A Hunger for Darkness

by Cooper Flynn

“What’s his name?”

  “Does it matter?”

  “I’d like to know.”

  “His name is Dmitri, and he procured girls in Russia in order to bring them here and make prostitutes of them. He’d charm them with offers for modeling contracts in America. When they arrived he would introduce them to wealthy men who could ‘help’ with their careers. By the time they figured what had happened they were already in the life. He is believed to have killed several women who tried to escape.” Connor looked down, his gaze focused like a predator. “He is a good first.”

  “Do I have to worry about some kind of disease?” Kenzi studied her victim without expression, her eyes dull.

  “No, you never have to worry about that again. You already have the ultimate disease.” A faint smile crossed his lips.

  “How do we do this?” Kenzi asked, still too weak to stand.

  “Your teeth haven’t grown yet, so I will start and let you finish.”

  Kenzi stared at the man for a long time. She hadn’t changed her mind, but the step was daunting. Something inside her was still crying out at the horror of it, but she was learning to set aside the screams in her mind.

  “I’m ready,” she said.

  Connor picked her up from the bed and laid her on the cool concrete floor next to the man. She could see the pulse in his neck, and it began to change her. She felt her pulse rise, and strength near delirium flow through her. She suddenly longed to push Connor aside and tear at the body herself. A low growl from her own throat surprised her.

  Connor placed a hand on her chest and held her in place as he knelt across the prone figure. His mouth descended, and soon Kenzi could hear the wet sound of his feeding. She was almost thrashing now to get to source of the nourishment she needed, all other thoughts now lost in her tortured hunger that rushed through her.

  “Kenzi, control yourself!” Connor was over her now, holding her down, his eyes holding hers fiercely. “Don’t lose yourself in this.”

  Kenzi nodded anxiously, her eyes darting between the body and Connor. She could see the rich dark fluid flowing onto the floor and nearly whimpered at the thought of losing it.

  Connor let her up and she crawled quickly to the body. He was flat on his back and Kenzi straddled him, bending forward to place her mouth to the wound. The taste of the blood shocked her. She had expected the coppery tang she had tasted when sucking a cut finger, instead a warm flavor like a mulled wine flowed across her tongue. She was lost in the electric sensation that spread through her limbs and settled deep in her core. Strength pooled in her in an almost painful symphony of coiled tension. She longed to explode around the room, releasing her muscles in an atavistic display of animal energy. The sounds from the street below made her long to run among the cars and people. She could hear a passing jetliner far above and she wanted to fly alongside. She wanted the wind in her hair and cool earth under her feet.

  Beneath her she felt the body of her victim still brimming with life, and she wanted to consume it. It wasn’t just the blood she craved; it was his life-force. Without thought she tore the silk shirt from her body, she wanted to feel this life beneath her with every part of her skin. She leaned back while never letting her lips leave his throat and ripped his shirt off, then pressed her body to his. Her fingers became talons, raking down his chest as she sucked feverishly.

  Then the white heat she felt from the body began to ebb. She wanted to sob as she felt the fire of his life begin to cool. She sucked harder against the twin holes in his skin, desperate for every drop. Beneath her fevered skin she felt him begin to cool. Strong arms gripped her waist and pulled her up. She dangled from Connor’s arms, struggling to get back to her feast.

  “No girl, this is too much, too soon,” he said soothingly in her ear.

  “Let me down! I need more!” Kenzi heard her own begging, and a pang of disgust flashed through her.

  Connor held her as her thrashing ceased. She looked down at Dmitri, and he seemed diminished in some way, like some kind of broken thing.

  “Noooo!” Kenzi wailed. Every moment of the last few minutes replayed in her head and she found herself revolted and aroused and then revolted again. The frenzy had ended, and Connor could release her.

  Conner set her on her feet as she buried her face in her hands. He turned her to him and held her as she sobbed. Even as she cried she could feel the strength she had absorbed from the pimp flowing through her. Every nerve began to feel like it was working at a frantic pace. She trembled in Connor’s embrace, taking comfort in his solid form.

  Her eyes closed as she struggled to process the jumbled roar of sensations. Self-disgust faded rapidly in the wave of power that washed over and through her. Mouth open, still smeared red, Kenzi’s disheveled hair flowed around her head and shoulders like a mane as she shook her herself. She became aware of the fact she was almost naked, and holding on to an impressive male form. Her eyes were different when they opened, filled with a light both predatory and lustful. She reached up to pull Connor to her.

  Connor pushed her back, while holding her arms. He gave her a rough shake.

  “Kenzi,” he said sternly. “Snap out of it, you’re blood-drunk. You need to get control of yourself.”

  “Please, let me have you,” she cried while reaching for his pants. Every part of her longed to feel him, she wanted to wrap herself around him and re-capture the vitality she’d felt pressed against her victim as she fed. Her victim…

  “Kenzi,” Connor roared, shocking her into stillness.

