by Kim Cormack
Lexy swatted him away and threatened, “I will kill you…Dead!”
He grinned, looked at Kayn and winked.
Melody whispered in her ear, “You’re staring at him. Let’s go before you light this cheap hotel on fire with the heat from those cheeks. That bedspread looks highly flammable.”
Kayn touched her cheeks as they walked away. They were still burning up. The five of immortals walked past the line. Without a second’s hesitation, the bouncer lifted the rope and they strolled into the club. The music pulsated, bouncing off the walls it felt like it was luring them towards the dance floor. They needed to make a spectacle of themselves so their prey would bite one of the immortal hooks they were dangling. Making a spectacle was Kayn’s specialty but not in the sexy cool way. She tripped over her own feet and as she started to topple down the stairs, she scrambled to grab for the railing. Somehow managing to launch herself over the side and she ended up dangled from it, cursing. Nobody even flinched.
Lily, the beacon of genetic perfection, grabbed her arms and quickly yanked her back over the railing. She whispered in her ear, “Really Kayn? You have to learn to walk in heels.”
Kayn sheepishly mumbled her reply, “I know... I know.” There were only three steps leading to the dance floor. Why did this crap always happen to her? I’m such a dork. The girls were joined by Zach, who was still laughing at Kayn’s good-slash-bad luck. On an endless mission to regain Lexy’s favor, Zach started dancing in front of her. She coldly shut him down and walked away, leaving him standing there. Without knowing what the mark’s triggers were, she unknowingly volunteered herself as the victim.
Melody gave Zach a hug and said, “She’ll get over it, once she has the opportunity to get even.”
“Yah that’s what I’m afraid of,” Zach chuckled.
High pitched squeals startled them. It was nothing. An absolutely mortified girl was standing there in her underwear covering herself with both arms. Her dress was on the floor. Kayn shook her head as she met Grey’s mischievous expression. Every time he got the chance to, he’d telepathically whip off some poor girl’s button up dress or shirt. Without missing a beat, Melody grabbed Zach and towed him out onto the dance floor. Kayn swayed to the music by herself while she watched the other two from her trio dancing together. A waitress strolled up and handed her a fruity colorful looking slushy drink from her tray and pointed at Grey. It was from him so she accepted it because she was thirsty. He gave her a thumbs-up sign from the dance floor. Guru Grey was trying to make her feel more comfortable. She started to laugh as she took a sip of the drink. It was delicious! She drank it down too quickly and gave herself brain freeze. Kayn scrunched up her face as she rubbed her tongue on the roof of her mouth to rid herself of the pain. Feeling better, she started to move with the music as the alcohol began to numb her inhibitions. The pounding of the bass felt like it was keeping time with the rhythm as her heart as the multicolored strobe lights and smoke whirled around her. She shivered as her pulse raced with a sudden surge of adrenaline and for a second she wondered what caused it but decided to ignore it and just embrace the feeling. As she confidently moved to the music she found herself searching the crowd for him as always. Frost was tending to his usual flock of adoring women. He caught her staring at him. Oh, shit! He was coming. What was he doing? He was supposed to stay away from her. The music began to feel like it was competing with her nervously fluttering heart. Kayn made a lame attempt to pretend she didn’t notice his approach but couldn’t help it. She peeked under her veil of mascara covered lashes. His movements had the fluidity of a tiger, stalking its prey in the wild of the seedy nightclub. It was like he was a sexy exotic jungle cat maneuvering his way through the massive, writhing herd of scantily clad bodies. Unsure of what she should do, she stared into her drink. A drink that still had amazingly enough remained intact while she was dancing. She hadn’t spilled a drop but her ice cubes had melted. Don’t look at him…Don’t look. She felt a hand slip across the bare skin of her shoulder and knew it was Frost. She turned around, ready to blow him off and he passed by her in the crowd with his arm draped over the shoulder of a beautiful brunette. He was toying with her. Cats love to play with their prey. Kayn glanced around the room. Her clan had disappeared…Even Frost. Where did they go? She wandered through the herd of partying mortals. They were blissfully unaware that a serial killer was hunting in their midst. They’d all taken off without her. What in the hell? Kayn shoved