Star, Starland Vamp Series, Book 1 (6 page)

I recognized the scent. 

As lithe as a trapeze artist, I swung from branch to branch, then paused when I heard the footfalls again, listening to the position of my prey. Quietly, I flung myself from the branch twenty feet down, landing silently on the ground behind the beautiful animal, for ahead of me a few feet was a beautiful cougar. I closed in when it caught my scent and tried to run. We frighten most animals just by our scent.  Powerful paws pounded the lichen intensely as I grabbed its neck, careful of its teeth. But it was no match for me. I quickly rolled the cougar onto its back, its ejected claws blindly raked the air.

Yes, it had plenty of fight.
             

Then one of its massive paws got in a lucky shot. Catching my shoulder, its claws tore into my flesh, ruining my white T-shirt. Three trails of blood ran down my arm and were already healing when the fierce beast caught the scent of my blood. It violently gnashed its teeth into the air, wanting the kill, as well. It was a race for survival as the cougar made one last ditch effort to free itself. It growled fiercely, turning its razor sharp teeth toward the scent of my blood, and clawed with all four paws attempting to free itself. But in a flash, I pinned its head within my powerful arms, as my muscles flexed, then quickly turned its head sideways until I could hear the pulsing veins buried beneath the folds of its skin and fur, beckoning to me to taste, to feed on the pleasures that only life-giving blood could bring.

A moment later, my razor sharp teeth cut through several layers of thick fur and skin, causing the powerful beast to howl as its blood soothed my throat, quenching the burn. In a moment, the cougar would feel no pain. Its howl cut off abruptly with a gurgle. I closed my eyes, relishing the moment as I drained the life giving substance from its body. But the blood would no longer give life to the beast. It would give life to me instead. The life essence in this animal was strong and would sustain me well. The cougar lazily made a few final swipes of its paws in a futile attempt to live, but I drank my fill until its veins ran dry and it lay limp within my arms. Then I laid its body gingerly upon the ground, and gently closed its eyes with my fingertips. 

The insatiable burning within my throat was almost quenched, but not quite. The burning need for blood was not as strong. I could easily catch smaller game on the way. Then I decided to see some of the sights. Rays of light were beginning to make their appearance on the new day, but I had enough time. I ran, exhilarated, as the wind quickly rushed past my face, and my brown hair and black leather jacket billowed behind. I heard the powerful roar of millions of gallons of water rushing toward its final destination long before I saw it, but soon, a lightening in the forest alerted me to its end.

Looking down at my torn, blood-stained T-shirt, I quickly pulled my black leather jacket around myself, buttoning the front, then stepped out of the safety of the forest and onto the cliff’s edge.

The powerful rush of millions of gallons of water hastening down the Niagara River was truly an amazing sight. The view was better from the Canadian side, but I didn’t feel like going swimming and soaking my clothes for the run home. But the view from the American side was truly spectacular despite the dim light of morning. Deep blue water ran down the Niagara River, bending and turning, becoming white caps lining the top of the falls before spilling over, turning various shades of blue again. I marveled at the gallantry of the humans brave enough to go over the fall’s edge in nothing more than a barrel and shook my head. No wonder few lived to tell about it. Of course, I could do a swan dive from the top and wouldn’t suffer a scratch. Hum … maybe later. 

Bright rays of light peeked through the clouds, refusing to be ignored. I knew it was time to start home. Rick would be upset if I was late, not that I cared, but it was never right for a lady to keep a gentleman waiting. Even Rick. I grinned broadly, shaking my head, thinking of him.

I quickly turned and ran with lightning speed toward home. In minutes, I was within the cover of the deep forest of evergreens and silver maple, watching forest animals quickly scamper out of my way. Suddenly, I caught the scent of white-tailed deer on the bluffs, as rays of light peered through the canapé above. I knew I didn’t have much time. Hiding, I silently stalked the herd, spotting my prey, when they caught my scent and tried to run. Bolting like an arrow from a hunter’s bow, I quickly took one down. As I sank my razor sharp teeth into the sinew and muscles of its neck under its fur, the life giving blood rushed down my throat, promising to quench the burn. The deer struggled, but was no match for my powerful grasp, and soon grew limp as its veins ran dry.

