The Undead Heart (#1 in the Blood Thirst Series)

by Stephanie Jackson

  After that she was willing to listen to me. The first time I looked into her eyes, I knew that I loved her and she knew the same. We’ve been together ever since.

  It took me a year to build up the courage to tell her that I had killed a member of her family. She told me that it had been her brother Bruce. She forgave me and I was blessed.

  The first time we made love, I noticed her heart beating. She was breathing as well. It took many years for technology to catch up to our curiosity. When it did, I took the required courses to become a radiologist, and got a job in one of the imagining centers that closed on weekends so that we’d be assured of privacy.

  I’ll spare you the details of what I did to start her heart beating, but the MRI results spoke for themselves. While we were intimate her heart beat. She drew regular, if not rapid, breaths. The blood flowed in her veins. Her skin texture changed, and her brain showed normal activity. For all intents and purposes, she was human.

  We tried the same thing with another female vampyre and a human male (who just thought she was kinky) and got no results. The MRI showed nothing, as if we were scanning a dead body. That’s how I came to the conclusion that during those moments of intimacy, vampyres are just as susceptible to danger as humans, because at that moment, they are human.” He stopped talking and looked around at Richard. “I am sorry for what I did to your brother.”

  “I forgive you, as well. I understand the obsession to watch the one you love and to ensure their safety,” Richard said. “Jenny, I have to say, this is the happiest I’ve ever seen you.”

  “I have made peace with what I am, and besides, if I were human, I would only have had one lifetime with Potter, and that would never have been enough,” she told him, and smiled at Potter.

  “Was all of the family still together the first time you were watching her?” Beck asked.

  Potter replied, “Yes, they were all there. Why?”

  “Because, I’m going to need a plan to bring you two together without anyone getting hurt.”

  Startled, Jenny asked, “You’re not still thinking of going back, are you?”

  “I have to. If I can change any of this, then I have to try.”

  “But, what if you still die?” Jenny whispered.

  “Then, I’ll be born again, and Richard will find me again, and I’ll try again,” Beck answered.

  Pouting, Jenny said, “I want to see Leso.”

  Richard took out a cell phone that Beck didn’t know he had and dialed a number. “Leso, I need you to come to 847 Greenland Street, now please.” He flipped the phone shut, grinned at Jenny and said, “He’s on his way.”

  Jenny nodded. “I still don’t understand why you have to leave her.”

  “Because, if I stay with her for the years between now and the time for her to go back, I could never allow her to leave. I know that.”

  “What do you mean ‘allow me’?” Beck asked. “I’m old enough to make my own decisions.”

  “Me and Leso could tear down that entire building in three minutes, and you wouldn’t be going anywhere,” Richard laughed.

  ***

  They were still arguing when there was a knock at the door. Richard stepped outside for a few seconds, and then brought a slender, dark-haired man into the room. He must have told him about the hunter, but not about Jenny, because the surprised look on this man’s face was unmistakable. With the new excitement in the room, no one but Richard noticed the look of shock on Beck’s face. He gave her a questioning look, but she shook her head so he wouldn’t ask anything now.

  After the excitement of reuniting with Jenny had passed, Leso walked over to Beck and gave her a long, gentle hug.

  He pulled back so he could look at her properly. “Hello Beck. I’m your brother-in-law, Leso.”

  “Hi, it’s nice to meet you. Well, I guess I mean, it’s nice to meet you again,” she said smiling.

  After another hour or so of catching up, Richard announced that it was time for him and Beck to go.

  “There are still many things for me to tell her and not a lot of time.”

  Leso decided to stay the night with Potter and Jenny. They all said their goodnights before the two of them climbed back into Richard’s car. On the way back to the dorm, they talked about his relief and happiness in finding Jenny safe, well, and most surprising of all, happy. She had never been truly happy before. When they got back to the dorm, the first thing he asked was about the surprised look on her face when she saw Leso.

  “Do you remember me telling you about my dream of Bev finding a good man?” she asked, and he nodded. “Well, Leso’s that good man.”

  “Are you sure?” he asked.

  “Of course I’m sure.”

  “Are you upset about it; about him being a vampyre?” he asked quietly.

  “Why would I be upset about it? You’re a vampyre, and I love you.”

  He was across the room and had his arms around her in a flash. “Say it again.”

  “I love you,” she said. “I haven’t heard that in 113 years,” he said, and kissed her. As hard as it was to pull away, she broke the kiss.

  “I think you have a lot to tell me. Now’s a good time to start. You need to tell me everything I need to know.”

  He sat her on the bed and pulled up a chair. Taking a deep breath, Richard began: “Okay, here it goes. It was 1888 when I met you. You walked past me on the street, and I caught your scent, but every other smell about you was alien. I didn’t know until later that you had just stepped into our time and some of the scents from this time had clung to you. Skipping the details of our meeting, you were sent back to 1888 to find the true identity of Jack the Ripper.

  “I eventually took you to meet my family. At that time my family consisted of my father: Daryl, mother: Rita, my brothers: Leso, Harley, and Bruce, and my sisters: Jenny, Heidi, and Saphira. They could not have picked a worse time to send you back. At the time you came, we were battling the hunters and an evil clan of vampyres.