her way through the crowd congregating at the front door. She was met by a cool blast of oxygen-rich air. It was disgustingly stuffy in that club. She began her unsupervised jaunt down the street lit mainly by flashing neon. Kayn casually strolled towards the dimly lit stairwell at the mouth of the first alleyway she came across. Where in the hell did they all go? Who was her backup? She caught a glimpse of a shadow and sensed Frost’s presence. Her pulse raced in response to his potent pheromones. She knew what he’d been doing…Who he’d been doing. She glanced back, immediately looking away. She had no right to be upset. Having feelings for Frost was nothing but a messed-up emotional rollercoaster ride. He was so much fun, until his behavior made you sick to your stomach. She stopped walking for a second wanting to turn around and bitch at him for the games he was playing with her. He’d been up to no good. It was written across the cocky expression on his face. When didn’t he have a smug expression? He was trying to gage her reaction to his absence. She wasn’t going to give him one. First, he all but ignores her for a year, then attempts to start something with her and when she doesn’t fall over with her legs in the air, he ignores her again. Then she bares her soul to him, he hits a moose and tells her he doesn’t hate her. Why was he the one following her tonight? They still weren’t allowed to be together. Nothing had changed. Frost was a slutty self-centered douche bag. The graphically sensual visions involving her twin replayed in her mind at inopportune times. She turned and walked away from him, down the dimly lit alley. She could feel him watching her. With each step that she took, she felt increasingly awkward. Her hand slid along an icy railing as she descended some stairs. She had almost been a tiny bit cool for a moment. That was until she realized that she had scurried down some stairs to a dead end in a stairwell. Where in the hell did she even think she was going to go? She stood there seriously contemplating the merits of banging her head up against the cement dead end until she knocked herself out cold. She could start fresh tomorrow.
Frost stood at the top of the stairs and called down to her, “Is there a magic tunnel down there or something?”
She replied, “I thought I saw something down here.” Kayn scrunched up her face and smacked herself on the forehead. She sounded like an absolute idiot. She had trapped herself at the bottom of a damn stairwell. She didn’t know how to come back up without looking like a complete dork. Rip the band aid off. She mustered up a confident smile as she scaled the stairs. He wasn’t blocking the top as she’d expected him to be. Kayn looked in both directions and didn’t see him. She heard a noise in the darkness to her left, so she went right, with the sound of her heels echoing on the cement; the rhythmic clicking of each step beckoning him to follow her. She felt his gaze and knew he was hiding in the shadows. She was attempting to be overtly sexy walking in a manner reserved for the young who had yet to learn the art of being subtly sexy. She’d been trying to learn by watching the other girls but didn’t quite have it down. Kayn turned the corner and strolled into a narrow extension of the darkened alleyway. She realized that she’d backed herself into a corner. The danger was strangely exciting. Fate would take its natural course and she was along for the ride. Would it be her? A small part of her wanted it to be. With each click of her heels the echo chanted, I dare you. Come get me. I am all alone. They were all walking the streets that night as baited hooks for a diabolically evil fish that they had the honor of reeling in. A fish had been hooked by one of the four Ankh women the second he’d laid eyes on her.
Slaying Dragons
It had been over
an hour since Kayn had begun to wander dark alleyways, trolling for a serial murderer. She stopped mid high heel click and giggled, ending her random laughter with an extremely unsexy, accidental snort. Frost stepped out of the shadows and startled her. She hadn’t even seen him for over an hour.
Frost teased, “Do you think it might be possible to aim for a little more sexy and a little less standup comedian?”
She scrunched up her face in distaste and whispered, “It’s been hours. My feet are frigging killing me. Why in the hell do women wear these things? I couldn’t even imagine working in an office or something wearing these torture devices all day.” Kayn bent down, took off the heels and stood there saucily with them dangling from her hand.
Frost, still acting the part looked like nothing more than a John attempting to solicit her services as he leaned in and quietly teased, “Okay Froggy, giving up is not an option.”
