Bloodsinger

A Lifetime with You

1990

My gaze curiously drifts to a woman who was being followed by the man I had been stalking for the last few hours. She was uncommonly beautiful. Full lips, defined jaw, big bright eyes. The woman screamed of beauty and unfortunately for her, the radiant beauty she possessed had caught the attention of a criminal.

He stalks her much like I've been doing to him, keeping to the shadows and about four paces away from his target. I could smell the blood on him, old and crusted under his dirty fingernails but I could smell it, and that's what drew me to him.

A predator becoming the prey. It seemed like enough justice for his victims and I get to feed without feeling like too much of a monster afterwards. It was the only way I could survive and at least by hunting killers, I was giving peace to the souls of those these criminals have killed.

It was twisted logic but it made sense to me, so that was all that really mattered.

The woman makes the mistake of stopping to dig through her purse and if that was all the man was after, it would have been so easy to take the bag right now and run; but it wasn't.

He was after something much more precious.

With the crowd thinning around them he makes his move, yanking the woman from the street and into a small alley, his hands pressed against her mouth while a knife was already threatening to slice the skin on her neck, rendering her unable to scream for help.

"You're okay. Don't worry. You're okay." The man coos, the lie thick in his arrogant tone as he pulled her deeper into the alley. Her pleads are muffled under his thick, dirty palm but I could clearly see the tears down her cheeks and it makes my teeth itch to sink into the bastard's skin.

He presses her against the wall, away from any the main alley where people could see, then lets of her mouth.
"Scream and I will kill you." He growls as he takes her hand, pulling it down to cup the bulge in his pants.
"Please. Don't. I have a daughter, she's only two." The woman begs while trying to yank her arm from his grip. As with criminals like him, her plea falls on deaf ears.
He leans forward and drags his thick tongue up her face. It makes my blood boil and I jump down from my perch, landing silently a few feet behind him.

She sees me immediately and our eyes meet a split second before I pull the man's hair back, throwing him behind me. I hear the groans as he slides along the ground but my eyes are kept on the woman who had her hand against her throat.
"Are you alright?" I ask gently, keeping my stance non-threatening. Based on the absences of blood on her skin and no scent of it in the air, I knew she wasn't physically hurt but with mortals I had learned that there was always more.
She looks up at me then yelps, "Watch out!"

With my concern for the woman, I had failed to hear the brute approach until his knife slams into my back; the tip sticking out from the top of my chest as it pierces through the width of my body.

I liked this shirt. I thought angrily before turning and facing him. There was some discomfort at the intrusion in my body but it wasn't anything that could make me feel pain. His eyes bulge at the sight of me but before he could run, I grab his neck and squeeze tightly; cutting off the air going into his body.

"I'm going to need to brush my teeth with acid after this." my face twists into a disgusted look but urged on by my hunger, I tilt his head and bury my fangs deep into his neck. The sharp tips puncture his jugular and the blood spurts warmly into my mouth.

My eyes begin to morph into it's demonic counterpart, the look that only came out when I was hungry, fighting or feeding. The tightness around my eyes, the heightened vision and bloodlust; all of it being triggered by the taste of blood, and there was so much.