Years ago, I used to take the deer meat to orphanages to feed the hungry bellies of the children. At that time, the caregivers welcomed any food donations they could get, for it was difficult to provide enough food to feed forty some children. They didn’t ask questions.

The white-tailed deer wasn’t much of a challenge, but I had already had my workout for the night. I wiped a spot of crimson blood from my lips.

Evergreens brushed past me in a blur as I ran, quickly making my way back home. Home. We had just arrived and already I thought of it as home.

Twenty minutes later, I walked into the front door of our cottage. It was really more like a mansion, but there as something about the stone walls that made me think of it as a cottage.

“Well,” Rick was waiting in the kitchen with a cup of coffee, probably not having rested, not that he needed any. Looking around, Rick must have worked through the night making the house livable. “It’s about time you got here
!”

“Hey, I have plenty of time,” I countered, then looked at the clock and quickly poured myself a cup of coffee. Twenty minutes left to spare. Not bad. “See? I told you I’d be on time!”

“Well, the days of miracles aren’t over,” Rick joked, washing up the dishes. “It’s good to see that some things have changed for the better!”

I thought back through many times over the years when I arrived just in time to save the day. “I’ve reformed.”

“Hah!” Rick laughed. “Yeah, right!”

Placing the cup gingerly on the counter, I turned for the stairs. “I’m going to get ready. Are you going like that?”

Rick looked dashing in a black button-up shirt, blue jeans, and black boots, his bronze curls neatly coiffed. “What? Do you want me to wear a suit?”

“No, you look dashing! Don’t change a thing!” I said, smiling.

“Yeah, you say that to all the guys.”

“No, only to my
father
,” I laughed, heading up the stairs, as Rick’s laughter followed.

I carefully shut the door to my suite, and quickly jumped into the shower. It had a wide shower nozzle, allowing pulsing water to caress my entire body. A moment later, I dried off, wrapping the towel around me, then headed back into the bedroom and pulled open the duffle bag filled with my clothes. In it were a few pairs of jeans: one black, two regular pairs of blue jeans; a few shirts; and a dress. A dress? What was Rick thinking? And where was my leather? Then I found what I was looking for: a cute, short plaid uniform skirt in variations of blue and an Armani white button-up shirt. I slipped into it, leaving the shirt untucked. I donned a pair of low strappy heels, then added a thin navy lady’s tie, leaving it loose around my neck under my collar. I looked in the mirror and approved. I looked just like any other high school student.

I quickly ran a brush through my long brown waves, threw my wallet into my backpack and slung it over my shoulder, then ran with vamp speed down the stairs. Rick was already waiting with the keys to the Mercedes SUV in his hand.

“Tonight, I’m going shopping,” I announced. Let’s see … I’ll need clothes, a decent but not over-the-top car, and a decent cell. I’ll have to ditch mine soon. In my business, it’s good to change cell phones periodically so it isn’t hacked.

Rick shook his head. “We’re not here for a fashion show,” he said, opening the door.

“I can’t very well bring my Mercedes SLS AMG now, can I?” I replied, walking out. “I need a car, too, Rick,” I interjected. “I can’t very well run everywhere or depend on you to take me.”

“Why not? That’s what fathers are for
!”
Rick teased, opening the passenger door for me.

“Go away,” I said, getting in. “You’re going to run the dad thing into the ground, aren’t you?”

Rick moved with vamp speed to the driver’s side and was in the car the next second. “Pretty much, yeah.”

I punched him in the arm again.

“Stop that
!” Rick bellowed, then started the car and soon we were on our way to Cooperstown Central High School.

“No,” I replied, rolling down my window a crack. “It’s too much fun.”

