In the Dark

by Melody Taylor

  Stepping out out onto his rain-dampened balcony, he stood barefoot in the cool night air. Centered himself. And began his practice.

  Specter’s attack did not sit well with Sebastian. Specter had granted Sebastian one week and Specter, while perhaps a vile creature, did keep his word. No attack should have been initiated until the week had gone by. Not without warning. Also, Specter had always held a fondness for blades or garrets. Guns or poisons he used as they became necessary, but if a more personal weapon could accomplish the same deed, Specter would choose that weapon every time. Sebastian did not like what the mismatches implied.

  Another shape-changer.

  Sebastian struck out at the air, turning, moving, letting his mind work.

  Another shape-changer was an unpleasant possibility, one he could not afford to dismiss. If Specter had one in his control, he could very well have another. Another that apparently held no love of rules or honor.

  Or of me.

  So, either the attack on Sebastian had been a side of Specter he did not know, or it had been a shape-changer – perhaps ordered by Specter, perhaps not. Either way, Sebastian still needed to take his own action. Tonight he needed to remain focused, refuse to fall prey to ambushes of his heart or of his enemies.

  Restraining his motions to painful slowness now, Sebastian allowed himself a small, fierce smile.

  Tonight he would hunt.

  IAN

  I woke up to the sound of raindrops pelting my window. I sighed. I liked rain, mostly, but right now it just added to my general gloom. I listened to the sound of it against the window for a while before I pushed Gypsy off the bed and got up.

  Leaving Gypsy to her food bowl, I headed for the living room, wondering who would be up. Whether Sebastian and Josephine would even get out of bed. Partway down the hall my stomach growled, sending a shock of hunger from my groin to my neck. I groaned, almost doubled over by the sudden pain. I’d just fed! And I was hungrier tonight than I had been last night. Dammit. Amanda must have taken more from me than I thought.

  My top lip had lifted on its own, baring my fangs. Addict, I thought as a joke to myself – it wasn’t funny. I straightened up and closed my mouth over my teeth.

  Slightly more calm, I made it to the living room. I walked into an empty room. No one was up yet. Again. Raindrops tapped the windows of the penthouse. I stood in the middle of the living room, hands on hips.

  A small movement out the glass doors to the balcony caught my eye. Sebastian. Shirtless, in the rain, standing with his back to the doors.

  While I watched, he suddenly flipped back from a stand-still, heels over head, landing with perfect balance. He moved in a blur, spinning and ducking as some imaginary opponent tried to kill him. I knew this was what he called his “practice,” but I’d never seen him do it before. His grace and speed quite simply shocked me. I had assumed he would be amazing to watch but not like this. It was part gymnast tumbling act, part ballet, and very, very dangerous.

  He had finished in only a few minutes, returning to the same position he’d started in, hands at his sides, head bowed. I watched him stand for several seconds, perfectly still. While I stared, he relaxed and came in. I resisted the urge to applaud.

  “Ian,” he said.

  I nodded back. “’Morning.”

  He shut the glass doors behind him and padded by me on bare feet, dripping from the rain. “You’re hungry.”

  “Yeah,” I said. “Do you mind?”

  “Of course not. I am aware how much the young ones eat.” He padded off toward his room – getting a shirt to put over that chiseled upper body, I assumed.

  In minutes Sebastian came back fully dressed and got down his sword and coat. I called the elevator, and together we left the penthouse.

  Sebastian had on a thinking face. I tried to read him, wondering if I could pick up his actual thoughts or just his emotions. The darkness in his eyes gave me a chill.

  “You’re going to try hunting him, aren’t you?” I hadn’t thought of it until that moment, but his face gave away the plan. “Track him down and stab him in the back, like you’re trained to do.”

  He looked at me, his eyes flashing in mild surprise. He nodded once. I shivered a little and didn’t ask anything else. This whole thing was going to end with blood, ours or theirs. Asking them nicely to go away wasn’t an option.

