Angel's Kiss

by Melanie Tomlin

  “I can’t heal your internal injuries,” he sighed.

  I coughed and tasted blood in my mouth. “What about your blood?”

  “And how do you suggest I get it to where it needs to be?”

  “Let me drink,” I replied. It was the only answer.

  Danny pulled back from the bed, torn between wanting to help, and the unknown — what would happen to him if he let me drink?

  “I don’t think I necessarily have to drink from you. Just a few drops on my tongue…”

  In an instant he was hovering over me, a blade slicing his palm. As long as I didn’t need to latch onto him to drink he was prepared to try. I opened my mouth and allowed his blood to land on my tongue before sliding down my throat. It may have smelled like nectar, but it tasted, to me, like Brussels sprouts — something I’d loathed since childhood.

  I pushed Danny away. There was no way I was going to drink more of that.

  “Ewww! That tasted gross!’ I complained.

  Danny chuckled. “Well at least I don’t have to fear you’ll get a taste for my blood.”

  “No way.” I snorted. “It may smell really good, but it tastes yuk! Now I know angels aren’t perfect.”

  “I never said we were.”

  “I know, but in my mind they were.”

  I didn’t say out loud what I was thinking. I’d tasted vampire and angel blood… I wondered what other blood — human blood — would taste like.

  Tears began to form in my eyes as his blood worked its miracle on the inside of my body.

  “How do you feel?” he asked.

  “I know it’s working because it burns like hell!” I hissed through clenched teeth.

  “Huh!” Danny scoffed. “You have no idea how hot it can get in hell.”

  “Lighten up,” I said, my teeth still clenched. “It’s only a saying from the days when I was mortal.”

  When the pain had abated, and I could stand up, we headed into the living area to sit and talk. A fire was crackling in the fireplace. I was not cold though, Danny having cleaned and dried my clothes for me while I was still wearing them. It was handy having an angel around!

  “When I took off to distract our unwanted company, I wasn’t aware they’d planned a diversion, to separate us. By the time I got back you were already gone. At one point there were so many scent trails and none was yours. I couldn’t find you. Even my eyes in the sky couldn’t locate you, until you were on the treetops. Tell me what happened after I left.”

  I told Danny of the two vamps that had been responsible for my capture, and how I’d been taken to what I thought of as their nest. How a decision had been reached that I would be hunted, and to make it more sporting how I was given a head start. I told him of the mistake I’d made during the rain, in sheltering in the tree, and how, in doing so, had dispatched four vampires and chased and killed another.

  “It’s interesting to know you can feed like them, and that both your hands are lethal. I wonder if you could use your hands without the catalyst of a bite, though.”

  I’d already wondered the same thing, and still hoped to test it out, given further opportunity.

  “It was such an amazing feeling, such a rush.”

  “Sounds to me like you’re a glutton, and you know gluttony is a sin, according to mortals,” Danny teased.

  I’d not heard him talk like this before, and it was strangely exciting, like we were on the edge of flirting. I enjoyed flirting. It made me feel that I had a measure of control, of power.

  “Seriously though, your body is going to crave more blood, until you’re at full strength. Then you’ll be able to control the need.”

  “That’s nice to know. I wouldn’t want to be out with the girls and suddenly get the urge to drink them dry,” I replied sarcastically.

  “What girls?” he asked. “You don’t have any girlfriends.”

  I rolled my eyes. Clearly he’d not had many dealings with mortals — surprisingly he knew how to tease though — and didn’t understand sarcasm.

  “I was being sarcastic, Danny.”

  “I like the sound of my name on your tongue,” he whispered.

  I wasn’t sure if he meant to say it loud enough, though barely, for me to hear or not. Too long on his own, I thought. I cleared my throat, trying to bring him out of his reverie.

  “How many more bodies will fall before I’m at full strength?”

  Danny looked up, distracted. “Sorry, I was thinking of something else. What did you say?”

  I wondered what that something else could be, and whether or not it involved me.

