A Vampire's Kiss

by Alexis Taylor

  “Sorry, I only speak English,” Ryan said, and the attendant nodded in understanding. Then, in a very thick accent, he told Ryan that they got plenty of American visitors, so it was nothing he was unused to. He then proceeded to tell Ryan about a variety of rooms they had available, and Ryan opted for the smallest, least expensive one. Despite what he saved on airfare, in the back of his mind he knew that he would regret spending more than he absolutely needed on this trip when he got back to Boston.

  The attendant checked him in quickly, and gave him directions to his room. Ryan carried his bag up the stairs to the second floor, where he made a right at a fork in the hallway and came to his door. Room 41.

  He swiped the key card through the sensor and walked in. The room wasn’t much, but it would do. A single bed lay in the far corner, and one doorway leading to the bathroom was visible. Aside from that, it was a pretty cramped space. Ryan didn’t mind. He sat down on the bed and took out his phone, dialing Veronica’s number.

  “Hey you,” a sweet voice answered him.

  “Hey,” Ryan said back. “Guess where I am?”

  “Umm… you’re probably not in Boston,” she said teasingly, “and chances are, you’re not in Ibiza…”

  “You’re getting closer,” Ryan said playfully.

  “Oh, but this is a tough one! Can I get a hint?”

  “A hint? Hmm… well, I can tell you that I can be by your villa in mere minutes.”

  “No way!” she said excitedly in mock surprise. “I would have never guessed you were here!”

  “That’s right. And, lucky for us, it’s still bright outside… although I don’t know for how much longer.”

  “You’re right. Why don’t you come on over and drop your stuff off, and we can go out?”

  “Actually, I already booked a room in a hotel.”

  “Oh. I thought you were going to stay with me?”

  “I thought a hotel would be better. But that doesn’t meant I don’t want to see you! Let’s take advantage of what little daylight we have left and meet up. I take it you know the place better than me… maybe you can show me around?”

  “I can do that.”

  “Great. You want to meet me, or shall I meet you?”

  “I have a car I can use. So it’ll be easier for me to come to you.”

  “Sure, that’s fine with me. My hotel is called the Ceraseti – do you know where it is?”

  “Um… I recognize the name, I think I can find it. If I don’t, I can always call you.”

  “And tell me you decided to leave my all by myself in this strange, new country?” Ryan laughed.

  “Yes, to ditch you completely with no hope of ever getting back to Boston,” she played along. “But seriously, I’ll probably be there in like twenty minutes.”

  “Sounds good to me. I’ll be waiting in the lobby.”

  “Ok, I’ll see you there.”

  “See you.”

  Veronica’s phone clicked off, and Ryan turned his phone in his hand. So this was really happening – he was really going to meet the girl he was starting to get feelings for in a completely foreign country. It all seemed so surreal.

  Twenty minutes later, Ryan was sitting outside the small hotel, enjoying the evening’s last rays of sunlight, when a small red Mini drove up to the front and sounded its horn. Ryan looked up, and saw Veronica in the driver’s seat. She put the car in park, and rushed out to greet Ryan. She jumped to him, and he took her by the hips and spun her around once, making her laugh. Then he planted a small kiss on her lips.

  “It’s good to see you,” he said.

  “It’s good to see you, too,” she answered, and hugged him tightly again.

  “So, where are you planning on taking me?” Ryan asked once she let go.

  “There’s actually a bit of a festival going on in the city,” Veronica explained. “They have street performers, good food, music playing, great crowds – that sort of thing.”

  “Sounds great.”

  “I haven’t been there yet, actually.”

  “I’m honored you chose me as your date, then,” Ryan laughed.

  “Yea,” Veronica smiled, and walked around to the driver’s side of the car. “Come on, let’s get going.”

  Ryan got in the car, and Veronica drove off.

  Not long after, they were parking amidst a crowded city street. Veronica had been right about the festival drawing great crowds – the sidewalks were packed with people as far as Ryan could see, and everybody was laughing with friends and enjoying themselves.