  When the doors slid open and we stepped off, my stomach stabbed at me again. I bent over the cramp in my gut, sucked in a deep breath and tried to stand up. It didn’t work. The cramp in my stomach hardened, jerking me back down.

  Sebastian watched, waiting in silence. When the pain finally eased enough that I could stand, I did, gritting my teeth and trying hard not to bare my fangs.

  “Drink more tonight,” Sebastian said. Advice dispensed, he turned and led the way to his car. All I could do was follow.

  Sebastian drove to the familiar Pike-Pine Corridor. Watching people going out for the night, having a good time, standing in groups talking, smoking, walking to the next party – it felt so weird. None of them knew how very strange life could get, or how very quickly. I sighed.

  “You talk less than when we first met,” Sebastian said.

  I looked over at him and frowned. Thought about saying “what?” I heard him, though. And I knew what he meant. It was just unexpected. I didn’t know how to respond.

  “Yeah, well, some things have happened between now and then,” I finally said.

  He tilted his head.

  “Things have happened to me as well. Things that I allowed to change me. I wish –” he paused, then changed his tone a little and kept going. “I am starting to regret that I permitted that to happen.”

  I nodded. I wanted to listen more, but my gut was gnawing at me, wailing for food, and Amanda’s panic attack when I accidentally snarled at her kept coming to mind. And a vampire I didn’t know asking Sebastian to turn me over to a man who would kill me. There was so much on my plate. I didn’t say anything else. Neither did Sebastian.

  Clubbing would have been fun – and I still wanted to get lit up like a Fourth of July sparkler – but I decided to go for one of the singles bars. They generally offered easy pickings, and Sebastian apparently had plans for the night. I didn’t want to be the reason he couldn’t get out before sunrise.

  I led Sebastian to Allan’s, a little spot that attracted a lot of thirty-something lonelies. Clean, small, decent music and friendly customers. It worked. My stomach cramped until it started getting tough to walk. I really was starting to salivate now. My hands trembled. I hoped no one would notice.

  Sebastian hung back, letting me walk ahead so it would seem like I came into the bar alone. The better to seem lonely myself, my dear. I got to the stoop of the bar and paused to gather myself before going in. Thankfully the bar didn’t have the same thick smell of people as most clubs. No way I could have kept my cool if the place had reeked of sweat and blood. I felt like a wild animal already.

  Slow night. One small group of girls who looked like they were having fun by themselves and only three lone guys. But I only needed one.

  I found myself a bar stool, and started the hunt.

  BAR

  Sebastian held back long enough to let Ian make her entrance alone. He gave Ian a moment to settle herself, then followed her in.

  An out-of-the-way booth made an unobtrusive observation post. A server approached him, a young woman, pretty, dressed in black pants and a white blouse. She paused before she asked him how he was doing, nervous. Humans were often nervous of him. For a disorienting moment, Sebastian found himself wishing he did not scare people, wanting to tell her to be calm, that he would not harm her. A strange and out-of-place streak of empathy, not unlike the feeling that had caused him to take Ian home with him when she began to weep in his car when he told her her father was dead. Though why here, why now . . . he shook it off, thanked the woman, told her he did not require her service and that she should forget him. Relieved, she left him.<
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  Alone, Sebastian took in the bar and its employees and patrons. There were not many, making it easy to keep track. He saw no one out of place, behaving as they shouldn’t. Also not many for Ian to choose from, but she had already caught the eye of a man sitting alone. Sebastian kept tabs on them, sweeping the building.

  He had worried that Ian might be too hungry to concentrate on luring the man out of the bar with her. Something about her body language changed as she spoke with him, though, keeping his eyes riveted to her. Sebastian had seen Ian hunt before, but now he understood what it was she did. It was part of her gift from Kent, no doubt, making her more attractive, more interesting, more trustworthy to whom she turned her attention on. Sebastian could see her directing this attractiveness at the man she sat with, and understood all too well how the man would be taken in. He would feel charmed, attractive, interested in this lovely creature who wanted to spend time with him. The human man Sebastian had once been would have been helpless against this sort of emotional manipulation. Watching Ian made Sebastian feel a bit of pride, that his pupil had such deft talent in using her inherited skill, and some concern, that she might one day turn it on the wrong person, someone who might harm her for jealousy of that talent.

