Authors: Melanie Tomlin
There was clapping and cheering, and another five vampires joined the group, bringing their numbers to nineteen. How the hell was I going to beat the odds against nineteen vampires!
8.
Taste for Evil
Drake turned his attention back to me. “To make it more sporting, we’ll give you a head start. Say an hour?”
There was hissing as the other vampires disapproved of the amount of time I was to be granted to run from them.
Drake shrugged his shoulders. “I’m sorry. I tried to make it more sporting. Half an hour then, but as she’s at a disadvantage, you,” he pointed to all the vampires in the shelter, “will follow in groups of two, five minutes apart.”
When the hissing turned into angry cries he stomped his foot on the ground and the earth trembled at the sheer force of it. The vampires quietened down.
“Those are the terms of the hunt. Anyone who doesn’t play by my rules will be answerable to me!” Drake’s voice rang with authority. “If you feel you cannot abide by the rules stay here. Am I making myself clear?”
Some murmured and others nodded, though it appeared Drake had made his point. He turned to me apologetically. I wondered if not all vampires were blood-sucking monsters.
“I’m sorry my dear, it’s the best I can do,” he smiled slyly, “unless of course I find you first.
I hunt alone.
”
He turned to his comrades, raised his fist in the air and yelled, “To the victor the spoils!”
In unison, the vampires responded with raised fists and the cry, “To the victor the spoils!”
Drake placed a cold hand on my neck and drew me closer to him, whispering in my ear. “If I find you, I’ll keep you. You’re far too pretty — and important perchance — to be torn to pieces.”
I twisted out of his grasp.
“I’d rather die,” I replied dryly.
He laughed. “You’ve got spirit, there’s no doubt about that. Perhaps the hunt will provide some entertainment after all.”
“What’re we waiting for?” someone yelled.
The vampires blocking the entrance stood aside and Drake waved me on.
“Go!” he yelled. “What are you
waiting
for? You’ve already wasted thirty seconds of your precious head start.”
I ran. I ran as fast as I could, stumbling occasionally on partially hidden rocks and fallen branches. I could feel the adrenaline rushing through my system. The time for a swift flight had come. What I didn’t understand is why my heart wasn’t furiously pumping blood around my body. Instead, it beat as though it were still at rest. Luckily I’d been able to pick up the scent of my captor — with my face buried in his back my nostrils had had their fill of him — and followed his trail, back in the direction we had come. Back to where Danny had left me.
In the distance I could hear the sound of many voices arguing. It was faint, but I knew it was the vampires — dissension among the ranks. I hoped Drake was strong enough to retain his tenuous command over them.
“Come on, Danny, pick the right trail,” I whispered, still running.
The terrain was getting rockier, and with a light rain beginning to fall, treacherously so. After a number of slips, and almost twisting my ankle, I was forced to slow my pace considerably. I hoped the rain would wash my scent away, making it harder for my hunters to find me. This was a double-edged sword, I knew. If they couldn’t follow my scent, chances were the scent trail Danny was following — if he’d found it — would be cleansed as well.
So, what did I have to rely on? What
could
I rely on? My own instinct for survival, which until recently had been waning, and that was about it. However, you didn’t live in the seedy underworld and survive on your own without some sort of wiles. I’d become very good at blending in and hiding, but how would that help me here? If, and this was a big if, my scent trail did get washed away, perhaps I could hole up somewhere and wait. Danny would find me eventually, or the vamps would give up. Either way it offered me hope.
The rain came down heavier and my clothes were soaked through, slowing me down even further. At least I wasn’t cold —
I should be cold, shouldn’t I?
— and for that I was grateful. My visibility was quite limited through the sheeting rain. I might come to a ravine or ledge and not know until I was about to step off the edge.
It was starting to get dark. The gloom of the clouds and rain making it worse. Shelter, I had to find shelter. The only things I could smell now were the rain and the freshness of the air. I continued down a rocky outcrop until the ground levelled out and became dirt again, the thicker trees providing a measure of cover. If I stayed here, on the ground, I would be visible, if not smellable. I needed to gain some height.
I searched for a tree that had branches low enough for me to reach with my arms, praying that I’d have the strength to haul myself up. Praying that I could continue climbing until I was hidden from view. When I almost walked head first into a branch — I was so busy looking above head height for a good branch to grab — I knew I’d found what I was looking for.
I managed to pull myself up onto that first branch, scraping my palms and collecting some splinters in the process. The next four branches were much easier to reach. Smaller branches in-between the large ones enabled me to use my feet as well. It helped to reduce the strain on my arms and hands from having to haul myself up.
When I could no longer see the ground or through the trees surrounding me, I stopped. I’d wait here until first light, then cautiously make my way downhill. It was going to be a long night, so I sat cross-legged on the branch and leaned against the trunk of the tree.
Might as well get as comfortable as I can!
I must’ve dozed, for the sound of voices startled me into alertness. I sat quite still, taking shallow breaths and willing myself not to sneeze or cough. I had nowhere to go, except up, and where would that get me if they found me? As long as the vamps couldn’t see me up here I should be safe … for now.
When two vampires appeared on either side of me clinging to the trunk of the tree, I came to the realisation that, as the tree was dry, and the canopy thick enough to keep out the rain, my scent had remained. I scrambled upright, ready to fight if necessary.
“To the victor the spoils!” they yelled, and I noticed the vamp Levi had referred to as the pretty one was one of them.
There was snarling at ground level. It appeared these two were not alone, although they were the first to reach me and I was theirs, to do with as they pleased, as was their right.
“We can hardly get her out of the tree in one piece, Jaks,” the pretty one purred.
“That’s okay, Pearl, we can have our fun up here,” he replied, smiling.
Pearl laughed. “And oh what fun we shall have!”
