Beating Hearts

by Lucretia Stanhope

  She decided to do a little shopping online before she set to the unpleasant thoughts of what to do about that club. Her instincts told her to call the police or FBI even, but Nick said it wouldn't help, and she learned the hard way to trust him on vampire matters. She pushed the thoughts from her mind and started browsing couches. She imagined it would need to be something special, to accommodate them both laying there and cuddling, and she wanted it to be soft enough for when she wanted to sleep down there close to him. After much browsing, she settled on an extra-large lounger, in muted browns. He had said to order other things, but she couldn't think of anything else she needed online, so she decided to head to town and do some grocery shopping.

  She stopped at a big box store while she was in town and grabbed a jacket, hers wasn't heavy enough for the nights, which seemed to be growing colder. She knew it was daylight, and there were no vampires, but she still found herself looking over her shoulder, half expecting to see Warren sneering at her. Once she saw his face, her mind drifted to those other people. She wondered how many of them were still alive, and how many new ones had been added since she left.

  They needed a plan, and they needed it fast. They at the very least needed to stop that Teddy guy from getting more, until they could figure out how to handle the rest. She puzzled over what to do as she shopped, and was still puzzling back at Nick's house while she put away the things she bought. When she was done, there was still so much day left, too much time without Nick. She gathered her blankets and decided to take a nap. She felt extra tired and her mind spun in circles uselessly. She thought back to making love to Nick and smiled before she drifted off.

  S he was still sleeping when Nick woke. He assumed the last few days took a toll on her, so he left her to sleep while he sorted something to drink, and then he walked outside. Things certainly changed now, he thought as he walked the yard, and made sure nothing unwelcome had entered his territory. He wondered how he was going to be able to make this right for her. He knew he was going to do anything he could, anything in his power to undo what Warren did to her brave spirit.

  As he approached the house, he saw Kate sitting on the swing, she sipped what he assumed was coffee. “Did you sleep well?” he asked.

  “I did. I was only going to take a nap, but I guess I needed more.” She watched as he walked up the steps and sat beside her.

  He kissed her forehead and put an arm around her. “Did you have a nice time in town?” He noticed there was fresh food in the fridge.

  “Oh yes, aside from looking over my shoulder for monsters.” She sipped another big sip of her drink before she leaned into him. “I don't usually feel scared and helpless like that.”

  “You are not helpless. You may need my help right now, but I may well need your help one day too.”

  She looked at him and smiled. “I appreciate you saying that, but I can't imagine you ever needing my help.”

  “You can't? You, who is in complete control all day while I am as helpless as a baby? Wouldn't you help me if we were stuck out in the day, and I needed you to watch over me?”

  “Of course I would.” She reached out and took his hand in hers.

  Her touch was still magical, and sent hot tingles racing outward from his hand. “You see, no one, is above vulnerabilities. Not even Warren.”

  She sat back with a serious look on her face. “I thought about that, while I was shopping.”

  “I assumed as much.”

  “I think I should go there during the day, the day-man will come outside as soon as he sees anything suspicious and I can be ready and knock him out with a bat or something. Then I can go in get the people out, and set Warren on fire.”

  “Yikes, and no.”

  “Why not? It will save you having to face both Teddy and Warren in one night.”

  “Yes and will put you in great danger. You don't imagine he leaves just one man in charge? Or that it could really be that simple?”

  “Maybe there is a back way in. I could sneak in and get the people out, at the very least.”

  “There is a back way in, it may not be so heavily guarded since only the gatherer uses it, but once inside you would still have to deal with his thugs and there would be more than one.”

  “Gatherer?”

  “Teddy I imagine, the one who is bringing in new humans every night.”

  “You know how to get to this entrance?”

  “I do, but it won't really help. The humans will be in the club, and that means I would still have to get past Warren to get to them.”

  “Yes, but during the day, I could go, set them free and then at night, you could stop Teddy from getting more. Then we could get Warren,” she said, and paused, her pupils growing larger and her heart starting to race.

  He saw the look in her eyes and knew that she had started to put things together. “I was in a very dark place then, Kate.”

  Her eyes searched his as she tried to come to terms with what had been implied. He knew where that door was, the door the gatherer used. There would only be a few reasons to know that, and only one reason that made sense.

  “Oh Nick,” she said and felt a wave of nausea.

  “I can't make excuses. There is nothing in my past darker than those days. You have to believe that as soon as I realized how they were treated, as soon as I knew...” He paused and watched as she closed her eyes, clearly disgusted, as he had expected, as she should be.

  “But you took them, gave them to Warren?”

  “Yes. Yes, and it will never make it better, but I do want to shut that place down, just as you do.”

  “I'm not sure I can, I just can't see, you. I mean I know you have killed, I know you said you were a menace, but you worked for, helped that monster?”

  “I should have told you sooner.”

  “I think we should start with that Teddy man. At least if we can stop him, then the flow of new victims stops,” she said, clearly not wanting to think about what he had done anymore. She knew it wasn't him now and her mind struggled to connect him with that place at all.