“Enough with that nickname,” Kayn sparred under her breath with her back almost against the building. He seductively stepped forward causing her to press her back against the brick. Her lips parted in anticipation. As his finger grazed her bare skin she realized he was only fixing her strap.
He quietly teased, “But it’s an adorable nickname.”
She’d completely misread his intentions.
They both felt the warmth in their symbols at the same moment. Neither of them needed to take off their fingerless glove to look. The warmth of their hand travelled up their arms to their hearts, creating a surging pit of fear. Frost began to run. Kayn chased him with her heels in hand. The panic the brand induced when one of her clan was in danger was something she was certain she’d never get used to. The Ankh appeared from separate directions and met in the middle of the street. Sometimes you just knew who was in trouble and other times you used the power of deduction. Everyone was accounted for but Lexy. Oh shit, did that serial murderer ever pick the wrong girl. As their eyes met it was obvious that everyone was thinking the same thing.
Grey snickered, “Oh, this sick bastard is going to get his ass handed to him in a seriously epic way.”
Lily shook her head as she added, “We have to find her before there’s nothing left of this guy to process.”
Frost pulled up in the truck, unrolled the window and announced, “We have no time to waste. Get in.”
She hadn’t even noticed he’d left the group. Kayn squeezed into the backseat. They sped down the road and turned with their Ankh symbols acting like a gut driven homing beacon. Kayn looked at Grey and whispered, “You don’t look worried at all. What if he hurts her before we can get to her?”
Lexy’s Handler casually replied, “If you’re ever kidnapped-by-a-serial-murderer, the rules are quite simple…Just look like you’re unconscious. They want you awake so they can see the fear in your eyes. They want to enjoy your pain. They get off on it. You buy time by not giving them the satisfaction of seeing you squirm. Once they know you’re awake you can buy more time by confusing them with your lack of fear. Lexy’s survived places that none of us could even imagine. She has strength that I could never dream of. She’ll not only be fine, but we’ll be lucky if the dude is still alive. She might kill him before we get there. Lexy’s only issue is her lack of control. Where logic steps in for most of us, she becomes lost. She’s gone once rage takes over. Like every single one of us, our greatest strength is also our greatest weakness.”
Wake up Lexy. She didn’t open her eyes. She knew better. Lexy wasn’t sure how long she’d been out. She kept her eyes closed, knowing the deal behind these sickos. He’d wait until she woke up to begin his torture. He would want to watch her squirm. He’d want to place his hand on her chest and feel her heart as it palpitated with fear. The longer she kept her eyes closed, the more time she’d buy. Lexy was aware that she could opt out of the pain, but she was far too curious. She desired the full experience. She wanted to know what he had done to his victims. This was going to be fun. She used her other senses to prepare herself for her surroundings. Lexy could tell that she was lying on a cold floor, perhaps it was a table. She knew this without opening her eyes. She felt a light breeze across her skin, goose bumps rose in response. This gave her the knowledge that she was naked. What did she smell? Lexy filed through the list of foul scents in her memory. She recognized it as the tinny scent of blood, combined with paint and gasoline. Was she in a garage? That was a place that could contain all of those scents, minus the scent of blood. These were all things she could tell without opening her eyes and giving away her return to the land of the coherent. One scent in particular, haunted her subconscious mind. The metallic scent of blood had always stimulated her inner Dragon. She knew the Ankh would come. When, was the question? She was trying to buy them time by pretending to be out cold for as long as possible. She was buying them time to save the serial murderer from her. If she killed him before they arrived. They wouldn’t have the opportunity to mark him and send him to where he needed to go. Markus would be furious with her. She hated disappointing Markus, her surrogate father figure. Skippy the serial killer had chosen the wrong girl to play his wicked games with tonight. She knew once their game began, it would be difficult for her to play nice. He wasn’t going to buy it much longer. She could feel him there. Without opening her eyes, she could sense his excitement. She loved this part. She had a seriously warped sense of humor but at least she owned it. Ah hell, she thought. Lexy opened one eye to take a little peek, her curiosity winning the battle over her attempt at good behavior. The room was covered in plastic. Of course, it was. She contained her smile. He was one of those guys. Lexy tried to shift her hands. They were only bound with duct tape. This was going to be hilarious. To her left, was a silver sterile looking metal table full of silver instruments. She could smell a hint of bleach. He took the time to bleach them between murders, isn’t that sweet. The sight of that table was such a cliché. This tool had been watching too many late night horror movies. His prior victims would have been terrified. Lexy found these sorts of predatory monsters amusing. She smiled and thought, oh, this is going to be fun. Lexy felt like some good old fashioned vengeance was in order. She would settle the score for all those, who’d laid on this table before her. A smile burst through her cheeks and she chuckled aloud. The contemptible excuse for a human being appeared. She didn’t bother turning her eyes immediately; it always drove these ones insane when you didn’t react. She very casually glanced in his direction. His curiosity was peaked. She could see it in his eyes.
