Scent of a Vampire

by Jude Stephens

  I don't know what came over me but I stood up and languidly stretched my entire naked body, looked at him and licked my lips and said, "I would never do that to your manhood."

  I grabbed my clothes from the floor and left what I would do to his manhood up to his imagination and had to laugh out loud as I heard him groan loudly as I entered the bathroom. I couldn't help singing, "Come on baby light my fire. Try to set the night on fire," as I came out of the bathroom. I stopped halfway across the floor to the bed and wrinkled my nose.

  "Do you smell sulfur?" And an instant later a flaming bottle came crashing through the window.

  Chapter 11

  I stared in disbelief at the flames that exploded near the bed. I didn't have time to react as Scent of a Vampire – Jude Stephens

  Page 50 of 172

  Roberto scooped me up in his arms and headed toward the back of the cabin. There was a door there but we could see smoke seeping through the frame. A fire must have been started all around the cabin. Looking toward the window you could see an eerie orange glow. Roberto put me down. "Stay right there." Before I could reply, he leapt straight up through the air and seemed to go through the roof. The smoke was starting to thicken in the cabin. I got on my hands and knees like I was taught to do in third grade and made my way over to the kitchen. I grabbed a few of the power bars I had seen this morning and shoved them in my pockets. I had a feeling that we wouldn't be stopping at the local Ihop for breakfast or dinner or what ever the hell we would be eating at this hour. The smoke was thicker now and I was having a hard time breathing. My eyes burned so badly that tears were running down my face. Where was Roberto? He wouldn't have abandoned me? No, I somehow knew he would never do that to me. After a few more horrible minutes, in which I was sure I was going to die, I heard, "Olivia, where are you? Damn woman I told you to stay put!"

  I stood. "I'm over here."

  He reached me, "Thank God. I thought they might have taken you."

  "I just wanted to grab a few power bars for the road trip."

  "I'm afraid it will be more like a hiking trip."

  "Why? Aren't we going to the car?"

  "No, they have the cabin surrounded."

  "How the hell are we going to get out of this death trap?" Even with the thick smoke surrounding us, I saw Roberto's handsome smile. "We are going up."

  "Going up?" I repeated before he scooped me up in his arms and leapt straight up. I started to scream but he put his hand over my mouth to stop me. When before I had thought he went straight through the ceiling, he had actually gone through a small square trap door. We landed quietly on the roof of the cabin. I could hear men shouting to one another.

  "They haven't come out. Must have got them while they slept." I heard one say.

  And another, "YES! Fucking weak ass vampires. Gets em' every time."

  I felt sick to my stomach, realizing someone felt such joy at another being's death.

  Roberto whispered close to my ear. "Hang on tight. We are going to jump into the tree line to the left of us. We will need to move quickly to put some distance between us. It won't be long before they find out we're not in the cabin." I held on for dear life and tried hard not to scream as Roberto leapt into the air and landed with a soft thud in the woods. He hardly hesitated from the impact before we were off and running. It was hard to talk with the wind whistling past us so I just laid my head on his shoulder and let my mind wander. It was strange. I was worried sick Scent of a Vampire – Jude Stephens

  Page 51 of 172

  about my parents and Janel. My life, as I knew it, was apparently over.

  The world had overnight changed for all time and yet I was elated to be in the arms of this man.

  I also, despite being chased by a group of deranged scientists and religious zealots, felt safe and secure in his arms. I knew in my head it was too soon, we just met. But when I looked at him, my heart did a little flip flop.

  After a while Roberto slowed down to a slow jog. "I think we'll be okay for a bit if we walk. We put several miles between us and they will be forced to track us on foot. They won't be able to maneuver any vehicles through these trees."

  "Where exactly are we?"

  "In the Jersey Pinelands. When they abducted you they surprisingly headed south. We were near Cape May when I caught up to you." He answered.

  "Hmmm, I assumed we were heading north to Buffalo where my parents are."