  “I had been thinking the same thing. Teddy will be mine to handle. He is far too dangerous for you to be around.” He was shocked and glad she moved on so quickly, even though he imagined it would come up again.

  “Not alone, Nick, you can't go alone.”

  “You can't be around him, not anywhere near him.” He looked at her with a stern look on his face.

  “I can go with you, stay in town. I won't send you off alone to die,” she said in protest to his demand.

  “I love that you are so stubborn, love it and hate it all at the same time. There are some things we will need if you are going to a city, at night, while I am to be so preoccupied.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like a stake, like a marker, several markers,” he said, and kissed her. He intended it to be a peck on the cheek, just to test if she still saw him as anything but a monster, but she turned to him and kissed him fully, catching him off guard. Every time they kissed, it had the same effect of white hot prickles on his lips that radiated, making him crave more. Deeper kisses, more touching, more skin.

  She had kissed him, wanting to see if she still felt passion for him after his admission, and was a little startled at herself that she had. His past was just that, and he was still the man she wanted to be with, still the man that had been timid and careful with her. He was the man who went to great lengths to make sure she was safe. “What are markers?” she asked, breaking the kiss.

  He made a slight sound of displeasure as she pulled away. “They are basically the same as what I did when I smeared my blood on you before, when we went to the bar. Markers are designed so that the scent carries. They will let others know that you are mine. Let them know there will be hell to pay for trampling on another man's territory. When a lesser vampire senses the mark, they will not hurt you. It will serve as a valuable shield.”

  “Do vampires mark in a permanent way? Does it hurt?”

&
nbsp; “Oh yes.” He pulled her closer to him. “I wouldn't mark you like that. I would never hurt you. I will use charms, I will need to get some, but you can take them off at will.”

  “How is it done? The permanent way, I mean?” she asked, with her curious reporter tone as she eyed him.

  “I would have to bite you, and then heal the wound with a dab of my blood. While it would not be enough to change you, my blood would be a part of you forever. My scent would be on you. You would be mine, and no one would dare touch you.”

  “Have you ever marked anyone before?”

  “No, I never wanted anyone, not like I want you. Not human or otherwise.”

  “Then why use charms?”

  Was she asking for a mark? Did she want to be his forever? He felt a need in him rising, the need to have her, to make love to her again. He pushed that urge back down. “Because to mark you permanently, as a human, would hurt you badly. You would be ill for days; it would be such a dark painful thing to have between us. It doesn't mean I want you less, it doesn't mean you are not mine. I still want to possess every ounce of you. I would never hurt you like that, and I would never turn you into something you are not.”

  She thought about what he was saying, it made her feel safer. She knew he wanted her, that had been so pleasingly obvious when they made love, but now she felt certain he wanted her as she was, not as what he could make her into, and that made her feel happier than she had ever been. “Thank you, Nick.”

  “We should go shop. I need to get you a good reliable stake, like mine.” He stood and took her hand to help her up.

  “If the charms ward off vampires, why would I need a stake?”

  “They will put off most, but I want to plan for the worse case and that would mean Warren. If he catches my scent on you, you will need a wooden, silver-tipped stake to kill him fast enough that he wouldn't take you with him.”

  Every time she thought about him she felt a wave of fear. She wrapped up in her new jacket, they locked up and left.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “A

  re you worried about Teddy? I know you said he was second generation, but you seem more concerned with Warren,” Kate asked Nick as they drove toward town.

  “Yes and no. He is strong, and will not be easy to take down, but he is not cunning like Warren. So, as long as I think clearly, I should have the upper-hand.” He stopped the car at a small shop on the edge of the city limits. Before he opened his door, he looked at her seriously. “Just as before, this will go smoothly if you stay under my arm, and don't react to anything.”

  “Is this a specialty shop?”

  “Yes, and as a rule they don't sell to humans.”

  He walked around and opened her door, helped her out, and took her under his arm as they walked toward the shop. Inside they were met with some curious looks, and some hateful sneers.

  She knew from her reporting that some vampires were very against keeping junkies, or any human relationships beyond feeding. It wasn't so long ago that both her and Nick felt the same way.

  She nestled closer to him, and kept her eyes down. She noticed the shop had a thick incense smell, and the lighting was yellowed. It reminded her of the kind of place one might go to if they wanted to get bongs, a tie-dyed flag, or something else to give them a peaceful-easy kind of feeling. They meandered through the shop, Nick picked up a few things, and they made their way to the counter.

  The clerk looked to be about thirty, with long brown hair and deep brown eyes. He had pale smooth skin and wore a plain, black button-up shirt. He slowly bagged each thing Nick sat on the counter, and then looked at him harshly. “That will be two-fifty.”

  Nick handed him three bills, and said, “Have a good night.” Then he turned, and they started to walk out.

  “Shameful,” the man said under his breath, but loud enough they could hear him.

