Love and Bloodlust: The Sacred Objects

by Melinda Clark

  Avery shook herself free of the destructive thought, as to not darken her date further. She noticed Talon had gone quiet on her. "What about you? Do you have any family?"

  "No, they have all passed."

  "You don't have anyone?"

  Talon shook his head in response.

  Avery empathized. "Don't you get lonely?"

  "It’s a lonely life without family, isn’t it?" He looked into her eyes for the first time that night, their blue icy-ness catching her off guard. Their conversation was cut short by an echoing scream. They both froze, just feet away from the front door of the restaurant.

  "Did you hear that?" Avery yelled. What, now she couldn’t even go on a date without vampires interfering? And what a night to wear heels! Her feet were going to make her suffer later. She ran off in the direction of the cry.

  Talon yelled after her. "Wait, shouldn't we call the police or something?!"

  The majority of the time, when you hear a scream and go after it, you'll be too late the moment you get there. Tonight was different. The three vampires were under a street lamp on a back road, surrounding the woman: toying with her. Does terror make the blood taste better or something? Or are they just sick bastards? Avery thought before overhearing one of them saying, "Don't worry, this will only hurt for a moment."

  Avery commented, "I wish I could say the same for you."

  All three turned to face her. The terrified woman took the opportunity to run away.

  "Look, she made us lose our snack," commented one.

  "I guess she will have to do then," said another.

  Avery pulled a stake out of her purse before she dropped it on the ground. Always be prepared, even if the purse is huge and doesn’t match anything you’re wearing. She snickered at her personal joke as the three creatures gathered in front of her. Talon had run up behind her and looked like he was deciding whether or not to help. Now he would be added to the 'men who think Avery is crazy' list. Surely word would get around, and she'd never date in this town again. She was again reminded that every date usually ended badly because of this. Would she ever get a break?

  As the vampires rushed at her, she kicked one of them into another, and Talon was suddenly next to her, throwing the other vampire off to the side. He stood back to back with her as they faced their opponents. "Three versus one isn't really fair...."

  Avery was astounded by his bravery. But bravery wasn't going to save his ass from getting hurt. "You don't know what you're up against!"

  Talon cracked his neck from side to side. "I can take care of myself. Can you?"

  They parted. Avery dodged a few blows and then staked the vampire in front of her. Talon kicked his opponent in the side of the head and sent that vampire staggering back. Avery got kicked in the stomach and tried to catch her breath. The vampire that assaulted her hissed and took his opportunity to attack, lunging to bite her. Talon grabbed her attacker by the back of the neck and slung him backward. Random kicks and punches were thrown between Talon and the vampire before the vampire landed a couple good hits to Talon's face. Avery was panic-stricken for him. She would never forgive herself if she allowed Talon to be killed, especially over something he should have never been involved in. Avery picked up her wooden stake from the ground by her feet, but stopped in her tracks. The vampire had hit Talon in the face once more and Talon’s eyes turned blood red as he bared his fangs with a deep-throated growl.

  The pale skin. The beauty. The fighting skill. Holy shit. How could I not have noticed? It’s my job to notice! Avery was furious, to say the least. She lunged for Talon's back with her stake in hand. Talon moved in time for Avery to stake the vampire he was fighting. His teeth retracted before he spoke to her, "What are you doing?!"

  "You're one of them!" Avery yelled and aimed for his heart once again. Talon grabbed her wrist before she could connect.

  "Hey! I'm on your side!"

  While they argued, the third vampire must have thought himself forgotten. He tried to gain the upper hand by going at Avery's back. Talon took the stake from her hands, flung Avery aside by her wrist, and stuck it deep into the vampire's chest cavity. Within a couple of seconds, the vampire burst into ash. Talon turned to Avery. "See, I..."

  Avery caught Talon off-guard as she punched him in the face, sending him stumbling back a couple steps. While coddling his nose, Talon joked, "Does this mean we aren't going to dinner?"

  Avery let his blazer fall to the ground, picked up her purse, and backed away. "Come near me again, and I will kill you."

  "Wait!" Talon yelled after her. He wiped the blackened blood from his nose.

  His plea echoed in her ears as she ran off in the direction of her home. Luckily, it was only a couple blocks away. This whole situation was messed up in so many ways. She went out on a date with one of the hellions! She should have known all that gentleman crap was an act. She cursed at herself the rest of the way home.

  When she arrived at her front door, and the adrenaline wore off, she recognized her physical pain. Blood dripped off her feet from her heels rubbing on her. They formed blisters that burst and then continued to get grated on by her movement. She had no time to take them off. She just wanted to get the hell out of there. She hoped her sore feet would heal soon. With any luck, they wouldn't affect her abilities for the next few days. But it wasn't as if she hadn't pushed on with a twisted ankle or similar injuries before. Avery took her shoes off, dug her keys out of her bottomless pit of a purse, and entered her sanctuary to find Kyrie watching television in the living room. She was relieved to see her sister home much sooner than what had been mentioned earlier. Days she had to go looking for her sister were ones filled with anxiety.