Rick pretended to flex his muscle from pain. I knew better. He was as tough as they come. “Just don’t have
too
much fun.”

I laughed. “Hey, I have to make up for lost time. Haven’t seen you in a while.”

“Yeah, we’ll talk about it later,” Rick replied as we pulled into the parking lot. “First, we have to register you for school.”

“Yeah, don’t remind me.”

“Hey,” Rick said, gently grabbing my arm, a move that could have gotten anyone else killed. “Here’s your alias, by the way. I took the liberty of making one up for you since there wasn’t much time. This has your fake ID, social security card, birth certificate and passport just in case you need it.

“Thanks,” I said, slipping the driver’s license and social security card into my backpack. I had a hundred aliases at home. We both did. But a new one never hurt.

And a moment later, we were strolling into the front office of the school. I took a seat in the waiting room while Rick told a nice plump woman with white hair that I was Lisa
Miller, and that he had already mailed in the paperwork. He also told her that I was a senior and we had relocated because of a family emergency. He just didn’t say whose family.

“You’re still missing a few items, like transcripts,” the nice lady said, smiling sweetly.

Rick smiled, too, and looked the white haired woman in the eye. Although I couldn’t see his eyes from my direction, I knew his eyes would be glowing faintly. He was using his mind control on her. Then he said in a low voice, “The paperwork that’s missing is coming, but won’t be here for a few weeks. I’m sure that will be okay, will it not? By the way, she’s a gifted student. Please place her in all honors classes.”

After Rick released her from his gaze, she blinked a few times, then replied, “That’s right, over the phone you said that her old school from Florida was sending the rest of her transcripts. Not a problem, Mr. Miller. And I understand Lisa is a gifted student
! How exciting!
I’ll get Lisa enrolled right away. And my name is Ms. Sutherland if you need anything.” She indicated for Rick to have a seat. She would have no recollection of him speaking to her or controlling her mind.

Of course, my mind control was good, too, but Rick’s was better since he was feeding on human blood. And for him to be feeding on human blood meant that he felt he really needed the strength for what was coming.

What
was
coming? I knew it was The Others, but who was egging them on? The Others are vampires who feed on humans whenever they feel the urge, without regard for human life. They are truly monsters in every sense of the word. Somehow within the transition, they lost all sense of compassion and human morality. Killing, to them, is a way of life. They only keep a low profile in fear of the humans finding out. Of course, they aren’t afraid of humans per se, but are afraid of the other vamps that would quite literally crucify any vamp that came out of the closet, sort of speak. Usually, The Others were the derelicts of society, criminals, convicted felons with no sense of morality before they were turned.  They have weak minds and are easily controlled.  Another thing about The Others is that they tend to gravitate toward each other, grouping together. This is much better for the one controlling them. But who could be doing it? That was what I wanted to find out.

We weren’t waiting long when the principal come out of his office and shook our hands, welcoming me to the school, then handed me a class schedule. Of course, the honors classes wouldn’t be a problem. I could take any college course, earn any degree and tell you every line from every textbook that I ever read verbatim. So high school honors classes would hardly be a challenge, but we knew that Zachary was in all honors classes. My having an honor’s schedule increased the chances of our having the same classes.

“Welcome to our school, Lisa,” Mr. Hartrell, the principal said with a plastered on smile. “I hope you feel comfortable here, Lisa, and come to think of us as a family, as well.”

“Why thank you, Mr. Hartrell,” I answered sweetly. “I’m sure I’ll find the accommodations here delightful.”

Rick gave me a dirty look as if to say,
Smart Ass.

Sorry, I just couldn’t resist,
I replied to Rick in my mind, then I looked at him and shrugged.

He rolled his eyes, without Mr. Hartrell the wiser.

Mr. Hartrell looked at me puzzled, for the word arrangement I used was not typical of a common teen. “Well, yes, I’m sure you will.” He cleared his throat. “If you need anything, you be sure to come see me, okay?”