that I’ve failed.
“Look, I’m sorry about the welcome party,” he says, “but I really do need to talk to you and I wasn’t sure you’d agree any other way.”
I shrug. I’m not sure myself.
“Let’s sit,” I say. I turn and walk into the living room. I feel his presence behind me all the way. I sit down and he sits beside me.
“I think by now, you know what I am,” he starts.
I raise my eyebrow, but I nod. Of course I do. As much as I’ve tried to tell myself I’m going crazy, I’ve known deep down this whole time I’m not. I am officially sitting in my living room with a vampire. I decide to give Vincent the benefit of the doubt. After all, a good cop has to examine all possibilities before coming to a conclusion, right? And I am still a cop, after all, albeit one in a very strange situation.
“I want you to know that I’m not the bad guy here,” he says.
I raised the eyebrow again. He laughs.
“Really, I’m not. It’s true that I need blood, human blood to survive, but I stopped killing a long time ago. I got control of myself. I only take enough to feed me. And the woman I take it from doesn't miss it.”
I find that hard to believe, but right now, it seems inconsequential. I wait for him to go on. All the humor disappears from his face as he continues.
“Amy, you’re in danger. I know you think you can handle this, but I believe that you're underestimating the enemy here.” Vincent takes a deep breath, and for the first time since I first met him, he looks uncomfortable.
“This is going to sound crazy,” he says.
“Any more so than the rest of it?” I ask.
He smiles humorlessly. “I guess not. The thing killing these women – that’s no man, and it’s no vampire either. Vampires feed; we don’t mutilate. This thing is a supernatural being known as a Shaman. The Shaman is able to transform himself into a werewolf. It can change at will – it doesn’t have to wait until a full moon. He has been reckless, killing and leaving the bodies out in the open. It’s against our rules.”
I consider his words. It does sound crazy, he’s right about that, but really, is it any crazier than the fact that I’m sitting chatting to a vampire? Probably not. And what he’s saying makes sense. I’ve seen what that thing does to people, and we’ve said all along that it doesn’t look like the work of a man. But the tracks are always covered, which made us think it had to be a man. An animal doesn’t care who knows it was there. So what Vincent says is a good explanation. A Shaman that turns himself into a werewolf. With the strength and instincts of an animal, but the mind of a man.
“You seem to know a lot about it,” I comment. I can’t think of anything else to say, and the silence is stretching out, making me feel awkward, like I’ll blurt out something stupid. The truth is, actually, I can think of a million things to say, a million questions to ask, but trying to choose just one to start with is an impossible task. I am afraid of what I might learn. The statement I chose seemed easy, less likely to lead to anything that could scare me more.
“Yes,” Vincent smiled. “Well, it stands to reason that I would. I’ve been hunting Elric for centuries.”
It has a name? Well, it would, wouldn’t it, if it was a man some of the time. My mind ticks over the information. It shouldn’t be too hard to track down someone named Elric, should it? I curse my own stupidity. The man behind the wolf is clever enough to not have been caught on its killing spree. It is hardly going to introduce itself using its real name.
“Centuries?” I ask. Surely he was just exaggerating, but something about the calm way he speaks tells me he isn’t.
“Yes, Elric has been growing stronger over the centuries. Every victim he murders, he traps their souls,” Vincent replies, as casually as though he is talking about the time of day. “Each new soul he ensnares makes him that much stronger. Elric needs to be put down once and for all.”
So Elric is extremely clever. He evaded capture for over a hundred of years. That is hardly reassuring.
“I appreciate you telling me all of this, but I’m not sure exactly what you want me to do about any of it,” I say. “I’m sure you know I got kicked off the investigation after telling my boss about you.”
“Yes, sorry about that,” Vincent interrupts.
I ignore him and carry on. “And if I go to him with this new development, he will lock me up and throw away the key.”
“I don’t expect you to do anything about it. And actually, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone what I’ve just told you. If it gets into the media, or too many people start talking about it, he’ll flee again, and it could take years to find him. And I’m close this time. I can feel it.”
“But how will they ever catch him if they don’t know what they’re looking for?”
Vincent snorted. “You really think they’ll catch him? You’re delusional.”
Ok, he had a point. Not about me being delusional, he had actually just proved I wasn’t, but about the rest of it. How could Rick and the team even hope to track a supernatural Shaman that can transform himself into a werewolf at will? The very idea is preposterous.
“So why tell me all of this if you don’t want my help? Is it just an ego boost or something?”