  Kyrie turned to face her. "How'd it go, Sissy?"

  Avery pretended not to hear her out of shame. She didn’t want to explain anything, she just needed to soak her feet in some cold water, and fast. The pain was nauseating. She dropped her purse and shoes on the nearby chair and went immediately to the bathroom without a peep, trying her best not to slam the door behind herself.

  "Okay..." Kyrie commented before continuing on with her late-night channel surfing.

  Talon’s nose had quickly healed, though he was still wiping dried blood from his face. He couldn’t believe that Avery had sucker punched him. But oddly, it did not turn him off. The evening’s events made him even more curious about her. She never really smiled, but when she fought, she had a slight smirk on her face that was almost disturbing. He had to make sure she had gotten home okay. He watched through the living room window as Avery limped away, disappearing into what he assumed was a restroom, and a younger girl sighed with exasperation; too similar-looking to be anything but her sibling she had spoken of. He hadn’t meant for her to find out what he was, he even tried to dial back his strength, but his anger exposed him in the fight. How would he be able to see her again now? He turned and disappeared into the darkness.

  In a spacious, elegant dining room dimly lit by chandeliers, Gunner, the head vampire is surrounded by a large group of vampires who did their duty to listen carefully to his every word.

  "Tomorrow, you're going here," he pointed to a map of the city that was spread across the marble top table, "to retrieve the object of interest." Gunner made eye contact with his subordinates. "Don't be the one who screws this up, or you answer to me."

  In a room above them, Daedra kneeled upon the cold wood floor. Almost a hundred black candles are lit around her. She hummed with satisfaction as she finished drawing out her circle in black charcoal beneath her.

  "It's only a matter of time," she interrupted her own thoughts with a snicker. "And with a little patience, I will be able to destroy that damn vampire with my own hands.

  CHAPTER 3

  The sun was high in the autumn sky, but the air was chilled and created a tight stinging sensation in the back of her throat. Avery arrived in a downtown office building, her folders and coffee in hand. She dashed to the elevator and frantically pressed the third
floor and close-door buttons. She had slept in again. It was nearly 2 o’clock when she had needed to be there at 10 am. How could she keep a day job and do her extracurricular activities at night? A bad feeling crept into her gut when the steel doors opened to reveal her boss. He was the average, fifty-something white male in an ugly suit, with a comb-over and a condescending disposition.

  "Why, Avery. Happy you could make it. Come to my office."

  Avery spilled a little coffee on her blouse before he turned around. She wasn't afraid of creatures of the night, but at this moment, she dreaded this man. She couldn't afford to lose this job; for Kyrie's sake, if anything else. Avery followed a few paces behind the man into his office, catching the eyes of a few fellow employees as they went. Her boss shut the door behind them. He didn't even invite her to sit as he did on his side of the desk, leaving her awkwardly standing by the door. Maybe she could appeal to his better nature?

  "Mr. Jovovich, I...”

  "You're late to work more than I can count. And not just a few minutes or an hour. Half the day late."

  "But," she pleaded.

  "And frankly, that's not doing me or this company any good."

  "I...”

  "I’m afraid you're fired."

  He wouldn't let her get a word in edgewise. Avery figured it couldn't get any worse, so she dropped all his paperwork to the floor and her cup of joe on top of it before taking her leave. Her desk was right outside his office with all her things already in a box. She grabbed it, walking out with a smile on her face, so as to make it look like she was happy to be let go. Her co-workers continued to watch in silence.

  During the bus ride she had waited almost an hour for, Avery tried to convince herself that this was for the best. That there were better opportunities for her. But when the afterglow of what she had defiantly done left her, she put her head in her hands and remained motionless for the rest of the ride.

  Avery arrived home just after sunset. She chose to spend the last three hours of daylight filling out applications while having a bite to eat and thinking about her limited options over a margarita. After struggling with the knob a moment, she dropped her box of junk inside the front door.

  "Kyrie, I got some bad news," Avery froze when she saw Talon on her couch. Her sister accompanied him. "What is he doing here?!"

  Kyrie jumped up to explain, "He is here for you. I told him to come in and wait until you got home."

  "You invited him in?!"

  Talon spoke to Kyrie, "See, can't you tell how much your sister likes me?"

  Kyrie looked from Talon to Avery with unease. "Did I do something wrong?"

  Something wrong? She let a vampire into our apartment! He could have hurt Kyrie, or worse. Avery looked her little sister up and down. She seemed alright. Maybe he put Kyrie in a trance or something to let him in? Surely her sister was not that stupid. Being invited in, Talon could now come and go as he pleased; but not if she could help it. She felt it was time to make good on the promise she made him last night.

  "Kyrie, please leave us for a moment."

  "Whatever," Kyrie rolled her eyes and went into her room.

  As soon as the door shut, Talon raised an eyebrow at her with a smile on his face. "We're going to have a moment?"

  Avery grabbed the stake from her purse. "That's all it will take for me to kill you."

  Talon slowly stood up and held his hands in front of his chest in surrender. "Look, if I meant you or your sister harm, I would have caused it by now."