  “Their master was an evil bastard of a vampyre. A person’s personality doesn’t change that much when they are changed into a vampyre. If you were a decent person before you were changed, most likely you will remain decent. On the flip side, if you were an evil person, you will be evil as a vampyre, and with the power you gain, it only gets worse.

  “It was that very way with Royal Elderson. I never knew him when he was a human man, I can only imagine. As a vampyre, he is cruel and sadistic. Torture and human suffering were like the air that he breathed. They thought that the animal blood drinking vampyres needed to be killed, said we sullied the meaning of vampyres. Our happiness enraged him. That’s why he killed you, because of my happiness.

  “We were walking home from the city one night, nearly within sight of our house, when I sensed a vampyre, but thought it was just one of my family. You see, we can sense other vampyres, but not who they are. When we get close enough to them, we can smell the blood they have consumed. He must have forgone eating for days to get that close without my notice.

  “He grabbed you from behind and jumped with you into a tree. He said he held my heart in his hands and wondered what I would give for your life. Anything, I told him, anything at all. He asked if I would surrender a member of my family to his clan to become one of them. Please forgive me Beck but I couldn’t do it.

  “He had his arm around your throat with your legs dangling over the branch he was standing on. When I told him anything but that, he used his other hand to twist your head nearly all the way around, and dropped your body. You vanished before you hit the ground. He was gone before I could Catch him. After that, some of my family was killed by his clan, and the others by hunters. You’ve met all that remain. I’ve waited all these years to have you back, to maybe change what happened, but maybe Jenny’s right. How can I risk you again for my own selfish needs?”

  “You were right to tell him no. I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if your family were turned into monsters like him.
And you’re not asking me to go back. I want to go back. I’ll find a way to stop it, I promise.”

  “You’re starting to look tired. Go to sleep. I’ll be here in the morning. We still have a lot to talk about.”

  She fell asleep quickly and again he watched over her. His thoughts went back to his family again remembering the first time heand Leso had visited their new family.

  ***

  They had arrived at Daryl’s invitation promptly at 7:00.

  Daryl invited them in. “We are happy you have come to visit. Please come in and let me introduce you to my family. This is my wife, Rita.” Rita was a short woman, no more than 5’3”. She was rotund, but by no means fat, with green eyes, short red and gray upswept hair, and a most dazzling smile. “My son’s Bruce and Harley, and my daughters Heidi, Saphira, and Jenny. They have all taken my last name, Young. So, I suppose we would be referred to as to as the Young family. Ironic don’t you think, being as we are all so old in true years.”

  “Please make yourselves at home.”

  “What is it you wanted to discuss with us?” Leso asked, cutting to the chase.

  “Not just to discuss. We wish to make you an offer. We have been watching you discreetly for quite some time and have learned that you, like us, do not live on the blood of humans. You have caught our interest. We were wondering if this is your way of life. If you and your brother have chosen to live this way or are you simply conducting an experiment.”

  “This is our way of life,” Richard said. “I drank the blood of humans in my first year, but only until I discovered that I could sustain my thirst on the blood of animals, and have not harmed a human since.”

  “What of you young man, what made you give up human blood?” Daryl asked Leso.

  “I have never fed on the blood of humans. My brother was there for my change. He led me in the right direction, and I have never strayed from that path.”

  “And you feel no pull to the blood of humans?” Daryl asked.

  Leso shook his head. “No, I have never craved it, perhaps because it was not the first blood that I fed upon.”

  “That brings me to my offer,” Daryl said. “We would like you to join our family. Times are changing. The hunters have starting to enter England 300 miles from here. It will not be long, mere months, before they enter this area, and if that isn’t bad enough, Royal Elderson’s clan wants to put a stop to us as well. We offend them by not drinking the blood of innocent humans. There are even some of his clan that drink the blood of children.”

  “We’ve not had a problem with hunters or this Elderson clan,” Leso said. “You will when they discover your existence, and they will discover you. Two vampyres will be no match for them. We would like you to consider becoming members of our family. There is strength in numbers. You are most welcome here, and you are not under any obligation to change your name. You are more than welcome to keep your own name, and no offense will be taken,” Daryl said

  “I don’t want a master,” Richard said.

  “There are no masters here. Our decisions are made by family discussions. As I said, this may be a clan, but it is a family first. Please talk this over between the two of you, but we need your answer by tomorrow night. After that, my family will be moving on,” Daryl said while walking them to the door. “We hope to see you tomorrow night. If not, I want to say it was a great pleasure to meet you. Goodnight.”

  They soon found out that Daryl was correct. They’d not even made it back to their house when they sensed another vampyre. They waited, and within two minutes, an ugly, brown-haired woman approached them from the opposite side of the road.

  “Good evening. I am Tamara Elderson. I have been sent to bring you to my master.”

  This vampyre definitely smelled of human blood.

  Leso spoke for himself and Richard.

  “Tell your master thank you, but no.”

