The Scent Of Vampires (Book 1)

Chapter 8: The Neck Biter District

As Zephora followed the vampire, he led her away from the area of the Outer's Market she was familiar with. They were silent as they continued on. She was having an internal battle with herself.  When she had first decided to help the female neck biter, it seemed so simple. The girl was dying and needed blood. The obvious solution was to get her the blood she needed, which led them here. She knew acquiring human blood would be no picnic, but now the reality of how dangerous an undertaking that was, was starting to sink in. She didn't trust the neck biter or what ever he was at all. The way he continued to look at her, made her extremely uneasy.  

At first glance, he seemed to be composed and at ease but every now and then he gave her a look she couldn't read. Something in his eyes told her he was barely in control and occasionally she noticed a slight flare of his nostrils, as if he too had an internal battle of his own going on. It wasn't hard to guess what that battle was.  After all, she was human and not to mention the fact that she was fairly certain that he had been following her and her friends for sometime. Whatever reason he was helping them, she could guarantee he had his own agenda. 

They came to a fork in the path and she suddenly realized they were far from the hustle and bustle of the market. He stopped and looked at her fully for the first time since they left her friends. She stared back with what she hoped was a "don't mess with me look". She was not going to give him the satisfaction of seeing her squirm.

He suddenly smiled. "You are a fierce one aren't you Zephora." 

She ignored his comment. "Why have we stopped here?"

"Before we can go any farther, you must hand over all of your weapons. Humans are not allowed to have them beyond this point.  If you are caught with one, you will be killed instantly. No questions asked." The vampire gave her a stern look.

"You can't expect me to do that! How am I supposed to protect myself? Besides, if you neck biters are such a superior species, why would you be scared of some weak human with a measly weapon?" Zephora insisted not willing to give up her blades. 

"Humans may not be strong as neck biters in general, although you  appear to have exceptional strength and agility, they do however, happen to be conniving and devious.  Do you not think humans haven't tried to gain access to our kind this way before, only then to try and attack us.  When such events have occurred, they usually end badly for the human(s). It really is wasteful to have to kill off our food supply. I suppose in a way, you could say that the rule is there for your protection." He explained arrogantly.

"You can't be serious! You really expect me to believe that garbage! You just want an easy victim, that can't put up a fight." Zephora exclaimed backing away. What was she thinking coming here. She was plain stupid to do this.

"I have already promised no harm will come to you, have I not? You simply hand me your knives and when we have finished our errand and have gone to retrieve your friends, I will give your weapons back." He tried to reason with Zephora as if talking with a frightened child.

Zephora stopped. "If you were me, would you trust a promise from one of your kind?" The question seemed to catch him by surprise. He considered her question for a moment before answering."

"Generally speaking, a human should never trust one of my kind to do other than what is best for a him or her. We are not human and while we may have the ability to reason or to have a sense of fair play on occasion, we all are driven by our instinct for survival. In that regard we are no different than humans. We are no different from any other species for that matter." 

He took one step closer at a time, as he spoke to Zephora in a soothing tone. "I promise you this, it will not help my own purposes, to see any harm come to you at present. We have made an agreement and I always keep my end of the bargain. As I will expect you to do likewise."