  All he said was, "You can't predict what these guys will do. For years they have hunted my family and friends. I don't want to frighten you any more than you are but you have to understand what they are capable of in order to protect yourself."

  He stared straight ahead with a heartrending look on his face. "Back in the late eighteen hundreds, I lived with my family in Crecchio, Italy on our estate. We lived there a long time in peace and happiness. It was my parents, my brother, Cristoforo, my sister Abrielle, and I.

  Abrielle was so beautiful. She had long shiny black hair and eyes so blue it felt like you touched the sky when you looked at her. She was visiting us that day. She had married the year before.

  Her husband Marco had stayed home to tend to some business. They were expecting their first child in a month and Marco hadn't wanted her to travel but Abri thought it would be okay since it was just from the neighboring province of Perugia. They grabbed her soundlessly at dusk from her coach on the evening she was to return home. They killed the driver and attendant.

  And Abri was taken. The alarm wasn't sounded for a few hours when a passerby found the bodies by the coach. By then their tracks and scents had cooled.

  "But we didn't give up. We tracked them all the way to Vienna to a supposed scientists'

  residence. We found her in the basement, on a steel table."

  Roberto's voice broke and he finally looked down at me. Sometime during this story he had stopped walking. The tears were falling down my face. I reached up and held his face in my hands. And because I knew he needed to, I told him, "Go on."

  His eyes became hard and cold as he said, "She lay on the table still in the peach gown she had been wearing that evening. But it was stained with her blood. Before we even got close I knew that she was dead. But I was not prepared for the horror that I saw. Her head lay at an odd angle and it took me a minute to realize that she had been beheaded. Her bright blue eyes stared back at me unseeing. Believe it or not, that was not the worse to be seen that night. Her Scent of a Vampire – Jude Stephens

  Page 52 of 172

  baby had been ripped from her womb and was nowhere to be seen. We tore apart the home and slaughtered everyone we found, but there was no sign of an infant. I personally tore the throat out of three Guardians that night and drank their blood. And every night since I wish that I could kill them again and again. For I will never be satisfied until all of them cease to exist."

  Still crying I did the only thing I could think of to comfort him, I placed little kisses over his face as I said, "Ohhh Roberto. I'm so sorry. I can't imagine finding someone you love like that. Ohhh sweetie I wish I could make it better for you."

  He turned his head to capture my lips and kissed me deeply and passionately, as if this would erase the memories. He pulled back reluctantly. "You do make it better Olivia. Being with you makes my heart lighter than it's been in a long time. You remind me a bit of Abri. She had the same gentle spirit you have. She was a little on the shy side, but God help you if you got her angry with you, your life was sure to be a living hell."

  His words secretly thrilled me.

  He looked as if he was done talking about his past. "We better keep walking, we have to get to shelter before dawn." We walked in comfortable silence for a while. I couldn't help thinking about the horrible things he had experienced. He killed men. Yeah, they were bad men and probably deserved it for what they had done. But I had never known a single person who had taken another's life. It was a sobering thought. But it didn't matter because I trusted Roberto.

  He opened his heart
to me when he told me about his past and I knew that I could open my heart to him in the future. I was afraid Roberto may be brooding over his tragic past so I asked him, "Can you tell me more about my powers?"

  He smiled and took my hand. "Oh" I felt a little tingle in my hand at his touch. He stopped walking.

  "Well, I'm not an expert or anything but I do know with any type of power you need to harness it. Learn to control it." He pulled my hand to his mouth and nipped a finger a little before drawing into his mouth.

  I felt the heat of his mouth and tongue as if he were between my legs. Wetness rushed to my core and my legs felt weak.

  Still laving my finger he murmured rather huskily, "I can smell your arousal Olivia. You must learn to concentrate to not be so effected by your heightened sense of touch" I stepped up close to him and positioned myself so that I was straddling his powerful thigh. With his head bent down so he could watch me, I was able to reach up high enough to start kissing my way up the side of his neck. I reached his ear and said, "But you like it when I lose control. Don't you Roberto? Mmmm, now I can smell the scent of your arousal and it's making me crazy."