The noise below changed from snarling to shouts of warning. Something was coming, and Pearl and Jaks would need to be quick about their business. They looked at each other, trying to decide if the shouting was a ruse to spoil their fun.
“Do you think …”
“Too risky, Pearl. That angel could still be lurking about. Let’s feed and be done with it.”
Pearl leapt forward and with a sweeping kick took my legs from under me. She moved swiftly and straddled my legs, pinning them down. These vamps knew I wasn’t physically strong enough to resist.
Jaks edged closer to the branch, though remained fixed on the trunk, his fingers digging into the bark to stop him from falling. When his head was almost touching mine, and I could feel his breath on my neck, they struck. Pearl latched onto one side of my neck and Jaks the other side.
At least my hands are free,
I thought, and then the pain washed over me.
I screamed, the sound echoing in the confines of the canopy.
The pain, oh the pain!
It was doubled — double the pain for double the attack. I had to act fast, before the pain became too much, and while they were suitably distracted.
I grasped Pearl’s wrist with little difficulty. I couldn’t see where Jaks’s hands were, and couldn’t turn my head to get a better look. My free hand fumbled around blindly, seeking purchase.
Pearl was already struggling to break free, but just as I couldn’t break free from the caress of their lips on my neck, she could not break free of my hand. If I couldn’t stop Jaks it would all be for nothing, a life for a life. I reached to the back of his head and let my fingers slide down to his neck, where I dug my fingers in. I felt our flesh join as one, the blood flowing from his neck through my fingers, as if this was the path his blood had always taken. I was grateful I didn’t experience any shooting pain through my hands, as I’d done previously. It was a matter of holding on tight until it was over, then waiting for the next wave of attack. If they advanced on me in pairs, as per Drake’s rules, I had a chance.
When the thrashing stopped and the pain in my neck began to recede, I pushed Pearl’s limp body off me, to fall down to the forest floor with a thud. I could hear the howls and shouts of surprise from those below.
Jaks’s fingers were still buried in the bark of the tree trunk, even though he was dead. My fingers came away from his flesh with a horrid squelch that caused me to shudder with repulsion. I twisted to the side and prised his fingers free of the trunk, allowing his body to drop. Screams of outrage from the vamps on the ground pierced through the night. I heard another two vampires commence the climb. They weren’t worried about the noise. The element of surprise was long gone.
I moved further along the branch, turned to face the trunk and crouched down, ready to leap forward once they were within reach. My plan was to attack them before they could attack me. If my death grip had limitations, now was as good a time as any to find out. If my fingers proved useless without the catalyst of a bite I would have to wait for that first bite. Then I could retaliate.
The vamps leapt from the trunk before they were within my reach and landed on the branch in front of me. It caught me off guard. Of course, if they were such good runners and climbers, why wouldn’t they be good at jumping as well?
As the vampire to my right reached out to restrain me I lunged forward to meet him. Some instinct within told me to bite him, and bite him hard! My lips brushed his bare forearm and came to rest in the nook of his elbow. I opened my mouth and my lips fastened to his arm in an immovable grip. My teeth sank into his flesh, blood flowing freely, filling up my mouth. I drank greedily, the vampire providing me with my true first taste of blood the
traditional
way. Strangely it felt warm on my tongue and tasted as sweet as honey. For all the stench these vampires gave off, their blood was like ambrosia, and I wanted
more!
“Get her off me!” he screamed.
The vampire on my left tried to pull me away by the hair and succeeded only in repositioning us, so that I was sitting upright with my new friend almost in my lap. The second vamp changed tack and pressed his mouth to my neck. That was it, he was mine! I took hold of him with both my hands and drained him before he could drink half of my blood. His friend took slightly longer to die, presumably because I was inexperienced at locating a good vein or artery.
There was no pain at all. Perhaps because I was in control — I’d struck out first — it made the difference. I felt incredibly strong and was buzzing. Not like the buzz of cocaine, but a high all the same. I pushed the bodies off the branch and laughed as they thumped from branch to branch on their way to the ground.
“Come and get me if you can,” I yelled, challenging them.
There was much arguing and snarling, though it didn’t seem to be directed at me. I heard other noises — low growls — and knew they were coming from something else. The vamps at ground level had intimated something was coming. This was a number of
somethings
. Could it be werewolves?
Three vampires scaled the tree. Instead of stopping to attack me they continued to climb, clearly frightened by whatever was coming. In a way I was relieved they’d bypassed me — three would’ve been a bit trickier to handle — but I was still
hungry
. I had a taste for it now — a taste for evil — and I wanted more. God how I wanted more!
Okay, so I wasn’t as fast as them. Maybe I could catch up with the straggler, make him stop and confront me. I grabbed hold of the tree trunk and found, to my amazement, the bark felt spongy. It allowed me to get a good grip with both hands and feet. That meant I could climb faster!
When I saw a leg moving no more than a metre above me I was spurred on, and quickly latched my hand onto his jeans, pulling him to an abrupt stop.
Remarkable!
I thought.
The vamp turned to see what had grabbed him, fear in his eyes. It quickly gave way to amusement when he realised it was only their intended prey, the one that
almost
got away. I was to be less feared than whatever was on the ground.
He hesitated for a moment, deciding if he had time to dispatch me before fleeing. He gave in to his hunger. Pursuit by those down below would be swift once the others had been taken care of, if they didn’t win the fight. The need for optimal strength and stamina, which my blood might provide, was essential to him. He let go of the trunk, allowing his body to fall, me with him. His hand reached out to grasp the first branch we encountered and he swung himself over and onto it, deftly manoeuvring his leg out of my grip. I landed a few metres away, and we crouched, facing each other. Feeling he was the stronger, the faster and the better of the two of us, he grinned at me.