  As she stood on her own he released her. She stared wide-eyed for a moment before stumbling backwards to the bed. She sat for a moment before gathering a sheet around her, looking blankly at the floor.

  When she finally looked back to Connor her eyes were wet.

  “What happened to me?” She asked plaintively.

  “It was your first, and you actually handled it quite well.” Connor said.

  “Why did the blood taste so good?” Her voice was almost childlike.

  “The body changes, even the taste buds, to encourage you to take what it needs. Normal food, if you want to take it, will have no flavor, and give you no sustenance.”

  “Is this what it will always be like?”

  “No, it’s like a drug in a way. In time you build up a tolerance, but there is always pleasure in the feeding, and more in the kill. That is why it is so hard for us to resist. I told you, we’re monsters, but we can use our curse for a positive end.”

  “I hate it,” Kenzi said slowly, “but I can’t wait to feed again.”

  Chapter Nine

  Connor took away the Russian pimp, and eventually Kenzi found the peace of sleep. She woke again in Conner’s bed, but there was no sign of him. She stared at the bare polished concrete where the man called Dmitri had lain, but there was no sign of what had happened. Kenzi tried for a moment to believe it had all been a dream, but the effort sputtered before it could take hold.

  She stood and walked to the bathroom. The tatters of the white silk shirt still clung to her, though most of the buttons were gone. It did very little to preserve any modesty. A red stain smeared the collar and the front of the shirt, even her skin was speckled in red drops. She shrugged her way out of the shirt and looked at herself in the mirror, almost smiling for a moment at the old legends that said a vampire cast no reflection. She started up the shower and stepped inside.

  The hot water revived her, and memories of the feeding flashed through her mind. She felt the shame and disgust well up again, but those emotions were quickly drowned in something stronger. The memory of the power she felt, and the near erotic thrill of tasting the rich blood set her skin tingling again. She had thrown herself at Connor, and had he wished she would have taken him, or let him take her, right next to the body. She rinsed her body and felt it responding to the images in her imagination….

  “I’m glad to see you’re up,” Connor said from the open doorway. The steam clouded the clear glass walls of th
e shower to hide her form.

  “Where have you been?” Kenzi asked.

  “I dropped our Russian friend with the police and hit a few stores as soon as the sun went down. I thought I’d pick up some clothes for you,” he answered.

  “The police?” Kenzi turned the water off and reached for a towel.

  “Yes, Dimitri has been wanted by the police for some time, they just didn’t know where to find him.”

  As Kenzi wrapped herself in the towel she stepped out to face Connor. He was now fully restored, although his skin did look a little darker than it had been. His face carried the serious and focused expression she was coming to expect. His rare moments of dry humor flashed of light against his dark manner.

  “I see you’re looking better yourself,” he said.

  Despite his claims to the contrary, Kenzi was starting to believe he really could read minds.

  “You were quite a gentleman last night,” she said.

  Connor shrugged and turned away. “You were intoxicated, it is easy to lose control when you feed.”

  “You fed too, and you seemed to remain in control very well.” Kenzi padded out to the living area, still in a towel, and began searching through the bags.

  “I have a lot more experience, and I learned self-discipline early. You will as well.” He sat in the armchair and watched her sort through the clothing.

  “You did well, with the clothes that is,” Kenzi said as she turned her back to him and stepped into plain black underwear. Connor had even selected the right bra size, though she put it aside. Instead she slipped a white T-shirt over her head and sat on the couch opposite Connor. She folded her long legs under her.

  “Do vampires really have sex, or does feeding take the place of it?” She asked without shyness, her gaze direct.

  “You’ve studied us, what did you learn?” Connor asked in return. His eyes were hidden in shadow, but by the slight smirk Kenzi could see he was amused.

  “We were taught that vampires could perform sexual acts, although they, I mean we, are sterile.” She corrected herself reluctantly.

  “That is correct, we can have sex. Remember the essence of what we are. Humans have both an animal side and a higher nature, with reason and a conscience, however rarely shown. Vampires have the conscience and most inhibitions stripped away. The animal within us is fully empowered and always struggling to have every desire fulfilled.”

  “I felt that last night. Every part of my being wanted to kill and feed and fuck until I collapsed,” she said and watched to see if her profanity impacted Connor at all.

  Connor leaned forward and his eyes caught the light. Kenzi saw the flash of green and felt the intensity as her eyes met his. “I know that feeling every day.”

  Kenzi held herself steady despite her urge to flinch. The words had sounded raw, as though he had allowed a glimpse of himself through the cool demeanor he wore as armor.

  “But I control it, that’s how we will survive and how we will destroy vampires like Gabriel Sands,” Connor continued.

  “You mentioned that Sands has some kind of plan to make more vampires,” Kenzi said and was glad to change the subject.

