The Vampire Thief {On Hiatus}

Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

Crystal Jennings loved her job, it payed decently, all of her coworkers were nice, and, she got to look at fancy jewelry all day long. It was a girl's dream, wasn't it?

Not Crystal's.

She wanted adventure, something exciting, not something that, while paid well, bored her to tears.

Coming out of college ahead of time hadn't given her much of an option for work. So she took the first thing that was offered to her and she almost hated herself for it. She used to never be the kind of person who would settle just because it was in her best interest. Everything that she did or was told to do, she wanted done her way or none at all.

She lay on her couch in her crappy little apartment and wondered what she was going to do with her life because she hoped this wasn't all she was going to get for the next several years.

The only thing that she had for herself was that she was a clairvoyant medium: and that made everything she wanted to do in her life ten times harder.

Ghosts were always coming to her, wanting her help, needing her to help the police solve their murders. At first she even tried to help them, but the police always sent her away, claiming that they didn't need her nonsense on top of everything else that went on in an investigation.

After that she wondered if there was any reason to even use her gift so she tried to ignore it, ignore the ghosts. They seemed to be everywhere and she was jealous of ordinary people because they couldn't see them or hear them. Even trips to the grocery store were impossible for her.

Her gift also kept her from having the one thing that all women wanted. A boyfriend.

It wasn't like she didn't like being by herself, but after a while, she felt like she was always going to be alone.

Being deep in thought, her heart nearly exploded when she heard her phone ringing from the kitchen.

Groaning, she rolled off and walked to it, picking it up with a simple "Hello?"

"Hey, Crystal, it's me, Amanda. I'm not going to be able to make it to work tonight so could you cover for me?" She sounded sincere enough and it wasn't like Crystal had any plans made.

"Yeah, I can come in, I'll be there soon." She told her and then hung up the phone and went to bedroom to get ready.

Working in a jewelry store always required you to look your best because you don't always know who is going to come in and buy something. Tonight, though, Crystal didn't really feel like going all out so she chose a simple, black, pencil skirt that came a few inches above her knees, a crisp, white, button-up shirt that she easily tucked into the skirt, and a pair of black strappy heels. She swept her hair up into a tight knot, with a few tendrils to frame her face, applied a couple coats of mascara and bright red lipstick. Her entire look was very simple, she knew that, she just felt that going in to work for the last shift and being there until close didn't require a tremendous amount of effort.

Easily she drove to the jewelry store and said hello to Patrick, the bodyguard, on her way in who only acknowledged her with a small head nod. He never said anything, which even she thought was kind of odd.

The evening went on as it usually did, some sales here and there, but for the most part it was pretty quiet. The only disruption that almost happened was when a spirit walked by the front of the store. Crystal saw it out of the corner of her eye, but she made sure not to let it know that she was aware of it. Most spirits weren't aware that she could see them, but the ones who could were at least half a century old and could feel her just as she felt them because the older they were the stronger the sense was.

It was finally eleven o'clock and time to close, she was so thankful. Her feet hurt and she was hungry, she didn't get to eat dinner for having to come in and cover Amanda's shift.

As she walked around and made sure all the cases were locked she heard a man's muffled scream. Instantly her instincts took over and caused her to run, hoping she would get there in time to help him. Her heels clicked loudly as she ran out the door and nearly fell over as she stumbled from the site in front of her.

Being a clairvoyant she knew the creatures of the night existed, but seeing one in the flesh for the very first time was different. She couldn't breathe and all she wanted to do was run, but her legs wouldn't listen to her.

The vampire was leaning over Patrick's neck, drinking from it, holding up his limp body. Her eyes moved up to his and he used the last of his energy to mouth the word 'run' to her.

It was all her body needed to make itself listen. She turned and ran back into the building, shoving the security door shut and locking both deadbolts. Knowing she couldn't go back outside she ran to the back of the store to the hallway with various rooms, knocking off her heels as she went. Instead of picking the last door, she picked the one next to it, hoping it was less predictable.

Over the years she had learned, for the most part, how to shield herself from other supernatural beings, but it took a lot of energy out of her.

Leaning up against the furthest wall she tried to control her breathing and shield herself. That was when the heard the front door slam open.

"Oh sweet little thing, why do you run from me?" A male voice boomed throughout the store as she tried her best to stay small.