  What I had started out as a lesson to Roberto; that he too could lose control, quickly spun out of control. I found myself rubbing against his leg to find some sort of release from the out of Scent of a Vampire – Jude Stephens

  Page 53 of 172

  control lust building in me. I grabbed his head and kissed him hard, sliding my tongue into his mouth to tease and play with his. He kissed me back and slid his hands down to my ass and grabbed me hard. A wildness suddenly took a hold of me and I grabbed a hold of Roberto's arms and began to grind harder on him.

  All of a sudden he broke this kiss off with, "Mio Dio, Olivia, you are magnificent. You make me forget every good intention I have. I want nothing more than to make love to you, right here, right now under the stars." He gave me a quick kiss and took a step back to try and slow his breathing.

  He gave me a hot look with those sexy blue eyes "Later piccolina you can bet that your lesson in self control will resume."

  "I will look forward to that." I said in a husky voice.

  "Me too, mia cara, me too. In the meantime we will travel a few more miles into these woods and then we should hit the bogs."

  "Bogs? Like in a swamp?"

  "Yeah, there is someone I know that lives in the bogs that will help us."

  I looked at him like he was crazy. "You know someone who LIVES in a swamp? How much time do you spend here?" He turned to smile at me. "Yes I do happen to know someone that lives out here and I spend a couple weekends a month out here if I can. I like the solitude and here I can be myself. I can run and hunt and not worry about being seen."

  "I can understand how that would be important to you. Is it hard hiding what you are? I guess that is what my life will be like from now on."

  "Aww, don't sound so sad. It's not that bad. We have a rather tight knit community of species.

  There are others that you won't have to hide from. Plus you will have the added benefit of having powers. Don't underestimate what it will be like for you. The world is going to be different when you come into your full powers. Your sense of smell will be so heightened you will be able to smell a predator a mile away. You will be able to see sharply in the total darkness. You will hear the slightest whisper of sound. Feel the tiniest of tremors. You will have amazing abilities. You will become a first class tracker, predictor of nature and possibly a spirit walker."

  I had no idea what he was talking about but it didn't seem frightening. It seemed important and powerful. And it seemed like destiny to me.

  "Thank you Roberto. I really don't know what I would do without you to guide me through all of this. And I'm sorry if I've been a pain."

  "You've not been a pain Olivia. I'm very glad you walked into my casino."

  Scent of a Vampire – Jude Stephens

  Page 54 of 172

  I didn't want to bring it up but felt that we should clear some things up. "What about Alex?"

  Roberto sighed, "I know I am breaking some rules here but he cannot have you. I won't let him touch you again Olivia."

  "I don't want to hurt him, but I also don't want to lead him on. I let him kiss me and at the time I wanted more." I was ashamed to admit.

  He stopped me and made me look at him, "Olivia, don't be ashamed of who you are. You haven't learned to control your powers yet and what you felt was natural between a man and woman. But I will be the only one who will teach you from now on. Agreed?"

  Looking at his handsome face I swear I would agree to anything he asked me. Holy crap I wanted this man every minute of every day. All I could say was, "Yes." We started walking again and Roberto said, "We will be at the bog soon. I need to hunt before we go in. There are more animals out here. While I do that you should rest for a bit and take care of any business. You should probably eat one of those energy bars until I can provide you with a decent meal. My friend should be able to help us out with that."

  "I'm a little scared to be out here in the dark. Can I come with you?"

  Roberto came over to me and lifted my chin up to look at him. "You will be fine Olivia. Here is your first lesson. Close your eyes."

  I felt skeptical but did as he said.

  "Now, clear your mind. Reach out with your mind to the world around you. What do you hear Olivia?" I did my best to relax and clear my mind. With my eyes closed, I tried picturing what the forest looked like around us. All of a sudden I heard a rustling in a bush, some small animal that was scurrying back and forth, possibly a chipmunk. I heard the soft rustle of leaves as the wind moved them across the forest floor. Somewhere in the distance I heard what sounded like an animal lapping at water. I opened my eyes and gave Roberto a wide smile.