  “I said, how many more bodies will fall before I’m at full strength?”

  “It varies from individual to individual, but at a guess a fully grown adult female of your height and weight would require the blood of around a couple of dozen victims.”

  “Twenty-four,” I said in disbelief, “that many?”

  “It’s only a guess. Look at it this way, if you stick to vampires you’ll be ridding the world of things that are evil by nature, while you’re getting stronger.”

  I could live with killing vampires, and vampires alone. It was just how long it was going to take to be at my peak that drove me crazy. If the first one counted — Chris, the one that had changed me — I had seventeen to go, give or take. That was a tall order given the number of injuries I was likely to sustain.

  “I don’t want to have to wait for chance encounters.” I leaned forward in my chair, bringing me that much closer to Danny. “Will you help me? Will you show me how to hunt them?”

  “You already know how to hunt them, but yes, I’ll help you.”

  “I don’t know how to hunt vampires!” I scoffed.

  “Yes, you do,” Danny insisted. “You follow the scent trail. The stronger the scent, the closer you are.”

  Of course, what an idiot I was!

  “I’ll provide the transportation. Call me by my name, my real name, and I will come if you need me,” Danny said.

  He stood up and offered me his hand. Within moments we were in the small clearing where I had tumbled from the treetops. The scent trails were still strong, and I was reasonably sure I’d have no problems following them.

  “Wish me luck,” I said.

  “God’s speed,” Danny replied, walking away.

  Sheesh, enough with the religious mumbo jumbo, I thought.

  I chose a trail that had the least number of scents associated with it — one that only three vampires had chosen to follow. If I was successful in locating and killing them I’d return here to choose another trail to follow.

  I ran. My hair billowed out behind me as the air stirred around me, my speed creating a whirlwind. I lengthened my strides and kicked it up a notch. I wanted to see what speed I was capable of. The world was a blur, and for a moment, I thought my feet no longer needed to touch the ground as I raced along.

  The scents were getting stronger. I could feel the adrenaline being released into my system, in response to my decision to fight. All my senses were heightened to a super awareness.

  I overshot the end of the scent trail by a few hundred metres and had to backtrack to determine where it ended and why. I found a poorly hidden entrance to what appeared to be an underground tunnel. The scents were very strong here — underneath those of the vamps I’d pursued were a number of older and fainter scents. I followed them, torn between my eagerness to test whether my hands could kill offensively and yearning for the taste of honey in my mouth.

  The walls of the tunnel were very smooth and the path well worn. This was a place the vampires, or some other animals, frequented often. I came upon a large number of well-furnished rooms — an underground vampire cell perhaps — and it was in one of these I found three vampires asleep on cots.

  I didn’t know how long they’d been asleep, or if they were light sleepers. Surely here, in the safety of their own lair, they would sleep like the dead. No pun intended, I told myself.

  I dropped to my kn
ees by the closest cot and watched the eyes moving behind the lids. Vampires dreamed? How curious! I gently placed my hand over her mouth, ensuring all my fingers, including the thumb, made contact with her skin. I felt the process begin and watched as my fingers melded with her skin, like they’d been grafted to her body, to draw out the blood. I had never had the opportunity to watch it happen before and it fascinated me.

  She opened her eyes, wide with terror, and struggled. I grasped her wrist with my free hand only to find it fused onto her skin. I could not break free.

  Oh shit! I thought. I hope her friends don’t wake up. I’ve got no way to take them out, unless they take a number and wait their turn.

  She clawed at me with her free hand and the scratches she made on the back of my hand stung. I stood up and straddled the cot, lowering myself to sit on her thighs, thus preventing her from kicking me. I could put up with a few scratches, but some powerful blows with a knee or foot might really hurt.

  The vampire continued to struggle, futile as it was. My hand on her mouth muted her cries to such a degree that I could barely hear them, never mind a couple of sleeping vampires a few metres away.