  Once in the car, she looked at him puzzled. “What the hell was that all about? Why was he so rude to you?”

  “Stakes only have one purpose, plus we have charms, and then there is you. I should have left you, but I didn't want to be far from you until we have this sorted.”

  “So you think he knew you wanted to hurt another vampire?”

  “Yes, and it is frowned upon in most circles.”

  “So why would they sell stakes, and for that matter why didn't you just make one?”

  “Business is business, and these are special, they are silver-tipped. I didn't have time to make you something like this.”

  “When are we going to go?” she asked, as the realness of what they were doing hit her.

  “Soon, I hope tonight. I don't want you worrying about it anymore.”

  She smiled nervously at him, and watched as the road flew by too fast.

  Once back at the house, he pulled out a suitcase and tossed in a few things. Then he went to the kitchen and drank his fill, while she cooked a fast meal for herself. While they were sat at the table he pulled out the set of charms, that included a necklace, earrings and bracelet. They all had little lockets, and he carefully opened each, and pulled out what looked to her like a wad of cloth.

  “I need to drench these, if you want to leave, do your dishes, the marks will be ready when you are finished.”

  She shook her head and watched as he bit into his wrist. Two drops of blood started to pool, and he used a wad of cloth to wipe one off, turned the cloth over, and wiped the other drop. He repeated that for every charm and then looked at her and smiled. “Don't take these off, not until we are out of the city for good. Please.” He stood up, walked to her, clasped on the necklace, and watched as she put on the earrings and bracelet.

  “Will this be enough for them to smell before they have to get close enough to scare me?” she asked, feeling a new wave of worry wash over her.

  “Yes, you may get curious glances, but no more.” He handed her a small wooden knife with a silver-bladed edge. “Keep this on you at all times as well.”

  She nodded, and took a moment to look at the stake and feel it in her hand as he gathered a few more things.

  Once they had everything together, they got in the car and started toward the highway.

  “Nick, what is the plan when we get there, aside from you going to get Teddy?” Kate asked, as she watched another mile marker pass.

  “We are going to stop outside of town and arrange lodging. There is a place that has windowless rooms. It isn't the nicest place, but we will need that extra feature, because this will take some time, and we won't be able to get home before sunrise.”

  She nodded. “Would it be easier to stay in town? If so, do, I mean don't put yourself at a disadvantage to keep me at a distance.”

  “In town would be very unsafe. Warren would sense me before I could get the trail of Teddy. Teddy will be in the outskirts, looking in the suburbs probably. The undamaged ones, they fetch a higher price, and are not usually from city center.”

  “But how would Warren know you from any other vampire?”

  “Warren and I fought, we fought hard, and drank from each other while trying to get the upper-hand.”

  “So because you drank from each other, you can sense each other stronger now?”

  “Yes, he will more than likely know I am there before we even hit city limits. That, my dear, is why you are staying at the hotel.”

  She looked at him concerned as she remembered Warren, and the face he made when he rubbed her blood on his lip. “Is it like that when you feed on humans?”

  “If you let them live, yes. I understand it is an even stronger connection with humans.”

  The concerned look deepened in her features. “Does it take much? Blood I mean, to make the link so you can sense things?”

  They neared the city, and he pulled off the highway. “No, with our senses it doesn't take much at all.”

  “Would a smudge do it?” she asked, with a tremble in her voice.

  He furrowed his brows. “Why so interested in that aspect?”


  “A lot of vampires tasted my blood while I was there.” She looked out the window to avoid his gaze.

  “I wouldn't worry about that. Most of them would have been muddled generations, and not sense it like Warren or I would. Even if they did sense you, I'm not sure they would care beyond wanting another taste, and you have the charms for that.” He reached over the center console, and squeezed her hand. “It's going to be okay.”

  “But Warren, he would sense it from here? Where we are now? Will he know we are here? Together?”

  “He will know I am here. I am almost certain he won't suspect I am after Teddy.” He paused and looked at her. “He doesn't taste the humans; he didn't take a drop for himself, did he?”

  She looked down. “Not a drop, it was just that, he wiped off a little bit that dripped, and then touched his finger to his lip. He didn't even put it in his mouth. It should be okay, right?” Her tone was panicked, and he could sense her heart racing.

  He pulled into a shady looking motel, and parked. “Had I known that, you would have stayed at home. We need to just turn around now, and I will come back without you. Jesus, he probably sensed you miles ago.”

  “But it wasn't even a drop, surely it wasn't even enough to taste it.”

  Nick closed his eyes, and looked down. “It would be enough. I can't even explain to you how different the world is to us. How much we sense things on a deeper level. We need to go. He will know you are here.”

  “He could think I am with Paul. We need to finish this, Nick, those people, you didn't see the hopeless faces, we are all they have.”

  Nick let out a sigh. It was not best, not even close to good. In fact, it was about as bad as it got. He needed to kill Teddy, and retreat to make a new plan. They couldn't stay there.