  They walked around, exploring the sights and sounds of the place. The evening air had a lively buzz to it, and street performers of all ilk showed off their craft on corners, drawing large crowds gathered around them. Some performed acrobatics, while others spun twirling rods of fire faster than Ryan could believe, while others still gave incredible magic shows. There was laughter and energy in the atmosphere of a completely different sort than what he remembered from the night-life in Ibiza. There weren’t many people drinking, here – and if they were, it was only in small amounts. This was a lot more… wholesome. And Ryan noticed quite a few families with kids walking around, nibbling on snacks that vendors provided and just having a great time.

  Which was to say, this type of environment was exactly what Ryan had in mind when he told Veronica he wanted to make things up to her. It was the perfect opportunity to get to know her as a person, learning about her past, her hopes for the future, her goals and dreams. To have a chance to really understand who she was inside.

  Which is how Ryan found himself sitting on a park bench, a few hours later in the evening, with an arm wrapped around her shoulder, listening to her tell him about her family.

  “…and my dad’s been a pilot his whole life. I didn’t get to see him much because of that as a little girl. He’d be gone for two or three weeks at a time, and then come back for maybe a week or a week and a half and stay at home. He’d take me and my sister out a lot when he was back, to small restaurants and amusement parks and things like that, to try to spend more time with us… but as we grew up, we just kind of faded away from each other. My sister and I would be going out more, so we’d be less likely to do anything with him. And then when I went away to college, well – as you can imagine – our relationship kind of completely evaporated.”

  “What about your sister? Is she older, or younger?”

  “She’s older by a few years. Actually, she just finished her MBA from a school in Washington. She decided to stay close to home for that. But she came here, to Italy, with us.”

  “That’s cool. And your mother?”

  “Oh, she’s back home in Seattle. The villa we have here is owned by my grandparents… on my dad’s side. They don’t really get along with my mom too well, which is why she stayed home. But my sister and I thought it’d be a great time to see our dad, who’s here with us now.”

  “That’s nice. So you’re kind of making up for lost time with your dad, now?”

  “Yea, something like that,” she sighed. “It’s too bad we saw him so little growing up. He loved us a lot, but sometimes relationships just fade. That’s why me and my sister wanted to come on this trip. Now that we’re more grown up, I think we realize the importance of family, and wanted to rekindle our relationship with our dad.”

  “So how’s that going?”

  “Pretty great, actually,” she laughed. “He was really excited when we told him about this trip, and I spent all day today with him and my sister. Actually,” her eyes lit up, “maybe tomorrow you could come with us!”

  “Come with you where?”

  “My sister just got her helicopter license, and I’ve never been on one before. We were going to fly over the city, just me and her… but I don’t think she’d mind if you came along.”

  “Sure, that sounds great,” Ryan said. “I don’t think I’ve ever told anyone this, but… I used to be a little bit afraid of heights, growing up.”

  “Oh, I’ll k
eep you safe on the copter,” Veronica said sweetly, and snuggled closer into Ryan.

  “Thank you,” he said, and placed his head on top of hers. This was a really nice time they were having, in a perfect environment. And damn, Ryan thought to himself, Veronica smells amazing.

  Suddenly Ryan’s eyes caught movement in the distance, in front of them. A man in a long overcoat, which was unusual for this weather, was making his way towards their bench. Ryan looked around, and saw that there weren’t any other people near. The man kept walking towards them, somewhat uncertainly, and Ryan saw that his hand was in his pocket. From which protruded a pointed shape. A gun?

  “Hey, what’s that guy doing?” Ryan whispered to Veronica.

  “Who?” she asked, squinting.

  “The one walking towards us,” Ryan said quietly. The man was still maybe a hundred feet away, but his eyes were locked on Ryan and Veronica.

  “Walking towards us? What are you talking about? How can you even see in this darkness?”