  She inched toward him, her stake raised in a position that rivaled a scorpion's tail. "Then what are you doing here?"

  "Apologizing."

  That caught her off guard. Did she just hear that right? Avery stopped moving forward but kept her weapon ready.

  "What?"

  Talon put his hands down. "I didn't intend to deceive you, I just wanted to..."

  "Bite me?"

  "Get to know you."

  "Oh, that's so touching," she responded as sarcastically as possible.

  Talon put his hands in his jacket pockets and started to leave. "I've said what I had to. Have a good night."

  Avery let him pass her. She couldn’t kill him with Kyrie in the house unless she absolutely had to. She wouldn’t subject her sister to any of it. When he got to the door, she let slip her mind.

  "What's your deal?" They turned to face each other. She continued, "I'm supposed to believe you're on my side? A ‘good vampire’ who kills other vampires, right? Why?"

  "Guess I'm trying to make up for all the bad I've done...so I won't burn."

  "Only something with a soul should worry about the afterlife."

  Talon stood silent, with an expression that looked as if he had been slapped. “How do you know I don’t have a soul?”

  She didn’t know. But she had to tell herself something logical to explain how anyone could kill innocent people on a daily basis and feel nothing about it. “How do I know you’re not trying to use me for something?” Avery clutched the stake in her hand to the point where it started to splinter her palm.

  “I guess you don’t,” Talon muttered and took his leave.

  Avery jumped at the door to lock it behind him and leaned against it, taking deep breaths. She was aggravated with herself that she had said anything and let him go rather than sweeping him up in the dust pan. Is it even possible for a vampire to have a soul? Why did she even care? She brushed away her conundrum and went after her sister in order to yell at her for letting a stranger in the house. Before her knuckles could graze her sister's bedroom door, she heard speaking. She eavesdropped.

  "And watch over Avery. She won't talk to me, but I pray she finds comfort confiding in you."

  She’s praying. Something Avery had never done a day in her life.

  Avery withdrew to her own room. She flicked on the light and mentally noted that she needed to clean up this weekend. She sat on the edge of her wood-framed queen-sized bed to take her shoes off when Kyrie walked in.

  "So, what did he want?" the attitude-laden girl asked. Sounds just like me.

  "To apologize," Avery fixated her gaze on the white wall in front of her and continued to prepare herself for bed. Maybe she was paranoid, but either way, she most certainly didn't feel like talking about her problems with a teenager. She felt that if she made eye contact with her sister, her secrets would be exposed to her.

  "Did you forgive him?"

  "No," Avery sounded disgusted.

  "So you won't be seeing him anymore?"

  Avery didn't answer. Kyrie continued, "So what was the bad news?"

  "Nothing to worry about," she turned to her sister and faked a half-smile.

  "Okay, if you say so,” Kyrie shuffled in place. “I’ll be in my room reading the rest of the evening, so...goodnight, Sissy."

  Avery put her head in her hands as she had earlier. Seemed to be the only thing she could do to calm her stress. "Night," she muffled and focused on her door clicking shut and Kyrie shuffling away. She needed to get another job and fast. The last thing Avery needed was her sister freaking out over financial problems. More importantly, though, she needed to feel as if everything was going to be okay. She had enough to deal with, then to top it off with her date being a soul-sucking vampire… Some part of her knew he was too good to be true. All her relationships were that way. Avery threw aside her slippers and grabbed her boots.

  As she stealthily headed for the front door, her eye caught on the roses in the vase on the kitchen counter. Anger bubbled up in her, and without delay, she threw them into the trash.

  A blonde vampire knelt before where his master, Gunner, was seated. Gunner twiddled with his gothic cross necklace, his dark eyes narrowing in irritation, “What?”

  "My lord, we've successfully collected the first sacred object. We have a team assembled and ready to go after the next when the witch locates it." The vampire handed a roll of parchment over to Gunner, who breathed in heavily with elation.

  "The Scrolls
of Eden," he studied his treasure a moment before remembering he was not alone. "Get out of my sight."

  The blonde newbie vampire bowed his head in respect and scurried away. At least that is the term Gunner would use for them. When he looked at these ‘newbie’ vamps around him, all sired in the last decade, all he could think about were rats. They had no courage or smarts, blatantly frenzying over their meals. They would lack organization and turn on each other in an instant if not for him. They only survived by being controlled. If they weren’t useful as lackeys, he would have ripped their heads clean off years ago. This was not how vampires of his day lived their eternal lives.

  "Why was I chosen to lead such idiots?" Gunner muttered to himself and was surprised to find an answer.

  "You're meant to resurrect the power of Cain for those idiots, Gunner," Daedra appeared from behind him, in the shadows. He hated how he couldn't sense her approach. She popped up unannounced, often. In milliseconds he had her by her throat, up against the wall.

  "You are my servant and will call me master," his dark eyes peered intensely into her own, seeping with a blood color and back until he dropped her to her feet.

  Daedra held her throat while spitting out, "Of course. But don’t forget that you're the one who needs me."