“You’re not afraid of me?” He questioned, while standing before her. His knife glinting in the one stream of light that beamed through the taped up window.
“Surely, you’re not serious?” Lexy replied. She coolly gazed into his eyes and added, “Why would I be afraid of something like you?” Intrigued by her lack of fear, he moved closer, knife in hand. He was perspiring; it caused his glasses to slide down his face. Her supposed assailant slid his spectacles back up on his nose. He gripped the knife and hovered it above her skin at her collar bone. He watched her reaction and she gave him nothing. He shuddered as he moved the blade lower and traced it along the tender ivory flesh between her breasts, lightly slicing her skin, revealing a sliver of blood. It seeped from the wound and trickled almost artistically across the gossamer palate of her skin. Lexy didn’t even flinch.
“What do you think you can do to me with that tiny knife? Please explain and don’t leave out any details. I’d like your punishment, to fit the crime,” Lexy taunted. She’d always had a hysterical sense of comic timing. Her wound had already healed. He was too busy acting out his sick little torture scenario to notice. He traced the blade down her leg from her groin to her big toe, on either side. She felt the burn of each slice but it was only an irritation. She was a Healer, flesh wounds healed quickly.
He was practically giddy with excitement. The hideous excuse for a human whispered, “In your worst nightmares, you’ve never imagined what I plan to do to you.”
“Yes, that’
s what all my dates say,” Lexy sparred. She wished someone was here to hear these come backs. They were priceless. She was on fire tonight. She heard the laugh track from an old comedy in her mind as he slid the knife deep into her stomach.
Lexy commentated on his murder skills, “My liver was a little to the left. You missed it by a hair. Do you need a moment to figure this out? Pass me my cell phone and I’ll google it for you?”
He viciously knifed her twice more in the gut and hissed, “Shut up bitch!” It was always exciting in the moments before the psycho realized that the tables had turned and the hunter became the hunted. He began to stare at the table, methodically picking up weapons, gaging her reaction to each one.
Lexy teased, “Oh sweetheart…You’re going to need better weapons than those. Nothing on that table will keep me down for five minutes. Don’t you have a gun or something? It’s way more fun for me when it’s a little bit of a fair fight.”
He whispered in his own special brand of mockery, “You are a piece of meat to me, nothing more. Speak again and I will cut out your tongue and eat it right in front of you.”
Lexy grimaced and shook her head. This sicko talked a good game but she didn’t need the visual of this scrawny, creepy guy devouring her tongue. She watched him choose his instrument of torture. He looked rather pleased with himself as he turned around to find her sitting up on the metal bed, casually tearing the duct tape off her arms.
Lexy sighed, “You know duct tape sticks to the hairs on your arms. You have no self-preservation skills. How have you gotten away with killing people for this long? You’re definitely not the sharpest tool in the shed, are you? Think about all of that pesky D.N.A evidence you’re leaving behind.” She noticed his eyes wander to her healed wounds. There it was…Bingo. He looked confused for a spilt second before running at her with his weapon of choice. She casually smacked it out of his hand, then slapped him across the face. Lexy hissed, “Simmer down cupcake. Trust me; you don’t want to see me upset.”