  “That’s right. Vampires have held their numbers steady for over one hundred and fifty years. As society and technology have evolved it is not as easy to make people disappear without being missed. In much of North America and Europe a large city can no longer feed more than one vampire safely, and even that requires extreme caution. Many of the oldest among us have fled to South America and Africa, where crime and warfare cover our tracks.”

  “And Gabriel hopes to change that? How?” Kenzi asked.

  “He seeks to create that kind of environment here. For that he needs new recruits to sow the seeds of chaos. A few years ago such a plan would have gotten him killed by the older ones, but they can see that eventually there will be nowhere to hide. They have given him their support.” Connor leaned back into the shadows, but Kenzi still felt his eyes searching hers.

  “How would he create the kind of chaos he needs?”

  “Vampires have long had relationships with criminal organizations, although most of these criminals had no idea who they were dealing with. He hopes to exploit these more openly, and coerce these organizations into the kind of violence not seen here since Prohibition, if then. Out of that chaos he and his kind hope to take control of the criminal world, and later, who knows?”

  “And how do you know this? Did he tell you?” Kenzi allowed the slightest of mockery into her tone.

  Connor leaned back in his seat. “I convinced one of his associates in Boston to share his plans with me.”

  Kenzi jumped to her feet and began pacing. Suddenly she felt like a caged animal in need of something. She quickly realized what she was craving.

  “How can I help you if I want to go screaming through the street tearing the throat out of everyone I meet?” Her voice was almost pleading. “How do I make this stop?”

  With inhuman speed Connor was next to her, and pulled her into his arms.

  “Calm yourself and take deep breaths. Feel the urgency in you, feel the size of it. Now slowly expand your mental picture of it, and examine it.” Kenzi closed her eyes and let his soothing tone support her. For a moment she felt small and childlike in his embrace. Against his powerful shape she felt sheltered from the storm within her.

  The hunger was as much a mental as a physical force. It shifted around her defenses, and she longed for any kind of distraction. Subtly, she shifted her core to press against Connor.

  Connor stepped back from her and held her tortured face near his. “This is about the control of what your body wants. The virus that has changed us wants an opportunity to feed itself. Giving into any desire increases the chances that we succumb to the desire to feed. We must fight for control constantly.”

  “Don’t we ever get to give in, even for a little while?” Kenzi felt a new wave despair.

  “Every time we feed we give in a little, because we have to,” Connor answered and Kenzi saw a flicker of anguish cross his face for a moment.

  “Did you ever give in with Rebekah?” The instant Kenzi asked the questions she regretted it.

  Connor’s head snapped back and he stepped away from Kenzi. “I gave everything to her. When we mate, we give ourselves with an intensity and intimacy a human could not comprehend. I lost that when I lost her, and I have never sought anything like that since.”

  Kenzi nodded and turned away, relieved and disappointed in equal measure. She questioned the source of her interest in this vampire before her, and realized it was the virus that was prompting it. She was not ready to surrender this last shred of her humanity. The virus would not compel her into anything more intimate than a partnership designed to destroy her life-long enemies. Her body had changed, her purpose had not.

  “What’s our plan?”

  “First, you need to get a job,” Connor said.

  Chapter Ten

  “I don’t think I’ve ever had a little black dress before,” Kenzi said in the back of the town car hired for the evening.

  “Really? They never let you have any fun at your Center, did they?” Connor kept his tone light. “You have to look like a hostess at an ultra-lounge. You’re lucky they hired you without seeing you in full costume.”

  “The mini-skirt and the tight shirt did the trick. The manager never looked in my eyes the whole time we were talking, and I’m sure he didn’t hear anything I said.”

  “I’m sure,” Connor nodded with a hint of a smile.

  That had spent several days developing this plan while Connor continued to coach Kenzi in her new skills and curbing the ever-present craving. She would get close to latest human accomplice in the hopes of finding the vampire’s lair.

  “What’s the next step?” Kenzi pulled the hem on the dress. Seated as she was, it rose perilously up her thighs. Below she wore black stockings with a diamond pattern and four-inch heels. Beneath the dress she wore nothing, wh
ich left her feeling exhilarated and exposed at the same time. The underwear Connor had purchased showed plainly in against the tight material, clearly he knew nothing about the finer points of dressing a woman.

  “Be confident. You will make a perfect hostess. Just catch Maksim Bulgarin’s eye. You might not meet him tonight. He keeps a low profile around the place publicly, but he shows up often enough and likes to have first choice of the women that work there.”

  “So I just lead him on?” Kenzi asked nervously.

  “Yes, he’ll lead us to Gabriel. Somehow Maksim hands the young people he drugs to him, and once we figure out where and how we will take them both out.” Connor sounded confident.

  “What if I can’t control my urges?” Kenzi asked.