Eternal Redemption - Book Two ✔

Chapter 16

I felt lighter than ever before; like every shitty thing that had ever happened in my life was slowly disappearing and taking their heavy emotions with them. It felt good, it felt... freeing. It was like I had been missing out on something. Why would Nox have kept this hidden from me?

Picking up the pace I ran past street after street, all of them deserted except for the scattered cars and junk littering the ground, bathed in a silvery glow from the moon. For the first time in a while I let my vampire senses loose and quickly became overwhelmed with the amount of scents and sounds that filled my head. I began separating the scents; vampire and human. The rest wasn't important.

I'd been going in a different direction from where Nox and I had come from and turning a corner I found myself on another busy street, full of shops and people. And talking. So much talking. My ears picked up words from all around me and it felt deafening. My ears picked up every sound around me. Shutting my eyes, I looked inward, trying to tune out everything unnecessary, like why the price for silk had to be so high or how come there were no pretty necklaces today? I sighed and slowly felt the words fading to a murmur around me. I looked up and down the street, but no one seemed to be paying attention to me. Good.

I walked down one side of the street, checking out every vendor, appearing to be interested in what they had to trade or sell despite not knowing half of the items lying on the tables. Many looked old, probably dating back to before the take-over. No doubt many vampires had been keeping hold of things throughout their everlasting lives. I had nothing to trade and no money, so I just watched. I picked up a shirt at one of the tables, looking at the faded picture on the front. It was hard to make out, but it looked to be an animal of some sort, but made out of bone. I couldn't sound out the first word, but the second definitely said 'Park'. I put it back down and met the eyes of the vendor – vampire. He nodded his head at me and, not knowing what else to do, I quickly did the same. It was like I could sense that he knew I was new to the city.

Moving on I noticed that many of the people selling these things were vampires, which was why I didn't try to steal anything. They'd be sure to notice and the last thing I wanted was to draw attention to myself. I let myself blend in with the crowd. I knew Nox could be here any second. He was searching for me and I had no doubt that he would eventually find me. I could still smell his scent on me and no doubt he could as well. My steps quickened. If I wanted an undisturbed feeding, I had to hurry. My eyes swept across the people walking in my direction, my nose distinguishing the scents from vampire and human and with a fleeting glance at their wrists, I could check to see if they wore those bracelets of ownership.

I looked down upon my own hand where Nox's ring sat on my finger. Ownership. It was not what he had said, but wasn't it all just the same? No one owned me. He loved me. He'd said so, but now I couldn't distinguish love from any other emotion. I knew I'd felt strongly towards him, but now, I couldn't feel anything. I didn't feel angry or hateful or calm. All I felt was hunger.

Still, I let the ring be and continued my walk.

"A beautiful dress for a beautiful young woman," a man called out to me, holding up a sparkling silver dress for me to see and what, admire? I looked back and forth between the dress and the man, vampire by the eyes of it.

"No thanks," I said, my voice almost sounding dull. I didn't care about a sparkly dress. It didn't look comfortable running in.

Just then I noticed a man, alone and human by the scent of it. I could almost hear his blood singing in his veins, beckoning me to come and have a taste. The man was walking rather determinedly, turning down a side street. I followed, my predatory instincts immediately kicking in. I kept my distance as the crowd around me thinned.

Down another street, with houses aligned neatly side by side, some with torn down fences lying on the small front lawns. Most looked abandoned, with broken windows and holes in the roof. There were no lights shining through the windows and I doubted that if anyone did live here, they wouldn't be telling everyone by having lights on.

There were only a few people around on the street, though no one seemed to be paying anyone any attention. I kept as close to the shadows of the houses as possible. I couldn't smell any vampire around, but I still didn't want to draw attention to myself. I kept a close watch on my prey walking up ahead. My fangs broke through my gums and I licked them casually with my tongue.

The man was walking slower now and I knew my chance would soon be missed. No one was looking. No one was watching us. He took a step into the shadows by a blue house and I took my shot. I let my vampire speed take me to him within a second of time. I was upon him before he had a chance to call out. My hand clamped his protesting mouth shut as I dragged him further into the darkness. The hunger was screaming, demanding blood. I shoved him up against the wall of the house and saw his wide and surprised blue eyes stare at me. He thrashed against my grip, but with instincts taking over, I felt more powerful than ever. I twisted him around and turned to put my own back against the house. I had both of his arms pinned against his chest, my own wrapped around them. The hand that was covering his mouth tilted his head to the side, exposing his neck where the vein was pumping.

My tongue darted out to lick his skin. I tasted his fear and it was mouth-watering.

"You're doing so well," I whispered in his ear before I let my teeth sink into his neck, slicing through the flesh so easily and the hot blood started flowing. It was a whole other experience than at the blood hotels where the humans were willingly giving up themselves. The man was still trashing in my arms his choking screams muffled by my hand, but the blood, oh the blood tasted fresher, more alive than I had tasted before. He slowed his movements and I felt him grow heavier in my arms. Nox would have stopped me a long time ago, but he wasn't here and I wasn't going to stop. I wanted every drop of blood I could get.

There was barely any blood coming out of the small puncture wounds from my fangs. The man had stilled against me and I knew I was carrying all of his weight.

I moved my head, releasing him from my biting grip and just as I removed my hands he fell to the ground. His skin was ashen, eyes cold and distant. But I felt more alive than ever.

Stepping away from the body I wiped the back of my hand across my lips. It was barely stained. I'd become better at keeping myself clean. Good. My first dead body. I'd taken the life of someone else. I waited for the guilt and self-resentment, but nothing came. I felt nothing. I smiled.

I looked back down at the body and nudged my shoe against his leg and something caught my eye. On his wrist, barely visible beneath his jacket, was a thin silver bracelet. Bending down I took his arm and pulled the sleeve back, exposing his arm. I looked closer at the piece of silver jewellery and saw the letters P.L scratched on it. Was that the vampire whom this man had "belonged" to?

The funny thing was that, I know I should have cared about this, but I didn't. I felt nothing except satisfied and full.

I had no doubt that vampires would have smelt the blood, but I hoped that they wouldn't come running immediately. Nevertheless, I pulled the body around the corner of the house, putting it against a rusty, overturned table with a missing leg. I wiped my face again, certain that no blood could be seen and then I left.