  Where in the world had all this emotion suddenly come from? From twinges of sympathy only a week ago to pride and concern and longing. He barely knew what to do with them all. Pushing them back, as he had done for so long, seemed foolish. At the same time, some of them could be quite distracting. And he had work to do.

  In less than twenty minutes, Ian stood and left with the man she had chosen close behind her. She needed space to take her prey, though Sebastian did not intend to leave her alone for long. After a few moments, he stood and followed them out.

  He traced Ian by the scent of the man she’d left with. He spotted her behind the building they had just exited, deep in the shadows of the alleyway. He set up his post at the mouth, close enough to stand guard but far enough back to allow Ian privacy. He swept the street again, saw no one, and turned his attention back to Ian.

  He turned away when Ian’s shadow came close enough to the man’s to blend into one. He searched the street again for people who did not belong.

  Shroud stood at one end of the block, watching him.

  Sebastian let out a low growl of warning. The young pack vampire straightened, meeting Sebastian’s eyes with a flat glare. Sebastian stood his ground. There would be no truce tonight. Nor would Sebastian allow another pack member to lead him off again, leaving Ian vulnerable. Let Shroud come to him if he felt the need to settle any dispute between them.

  Shroud did not approach. He held his own place long enough to meet Sebastian’s gaze, then turned and stalked away. Sebastian watched him go. He longed to tail after Shroud, follow him back to Specter. Instead Sebastian stayed still, noting to himself that he had now seen two pack vampires besides Specter skulking around the club district. They – or the new shape-changer – must have the area staked out as a likely place to find himself and Ian. His human spies should have ample information for him.

  Eyes and ears open, he waited for Ian to finish feeding.

  IAN

  Getting the guy – Gary – out of the bar was as simple as letting him hit on me for a while, then leaning close to his ear and asking if he wanted to go do something more interesting.

  “If you do.” He was a little surprised but not about to turn me down.

  I winked at him and got up from my stool. He took another swallow of his drink, staring at me, and followed me out. I put an arm around his waist as we left, directing him down an alley. He smelled of strong aftershave and alcohol, not the most appealing scent. Underneath it, though, I could smell what I wanted.

  My mouth was watering bad. I had to keep swallowing every few seconds. I wanted to take him to a quieter spot than a darkened alley, but my stomach screamed. My knees were about to shake out from under me.

  Now.

  I turned and pushed him against a wall the moment we stepped into the shadows. He resisted, then let me as I pressed my mouth to his. I didn’t wait for anything. I bit into his lip the moment my teeth touched skin.

  “Ouch,” he said, playfully. I sucked, harder than I should have. I couldn’t stop myself. It tasted so good, so very good.

  “Ouch,” he said again, more firmly this time. I forced myself away from his lip and buried my face against his neck. He gasped as I dug my fangs deep, pleasantries be damned. I wanted blood, enough to choke on, enough to fill me. Salt-sweet-copper flooded my mouth, almost too much to swallow. My body jerked as I gulped the huge mouthful down. Every swallow brought on a spasm, building, getting more intense each time.

  He tried to push me off, murmuring my name, asking me to stop. Part of me wondered why he wasn’t wracked with spasms of ecstasy. Most of me didn’t care. I think I shook him. I know I bit him again, deeper. He gasped as his blood gushed, and he must have liked that okay, because he shut up after that.

  Swallow, spasm, swallow, spasm – we were getting closer, I could feel myself warming with his blood, making little noises with each huge mouthful. Swallow, swallow – closer, closer – don’t stop –

  His heart pounded, pulsing blood to me, thudding in my head. The sound, the beat, hypnotic, adding to my pleasure haze . . .

  Why was his heart beating so fast?

