My Precious Nightmare

11: Don't Bring a Vampire to a Gun Fight

Yet the white vampire didn't look in his direction. He just kept doing whatever he was busy with, elbows jerking out with small tugs.

"Even starving, I doubt one of your caliber would hunt down something like me when there is a city to be had. Best you get to the point." The vampire's voice was soft, soft enough for only another vampire to hear.

Husani pushed himself to a stand, despite the desire of his instincts to stay low, quicker, faster.

Now would be the best time to attack. Sudden, and quick.

But the vampire had spoken, proving at least some self-awareness.

And yet a niggling in the back of his mind told him sanity wasn't exactly a good thing. It could make things much, much worse. And should Husani get injured again, he may very well kill the girl off when his instinct took over and drove him home, if he didn't kill someone on the way. If only her blood had lasted him till this point.

Some spittle dripped down Husani's jaw as he opened his mouth to speak.

"You tore apart those people on the news." His elongated fangs made it difficult to speak.

The other man must have heard it, for he said, "Ah. You really must be hungry. And by your tone, it would make sense that you are. Husani. You've come to kill me."

Husani jerked back into a crouch, hackles raised. A part of him was surprised, but most of him wasn't. He had been around the block a few times.

The man put down whatever he was holding and turned about. He wore a simple, off-white shirt and jeans, but his eyes glowed a bright, fluorescent red, and the whites of his eyes had darkened to the color of dried blood. His bare feet were yellow with calluses, the toenails long and clawed.

Husani drew a step back. It was good that he had waited. The hair had told him this vampire was old, but the eyes told him he was ancient, and therefore, suddenly out of his league.

Husani had only ever met one other vampire as old as this one, and she had been more of a creature, hiding away in the shadow of undiscovered Egyptian tombs, naked, half-blind, but strong enough to cleave of his arm with a flick of her hand.

"I can smell her on you," said the old one in a low, snake-like hiss. A flash of purple tongue darted out to lick his lips. "Like butterscotch and lavender. Your hypocrisy is delicious—unless she's still alive? Oh, I bet she is, that would be an accomplishment. It's so...fresh."

Husani looked about, mind racing. He had assumed the gruesome killings had been done by a young, relatively weak vampire. It was almost always the younger vampires, new to their instincts and bloodthirsty, who went on rampages. The old ones got to live as long as they did because they knew better. After all, humans outnumbered them a million to one. The longer Husani took in the other's traits, the more the vampire's power began to show, though to the untrained eye he would have looked like any other man in his twenties.

The blood-red eyes caught Husani's, arresting his gaze.

"Oh, you have wings," the vampire purred. "Cute. I've only met one of those. Made a fine umbrella."

"I need to ask you to please be more...covert with your hunts or take them outside the city. It's going to cause trouble for the rest of us." At least his fangs had pulled back to make it easier to talk, if only by a little.

"On the contrary, it's going to help quite a bit. So, respect your elders and leave me to my business."

Husani couldn't help but growl, deep in his chest. After spending the better part of the month hunting down this guy? "I can't. You've killed innocent people and defiled their bodies. I've only been able to live with myself this long by not turning my back on monsters like you."