  "That was amazing!"

  Roberto smiled back at me and kissed my forehead, "That is just the tip of the iceberg piccolina.

  Soon you will learn how to strengthen your abilities and mold them into a powerful gift."

  "How do you know so much about a Sensay's powers?"

  "It is the same for anyone who has abilities. I needed to learn how to fine-tune my own gifts just the same as you. Of course living as long as I have, you have a lot of time to practice honing your skills. As a young pup, my father would take me out into the night and have me listen to the sounds of the world around us.

  "At first it was so overwhelming that I wanted to run away, but my father would be stern with me and help me focus on one sound at a time. That is what I just did with you. It is all about Scent of a Vampire – Jude Stephens

  Page 55 of 172

  using your mind to focus on your abilities." I looked at him anxiously. "Will you teach me?" He tilted my head up and brushed a soft kiss across my lips and said in a husky voice, "I will teach you many things mia cara."

  I shivered and he laughed. "But right now I will feed and you will take care of your needs. There is a small stream a few hundred yards straight ahead. The water is good to drink. I will meet you there in half an hour. If you need me for any reason, just yell, I will hear you. I'm not going far."

  He gave me another quick kiss and walked in the opposite direction. I was smiling to myself as I walked ahead to find the stream. I found the stream easily enough because I stepped in it.

  Damn, I would be glad when I developed my better sense of sight. It was a nice evening for early May but I had a feeling walking around with a wet shoe was going to make it feel a lot colder tonight. Well, there was nothing I could do about it. I found a nearby bush and took care of business and went back to the stream to drink some of the water. I sat there listening to the sounds of the night. I opened one of the power bars and started eating, while I closed my eyes and tried to do as Roberto taught me and focus on one sound at a time. Cool, I thought to myself. I think I could hear an owl hooting in the distance. I wondered if it would be possible to hear Roberto on his hunt. Out loud I said, "Ummm, I wonder if that's even ethical." I jumpe
d out of my skin when a strange voice answered,

  "Don't care nothin' about ethical. I prefer my women immoral."

  I opened my eyes and my heart stopped when I looked into a pair of red glowing eyes.

  Chapter 12

  I opened my mouth to scream my head off and he clamped a hand over my mouth. It was hard to make out any features on him because you couldn't focus on anything other than the red glowing eyes. He reached into his jacket and took out a cloth of some sort and tied it around my mouth. There went any hope of screaming for Roberto. I got an impression he was tall as he bent over and picked me up because it seemed that I was pretty high up in the air when he hoisted me over his shoulder like a freaking sack of potatoes.

  He began walking away from the stream at an easy pace. I could only hope Roberto came back early and when he didn't see me he'd start tracking us. All I knew was that DAMNIT I was getting really tired of getting kidnapped. I tried to wiggle hoping maybe he'd drop me and I could make a run for it. I knew the likelihood was almost nil but I was desperate. I stopped wiggling when he put a hand on my wiggling behind and began to rub and make some grunts that kind of scared me. He moved his other hand down and I so didn't want to know what he was doing. We were walking for a while when he stopped and dumped me into a boat. Since my hands weren't tied, I scrambled at the bottom of the boat to find something to hit him with.

  I felt something that felt like a paddle and grabbed it, stood up and swung with all of my might.

  The creature caught it in with his hand. "So you fancy a game of cricket, do you? Or maybe you like to play rough. Were you a bad girl?"

  Scent of a Vampire – Jude Stephens

  Page 56 of 172

  He laughed when I sat back down fast.

  "No, well don't worry luv, I'm not into that." He looked at me with a serious expression. "That is unless you are because I've never had a Sensay before and ummm, I'm not sure what will get your juices flowing so to speak and it's been a while since I had a woman that just about anything will get my juices flowing right now."