  When the struggling stopped, and her hand went limp, I was able to let go. My hands seemed to know when they could release her from their grip — her death had acted as the release mechanism. I marvelled at how they worked. I’d need to be careful about using both on the one victim though, particularly if there were others around. Maybe, with lots of practise — it would take heaps, I knew — I could disengage from my prey at will.

  I slipped quietly to the second cot, placed my hand over the vamp’s mouth — as I had done to his companion — and allowed my lips to find his neck. He didn’t even stir, his rapidly moving eyes suggesting he was caught in the grip of a dream. It was over far too quickly for my liking. Now there was only one left — and the buzz was kicking in — I could afford to take my time and have a little fun.

  The third vampire’s bare arm was visible, having slipped out of the bed covers and over the side of the bed. I straddled his bed, careful not to knock him or make a sound. As I sat on his chest I quickly raised his arm to my mouth — mindful that I should not wrap my hand around it — and bit him. He woke with a start and looked quickly to his companions for help that wasn’t going to come.

  “Fuckin’ freak!” he yelled. “Get the fuckin’ hell off me!”

  I waggled a finger in the air, letting him know I didn’t appreciate his foul language. It was the first time a man had ever told me to get off him. Usually they were trying to cajole me into staying on top!

  He pushed at my face, realising that I was more like them than they’d thought. Realised the futility of trying to detach someone who’d latched on. When he tried to gouge out my eye I got mad and grabbed his free hand, holding his palm to my chest so he could feel the beat of my heart. I could sense the fear coursing through his body.

  “Freak!” he yelled again, more weakly now.

  My eyes smiled at him and I wriggled provocatively on his chest. Not quite a lap dance — I was in the wrong position for that — but I let him know, in my own way, that I was enjoying myself. I was tempted to put his hand under my top. The last touch he would ever feel would be that of my breasts. Okay, even that was too much for me!

  His legs kicked out, bucking me wildly, and I imagined I was on the rodeo circuit, riding a raging bull. When the ride stopped I was left with a wonderful buzz. Still, I yearned for more. If they were all this much fun I was sure as hell going to enjoy bringing death to the vampires. Undoubtedly I could make it even more fun though. I wanted them to know me by some sort of moniker. To be called the vampire’s bane or slayer sounded too cliché, and bringer of death sounded corny… She who kills sounded kind of cool — words that could strike fear into their cold, lifeless hearts.

  I formed a plan in my head as I headed back to the tunnel entrance, checking the other rooms along the way in case some vamps had returned while I’d been busy. Don’t leave your back exposed. All was quiet. Time to return to my starting point.

  The second scent trail I followed belonged to a lone vampire. He’d run a great distance and it took me some time to catch up, as he was still running. I ran faster than I’d run before. It seemed the more I fed, the faster I could run. Imagine my speed when I’d reached my peak!

  “Wait up!” I yelled out.

  He stopped and turned to see who had called out, and smiled when he recognised me as the prey that had gotten away from the hunt the night before. They all seemed to smile at first.

  I feigned shock that it was a vampire I had found, clutching at my throat with a hand and shaking my head from side to side, mouthing the word No. It was over the top, but he didn’t notice I was acting. He thought it was genuine fear and grinned back at me, nodding his head in greeting.

  He walked back to me slowly, so cocksure. I would have laughed, if I wasn’t trying to play the damsel in distress. I had to admit to myself that I admired his confidence, though. I almost smiled and gave the whole thing away.

  Concentrate, Helena. Keep up the facade.

  “Well, well. What have we here?” he said, walking a complete circle around me.

  I twisted around as he walked around me, still clutching my throat. I wanted him to have the impression that I needed to see where he was at all times, with what I hoped would pass for fear on my face.

  He thrust his hips outward in an overly male gesture of dominance. This sort of display used to sicken me, but now it was all I could do to contain myself and not laugh. It looked to me like the bravado of a buffoon!