  “Darkness?” Ryan could see as well as he had all evening. Then he noticed that to his side, running down the street, a series of streetlamps were turned on. Strange – for his eyes, there was no need for the lamps. But he noticed them nonetheless, saw the slight difference in brightness under their glare. If the streetlights were on, it meant that it was already past dusk… Ryan looked up in the sky, and saw stars instead of the sun. “Veronica,” he whispered, “how long ago did the sun go down?”

  “Maybe an hour?”

  “An hour?” To Ryan’s eyes, it wasn’t even dusk yet. He could see everything around him perfectly. He’d never had great night vision before, but his sight now was completely unparalleled. In fact, he could see as far as he could on any cloudy day.

  He looked again to the man, who was still walking towards them. A twisted smile appeared on his lips, and he appeared to be talking to himself. Ryan could see that his hair was completely disheveled.

  “You can’t see the man walking towards us?” he asked her again.

  “Ryan, what are you talking about?” Veronica asked worriedly. “You’re scaring me.” So she couldn’t see him. For whatever reason, Ryan’s eyes were working a lot better in the dark – and it was working to his benefit.

  “Just sit still and don’t move,” Ryan whispered back, and watched the man warily as he approached them. His hand was still in his pocket, and as he came closer and closer, Ryan became more sure that he was holding a gun.

  Suddenly, Veronica gasped. “I can see him!” she whispered urgently.

  “Don’t worry,” Ryan assured her. “I’ll take care of this.” The muscles in his body started to tense, and he could feel adrenaline start to pump through his veins.

  The man came even closer, and Ryan could hear what he was saying. It was an incoherent mess of words, and seemed like he was arguing with himself: “…young couple…hee hee… can’t do it… need to do it… yes, yes, they can’t see you… take action! do it now!… need to wait… no, now, har har…”

  They were the words of a lunatic.

  Veronica sat up as the man came even closer. Ryan saw the man wobble his hand out of his pocket. Sure enough, he held a small pistol. He kept it at his side, however, and Ryan didn’t move. The man stopped mumbling, and came up right in front of them.

  “Ni-i-ice night for a date, isn’t it?” the man said in a shaky voice.

  “Yes,” Ryan answered tersely.

  “An-and, even nicer, a nicer day for me!” Ryan saw the man raise his gun from his hip to point it at them. “You, you see this?” he asked, looking down at the weapon, “I’m n-not afraid to use it, you know. But I don’t have to. I don’t have to. J-just give me your wallets, and I’ll be on my way. N-nobody has to be hurt.”

  Ryan nodded. “Ok.” His heart started pounding loudly, but not from nervousness. Instead, he felt a sense of… excitement? “Just let me get my wallet,” Ryan said, and slowly reached into his jean pocket. The man looked from side to side nervously.

  “H-hurry up,” the man said. “I d-don’t have all d-d-day.” The gun was shaking wildly in his hand.

  “Ok, just relax,” Ryan said soothingly. “I have my wallet in my hand. I’m going to pull it out, and hand it to you.” Ryan could hear Veronica’s quickened breath at his side.

  “A-and your lady friend, too,” the man said. “I w-want hers, t-too.”

  “That’s fine,” Ryan agreed. “Just let me give you mine first.” He extended his hand slowly forward, holding his wallet. As the man reached for it with his free hand, Ryan made his move.

  Everything happened at once.

  Moving faster than he ever thought possible, Ryan surged up from the bench and hit the man’s gun away with his free hand. A look of shock blossomed on the man’s face, but it lasted only long enough for Ryan to deftly slam a first square into the man’s nose. The man stumbled back, grasping his face, and Ryan wasted no time smashing his shoulder into the man’s midsection, knocking him over. His head rebounded off the ground roughly, and Ryan saw the man’s eyes glazed over.

  “Oh my god!” Veronica screamed, but Ryan was already kneeling down by the man, making sure he was knocked out. A trail of blood trickled down his face from where Ryan’s fist undoubtedly broke his nose, but he was breathing – raggedly. He wouldn’t be up again for a long time.