  Tamara snarled at them. “It was not a request. Either you come with me or you die.”

  Richard and Leso looked at each other. They knew she was the only vampyre around. She couldn’t possibly kill both of them.

  “The answer is still no,” Leso said.

  She lunged at them. Within seconds, it was over. She had jumped at Leso, and Richard stepped up behind her and ripped off her head.

  “Are you alright?” he asked Leso.

  “Hell no, I’m not alright! This was a brand new shirt,” he replied, looking down at his white shirt that was now covered with spats of blood, and shaking his head. “I’ll never get this out.”

  “You know there’s bound to be more of them waiting at our house,” Richard said.

  Leso nodded. “So what do we do now?”

  “I think we should go back to the Youngs’. Like Daryl said, there’s safety in numbers.”

  “I agree. If we decide later that being part of a clan is not for us, we can always leave.”

  “We agree then. I think we should go now before those at our house figure out that we’re not coming back,” Richard said, and they broke into a run.

  Richard was fast, but Leso was faster. Richard knew that Leso was slowing his pace so they were running side by side. They made it back to the Youngs’ in less than one minute. The door opened before they had made it halfway across the yard.

  “What has happened?” Daryl asked.

  They explained what had just taken place.

  Daryl turned to his family. “There has been a change of plans. We will be leaving tonight. Quickly gather what you wish to take with you. Harley, please ready the carriages.” He turned back to Richard and Leso. “I do not advise you returning to your home. I hope there is nothing there that you need.”

  “Nothing worth dying for,” Leso said.

  “You will be coming with us?” Daryl asked.

  Richard answered for them both. “Yes.”

  “Wonderful. We need to stick together in these dangerous times,” Daryl said.

  It took only a short time for them to be ready to leave. Two carriages had been pulled out front. Bruce would be driving one, Saphira the other. Leso and Richard rode in the carriage with Daryl and Rita.

  “How many vampyres does Elderson have?” Richard asked.

  “No more than six or seven. He does not make more than he can control. He fears that if he makes any more than that, they would turn on him. There’s always someone who wants his place of power. Therefore, he keeps his clan small,” Daryl explained. “The hunters are more prevalent and much more dangerous, but only travel in groups of two or three. They tend to be more cautious. They’re smart, which only makes them more dangerous.”

  “Where are we going?” Richard inquired.

  “London, I think. We haven’t been there in many years. It should be interesting to see how it has changed,” Daryl answered.

  That was how they came to be part of the Young family. It was that fateful night that led him back to London, and six years later, to Beck. That was the first time he had killed another vampyre, but far from the last, because Elderson had replaced every one they killed. On the other hand, hunters could not be replaced. He had killed three and Leso two. If what Potter had said about there only being 412 hunters was true, then there couldn’t be many left.

  ***

  He had to admit that Jenny had gotten him thinking about sending Beck back. Actually, it had been what Beck had said. If she died, Richard would find her again, and they would try again. He had always assumed that this was the first time, but was it? How many times had this played out? How many times had he watched Beck die? Seen his family die? Ten? Hundreds? He had her now. How wise was it to let her go? Was he willing to let her die again just to get what he wanted?

  Elderson never knew where Beck had come from. What if he found out this time? What if he killed one of her parents? Then, there would be no Beck. Was it worth it? But Beck knew now. She knew what she was getting into. He could stop her, but she would never forgive him.

  He could tell she already thought of
this as her family, and he had set her on a mission to save them. He had to leave her soon, though he would never be far from her; just far enough. And it was a sure bet that Jenny wouldn’t leave her. Elderson was still out there somewhere. just to be safe, they wouldn’t stray too far away.

  But Leso was right. He couldn’t stay with her and still allow her to go. She would never know how hard this was for him, never see the blood streaming down his face as he watched her sleep. He would leave her tomorrow night, and it would tear his soul apart.

  At least he could watch her now.

  He watched her sleep, trying to think of everything he needed her to learn. He knew she needed to learn all she could about Jack the Ripper, because her knowledge of that is what gets her the job that brings her to him in the past. She also needed to take a class that would allow her to study blood.

  He wanted her to study a sample of his blood to see if there was any way she could devise a weapon from it. He wanted her to research any way to kill vampyres. He needed Elderson to be dead if they were ever really going to be safe. That was all he cared about…keeping his family safe. He felt like he had failed them all.

  After Beck had died, he had lost his focus; had lost himself. He would wonder away for days at a time. His family had said nothing to him about it, because they knew he was grieving, but they worried about him going off on his own. Ironically, they were worried about him when it was he that was gone when some of his family had been slaughtered. Bruce had been killed first, out in the forest, by a hunter, but he didn’t learn of that until later. He’d only come home in time to help his brothers and sisters pick up the pieces of his mother and father.

  It had been three hunters that had attacked. The hunters had all been destroyed in the attack, but not before killing his parents. None of his siblings had blamed him. They hadn’t had to. He blamed himself. If he’d been there, he would have been in the fight, and they may have been saved. They buried their parents, burned the bodies of the hunters and had moved on.