  I forced my bottom lip to quiver and he reached out to touch me. It was a pity I couldn’t cry on demand. That would have been perfect! I cringed at his touch — all part of the act — and he spoke softly, trying to reassure me that he wasn’t like the others, that he wouldn’t harm me. I looked into his eyes and thought I saw a spark of humanity remaining.

  When one hand touched my cheek and the other gathered me by the waist, I did find myself questioning his intentions. As he pulled me closer and tilted his head to the side I knew now was the time to act. Moving faster than the eye could see I slipped out of his embrace and came up behind him. I wrapped my arms around his chest, pinning his arms to his sides. It was sad to know he’d been corrupted, but he had been about to give me the vampire’s kiss. They were all the same.

  “A kiss before dying?” I purred in his ear.

  My lips eagerly sought his neck. He struggled — as they all did — and when I knew he was near the end I focused all of my willpower into trying to release him. It was an enormously difficult thing to do, to deny myself the last drop — the sweetest part. I moaned in agony, not from pain, but from the internal struggle I endured, until my lips relented and I was able to let his body drop to the ground.

  The vamp was terribly weak. It was he who cringed now, when I cupped his chin carefully in my hand. I kissed his lips and smiled.

  “Tell them she who kills has come.”

  I turned and ran, without looking back, laughing all the way. The laughter echoed throughout the forest. It was a joyous sound.

  10. Outnumbered

  I was flying. Invisible wings lifted me into the air and my feet didn’t touch the ground as I ran, though they moved — faster and faster — back to my starting point.

  Ah, to actually have wings, I thought, rather than feeling like I have them — a part of the buzz.

  There were still seven separate trails to follow.

  Save the best till last, I told myself, when you’re stronger. You’ll need your strength, and all of your feminine wiles, to take on that many vamps.

  The six remaining trails consisted of two singles, three groups of two and one group of three. The first two led to underground tunnels, similar to the first trail I’d followed. Were they all interconnected somehow? I wondered why vamps would choose to stay out here when they could blend so well in the mortal world, where food was abundant. Perhaps
Danny would know.

  It became a game of cat and mouse. I employed the same damsel-in-distress tactic I’d used on the sole vampire I’d allowed to live — barely — again and again, it worked so well. I could have been an actress. The only difficulty I encountered was with a group of two females. Males were easy to trick. Even as vampires their brains still seemed to be located between their legs. I wondered idly, while killing three at once — anyone for a foursome? — if vampires had sex. Sure I’d heard the classic stories of the incubus — a male vampire that sought out sleeping mortal women for sex — and the succubus — a female vampire that sought out sleeping mortal men for sex. Who hadn’t? They appeared often enough in popular fiction, but I was no longer sure of what was fact and what was fiction.

  The two females hissed and spat at me, remaining far enough apart from each other that I couldn’t possibly grab both of them at the same time. What to do?

  I put a hand on my hip and tapped my lips thoughtfully with a finger from the other hand, smiling all the while. Let them think I had a plan for them. Let them sweat a little.

  I glanced towards the sky. I had maybe three more hours of sunlight. After that, I’d be at a serious disadvantage, not knowing the region as well as the vamps. It would be time to call Danny to take me back to the cottage. I could always return tomorrow.

  I let my hands drops to my side, the smile turning to a frown and a panicked look on my face, as though I’d just realised I was outnumbered. I turned and ran, at a decidedly mortal pace, back to the cover of the trees. Seeing me run, the females, feeling they had the upper hand, sprinted towards me, in hot pursuit.

  When I reached the treeline I used it to my advantage, doing a feat of acrobatics I would never have dreamed was possible outside the world of movies. I quickly took three large strides up the trunk of the nearest tree and did a backflip, landing behind the second vamp. A perfect Olympic gold medal-winning landing. I reached out, grasping the back of the neck, and we ran forwards together — she trying to shake off my hand — to catch up to the other vamp. She slowed when she heard two sets of footsteps. I rushed forward to get a good handful of hair, biting her neck in the process and pulling her to a halt. Both struggled and kicked. I was already much stronger than them. They didn’t stand a chance.