  He felt Veronica rush over to him, and pull him up by his shoulders. “Oh my god, Ryan, how did you do that?!” she exclaimed once he was up. Pure bewilderment twisted her face.

  “You were in danger,” he said simply, “and I couldn’t let him get away with that.”

  “Wow, Ryan, that was incredible! The way you moved – you were so fast! I’ve never seen anybody move that quickly. You were a blur! And you did it for me!”

  “Who knows what he would have done, otherwise.”

  “Wow. That was the most heroic thing I’ve ever seen!”

  “Come on,” Ryan said, “we’d better get out of here. Sooner or later somebody’s going to walk by and notice this guy.” Veronica nodded, and allowed Ryan to lead her away.

  They hurried away from the park, into the busier areas of town. Here, there were still people around, Ryan saw thankfully. That meant it was unlikely anyone was going to single him and Veronica out should the police start asking questions later. The adrenaline burst he felt had died down, but strangely, Ryan felt very… serene. There was no nervousness when he assaulted the man, or even after, replaying it all in his mind, all he could remember of the moment was a merciless calmness that washed over him. As if fighting off the man was the most natural thing in the world.

  Suddenly, as he and Veronica were rushing to the car, Ryan became painfully aware of all the other people around. But not just all the other people. It was something about each of them in particular, something that they all shared in common.

  He started noticing their necks.

  Everywhere he looked, his eyes instant zeroed in on a person’s neck. An overwhelming urge – similar to what he felt when he was fucking Veronica, but not quite as powerful – started to come over him. An urge to sink his teeth deeply into any one of those exposed necks. He struggled to make himself look away, to look at his feet. What the hell was going on?

  “Ryan? Ryan, are you ok?” Veronica tugged on his arm. She must have picked up on it.

  “I’m fine,” he answered gruffly, but did not look at her. He could not risk losing control with her. He did not want to risk… that feeling… overwhelm him if his eyes even grazed her neck.

  “No, you’re not,” she said, and pushed his head up to meet her eyes. He shuddered, scared of what might happen, but when he saw her, he felt… a sense of protectiveness. Her neck did not call to him at all. He sighed in relief.

  “You look pale,” she said, furrowing her eyebrows. “What you did back there… that took a lot of guts. You shouldn’t worry. You did the right thing.”

  “I did the right thing protecting you,” he said without thinking. Her eyes
widened in surprise, and then she nodded.

  “Thank you,” she told him, and stood up on tiptoe to kiss him. When their lips met, that overwhelming passion, that uncontrollable lust, started to rapidly form in Ryan’s body. He pulled away quickly, scared of what it might make him do. Everywhere around him – out of the corner of his eye, in his peripherals – all he could see was other people’s necks.

  “Let’s get out of here,” he told Veronica, taking her hand. She nodded, and led him away. He reverted his gaze back to his feet. The sooner he was out of here, away from all these people, the better.

  ~

  CHAPTER TEN

  Ryan slumped against his hotel room door. Convincing Veronica that he wanted to be alone tonight was a struggle, but he managed to do it. She seemed upset with him, though, and tried her best to change his mind. She whispered in his ear how much she wanted to make it up to him as soon as they were alone in her bedroom. She kissed his cheek, tracing her tongue delicately along his jawline, and put her hand softly on his crotch when she parked in front of the hotel. She even followed him up the stairs, pushing him roughly against the wall and kissing him thoroughly in the hallway. But he had to reject all that, to turn it all down, because he didn’t know how safe it was. How safe it was for her to be with him. How safe it was tonight, with his unnatural desire coming to fruition all over again. He promised he would see her tomorrow, but that caused her to sniff and turn away. At least she was gone.

  Unbidden, an image of Giselle flashed in his mind. She had something to do with all this, he was sure. But he couldn’t find out unless he spoke to her. He had hoped leaving Ibiza behind would also let him forget about the bizarre desire he felt for Veronica’s neck – which it did, in part. The result now, however, was that he noticed everybody else’s necks, and felt a very compelling drive to tear his teeth into the smooth flesh without mercy.