Vincent laughs again. “My ego’s pretty big as it is, thank you. I’ve told you for two reasons. Firstly, I need you to stop talking about vanishing men and necks being bitten. Of course, your boss doesn’t believe that, but the press would have a field day with it, and with all the publicity, Elric would flee again.”
That makes sense. “Ok. I won’t me
ntion it again. You maybe should have told me that earlier.”
He shrugs. “Yes, because of course, you would have listened to me as you stood over the body of the woman you thought I’d just killed.”
“Fair point,” I say with a wry smile. “You said there were two reasons. What’s the other one?”
“The second one is the most important one. You’re in danger, Amy. Elric is coming after you.”
“Oh, don’t worry about his warning. It’s a perk of the job,” I say dismissively.
“Warning?”
“Yeah. You know, the photo? Don’t pretend you don’t know. Why else would you tell I’m in danger?”
“I don’t know anything about a photo, but it doesn’t sound good. Elric is becoming bolder, teasing of his next move. This isn’t good at all. That wasn’t what I meant, though. You’re in danger because of me.”
“Because of you?” I snort out a laugh. “That ego’s taking over. I’m in danger because I worked the case. He’s making a point, that’s all.”
Vincent shakes his head sadly. “No,” he says. “You’re in danger because I’ve taken an interest in you. That night we first met and I tried to compel you. You were immune. I have never met a human that has been able to resist a vampire’s compulsion before.”
“I don’t understand,” I say.
Vincent looks away from me. He stares down into his lap where his clenched fists twitch nervously.
“I sought you out, Amy. I spoke to you in that alley. I found you at that bar. And now, because of that, you’re in danger. Elric will kill you to get at me.”
I swallow. I am in danger. But there is something about Vincent’s behavior that is more than just protectiveness. I sense that Vincent has a bit more than an interest in me. But I am pretty sure that isn’t what I’m supposed to be getting from this conversation.
I allow myself to look closely at him as he sits not meeting my gaze. I see something I don’t expect to see. Gone is the arrogant façade, and in its place is a vulnerability. A fear of rejection. I can’t help myself. I reach out and squeeze his hand. He’s taken his gloves off, and the skin beneath is cold to the touch. Of course. Vampire. He looks up and meets my eye. I feel the hypnotic pull of Vincent’s gaze and I reel a little bit. It feels almost like I’ve begun to feel the effects of some alcohol, even though my hangover has subsided and I am now decidedly sober.
“Do you understand now?” he asks. I think, if he hadn’t spoken when he did, I would have straddled him right then and there in my living room.
I nod. I do.
I am a pawn in their centuries old game. Elric would use me to take down his enemy. I am bait. I would die. Suddenly, the reality of that hits me. I feel my stomach clench, and the color drains from my face.
“Please don’t be afraid,” Vincent says. “I won’t let him hurt you. I just needed you to know what was going on here so when you see me around, you aren’t concentrating on watching me. You need to be alert at all times.”
“What else?” I ask, all business now. I have no idea how to kill a shaman or, worst-case scenario, a vicious werewolf. But I am willing to learn.
“Nothing else,” Vincent says. “You need to trust me to protect you. And don’t interfere. Whatever happens, whatever you see, leave it to me to deal with. If something comes for you, just run, ok?”
I nod slowly, not sure I can actually keep the promise if the time comes. But strangely, I feel that I do trust Vincent. Me, the cynic who trusts no one, especially men, can quite happily trust a vampire with her life, apparently. Not that I have much choice in the matter, it seems.
“I will die before I let him hurt you, Amy.” He speaks with such passion, such intensity. I know he means it. I know he would sacrifice himself for me. It won’t come to that, I tell myself. He is a vampire, for god’s sake. Vampires are strong. I know how strong Vincent is. My frantic escape attempt when I came into the apartment hadn’t even caused him to take a half step back.
“Don’t you want to scream and shout and tell me I’ve ruined your life or anything?” Vincent asks.
The moment of vulnerability is long gone, and his cocky, charming demeanor is back in full force.
I laugh. “Nah,” I say. “You’ve just made it a bit more interesting.”
“Well, that’s one way of looking at it.” He smiles. “But know this: this is only the beginning. When Elric is out of the way, I’ll show you what interesting feels like.”
I feel a shiver go up my spine. Not a shiver of fear, a shiver of longing. I want him then and there. I find I don’t even care that he might be using mind control, a compulsion he’d called it, on me. I need to feel his hands on me, his lips on me. I need to feel his body pressed up closely to mine.
He stands up and the fantasy slips away.
“Stay safe Amy. I’ll see you later.”