  I hesitated. Only for a moment, but it was enough to break the spell I was under. I let go of Gary’s neck, confused, trying to bring myself back to reality.

  My body cried out for more – don’t stop, don’t stop – my hands shook, my whole body shook. I felt dizzy and sick.

  “Fuck,” I gasped, scared, frustrated. What was wrong with me?

  Hungry.

  That was it. I reached back to Gary to finish. I needed it. I had to finish or I’d scream.

  His head flopped forward.

  I stared at him a second, then let out a weak chuckle. “Not funny,” I told him. He didn’t move. The heat in my gut started to cool.

  “Gary?” I said. I sounded panicked. I slapped my fingers to his neck. Thankfully found his pulse. It seemed too fast: Thumpathumpathumpathump. Even I could tell.

  I still needed more. I’d taken – I didn’t even know how much I’d taken. More than I usually did. Enough to hurt him. And I was still hungry.

  No, I had to admit to myself. Not hungry. Wanting. Something had been cut off. Something I wanted to finish. But my stomach was full.

  Gary had gone pale – not awful, not healthy. I shook him, watching his face. His eyes fluttered and fell shut. I shook him again, harder. His head came up this time, eyes focusing somewhere behind me.

  “Ian?”

  Okay. Okay. He wasn’t healthy, but he wasn’t going to die. He was all right. Or he would be after some rest. Right?

  I let go of him and he stood. Kind of. No – he slouched down to the ground.

  I watched him go down. What was I supposed to do?

  Stop feeding from him.

  “Yeah,” I said, watching him. He hadn’t moved and he still looked pale. “Hey, Gary?” I said again, bending to shake him. He raised his head, his eyes focusing in and out. “Hey, Gary? I think you had too much, okay? I’m gonna call you a cab. All right?”

  He frowned, disappointed. “You comin’?” His words slurred.

  “No, you’re just gonna go home, okay? You’re too drunk. Understand?”

  He let out a sigh and slumped. “Shid.”

  “Yeah, well,” I said. “Better luck next time.”

  I pulled out my cell. He wouldn’t die, but he’d probably feel like hell in the morning. Blood loss on top of whatever he’d had to drink. I couldn’t imagine it would be fun.

  I called a cab company, told them where to find us and that Gary was pretty sloshed. They told me someone would be right there and didn’t ask any uncomfortable questions. I hugged myself and watched Gary while I waited.

  My memory of feeding was a blur – I knew I had fed.
Knew he’d tried to push me off. Something had been about to happen. I wasn’t sure what. I only knew that I wanted it.

  I shoved my hair from my face. I did not want to think about it.

  The cab didn’t take long. I got Gary tumbled into the back seat, found his address in his wallet. I gave the driver the last of my cash and sent them away, out of my life. Still trembling, I scurried back to Allan’s.

  Sebastian stood outside the bar, arms crossed, in full sight of everything. I winced.

  “Trouble?”

  “I don’t think so,” I said, glancing over my shoulder. “Took a little too much from that guy. I called him a cab, told him he had too much to drink.”

  Sebastian raised an eyebrow. “If there is no problem, why are you nervous?”

  I met his hard eyes, tried to think of something to say that would make him feel how awful I felt, how confused and worried. He met my gaze while I floundered, then lost the questioning expression.

  “Are you finished for the night?” he asked instead.

  I looked at my feet. “Yeah. Let’s go home.”

  Sebastian started walking. There was nothing to do but go with him. I hunched my shoulders and went.

  VECTOR

  The trip back to the penthouse was uneventful. Outwardly.

  Across Ian’s face Sebastian read warring emotions, a need to speak and an uncertainty what to say.

  He had fit her story together easily enough: Feeding her daughter had begun to take its toll on her. The usual amount of blood she took would not sustain her and a newly-made vampire. In her hunger, she had nearly killed a man. She felt ashamed, but more than that, frightened. Of herself, and of other vampires.

  A wise position. Vampires were creatures to be feared, even by other vampires. Especially by other vampires. However, the strength of her fear went beyond common sense. She feared what she had become.