And without another word, he vanishes, just like that, and I am left alone with my thoughts. My delicious thoughts of what he meant by making things interesting once Elric is out of the way.
I want Elric gone more than ever. Of course, I don’t want him to mutilate any more women, but at the risk of sounding like a complete sociopath, it is more about the unspoken promise of what is to come.
Chapter 6
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That night my dreams are vivid, but not frightening. I dream of Vincent and all the things those cold lips could do to my body. In the morning, I feel a craving inside I’ve never felt towards a person. I don’t want to date the undead, but my body definitely wants to do more with Vincent than I am personally comfortable with.
I get up early, or more accurately Rick forces me to get up by showing up at my door promptly at 8 a.m. I asked him yesterday to come by and take me to the range for some badly needed target practice. It is time to start carrying my revolver even when off duty. I didn’t exactly expect him to arrive this early, though. As I get ready, he turns on the TV so I can listen to the news discuss the stream of new murders. The murderer has begun upping his game by killing two only days apart, they say. Women are being told to stay at home, but I know that will not necessarily make them safe. Locked doors don’t seem to keep vampires out, contrary to my belief that they needed to be invited in. If vampires can get into a locked apartment, I can’t imagine that a shaman would have trouble. I am going to have to make a trip to the library and read up on the undead, shamans, werewolves, the whole nine yards – then ask Vincent what is real and what is fake. Not that I really think he will give away all vampire secrets, but maybe he will impart some wisdom to me.
I have some major guilt as well, watching the burden Rick is carrying trying to solve these murders. I know what is causing all the killings and for once I’m unable to explain to Rick what is happening with science. He would never believe me anyway. Rick is a by-the-book kind of detective. Supernatural things don’t exist, and I couldn’t take him thinking any less of me if I tried to convince him they did.
“Ready?” I ask as I finish my cup of coffee.
“Been waiting on you,” he says, getting to his feet.
We get to the range at 9 a.m. I’m a good shot, but today my mind isn’t where it needs to be. I’m obsessing over Vincent and everything he told me the night before – and that damn dream.
“Are you alright after what happened to you?” Rick asks.
“Yeah, I think so,” I say, putting my gun down and taking off my earmuffs. I’ve been aiming for the head and have missed three times. One shot is a dead center, but I know that isn’t enough to take out a vampire, and probably not an evil werewolf shaman either. Aiming for the heart is difficult – maybe if I used a shotgun, I would do better, or at least I would have more of a chance of hitting the target with the spray.
“I think that’s enough for today,” Rick says.
“Hey, do you think you can teach me how to use a knife hand-to-hand?” I ask.
Rick gets a look of surpris
e on his face. I know basic martial arts already, but not a lot of hand-to-hand combat. It isn’t as if it is really necessary in my line of work. I’m really looking for some training on how to remove the head of a shaman werewolf. I don’t think Rick can teach me that. Even the thought of it gives me chills.
“I can find someone to start teaching you,” Rick says after a long pause.
“Thank you,” I reply.
He drives me home. I try at conversation, but little comes up. Rick talks about the murders and reassures me that he is going to get someone to train me in combat.
“I put a protection detail on you,” he says as he pulls up to my apartment complex.
“You did what?” I blurt out.
“Stay inside as much as possible. I’m going to make sure we have an eye on you till we find this freak,” Rick says.
“You have no right to interfere with my life like that,” I say, genuinely angry.
“I already had one heart attack seeing that picture of you; I’m not going through that again. Police officers are being placed at your apartment complex just in case. It’s best you tell that friend of yours, Cara, not to go out either,” Rick lectures me.
“I’m capable of taking care of myself,” I say.
“Look, we’re closing in on the perpetrator, or he wouldn’t be becoming more active. You know that means he’ll be more volatile, more dangerous than before,” he says.
I can feel my face burn red. It’s not like I can’t survive a week or two without getting out of the house; Netflix is great for that. But everyone wanting me safe, trying to protect me, is getting under my skin. I go silent. It is already done – until Elric is gone, it looks like my life can’t go back to normal.
I don’t invite Rick back up to my apartment. I’m too angry at him. He doesn’t apologize for what he’s done, just tells me he’ll be calling me soon to set up my hand-to-hand combat training. Now I’ve got a lot of free time to do nothing.
On my way through the lobby, I run into Damon and freeze. I’d forgotten he’d moved into the building. He doesn’t look like he’s had a decent night’s sleep in several days, but when he sees me his face lights up in a smile, showing off his dimples. Instantly my legs are wobbly, and the anger is being replaced with the healthy nerves I get around Damon.