Forbidden Fangs

Chapter 3

Luchaver operated the spaceship's controls as it hummed up and over the trees, its cloaking mechanism making it invisible to the naked eye. The vampire fought to maintain control of his mind as he manipulated the vessel away from the clearing where he'd encountered the two humans. Blood still stained his lips and chin; he could taste the male human's ichor on his tongue and the insides of his cheeks, on his teeth, at the back of his throat. The flavors and the feelings they brought nearly overwhelmed him. He quickly found another clearing in the forest and set the spacecraft down using a double set of joysticks and a series of switches.

It had been a week since he last tasted blood, and many months since he supped anything so… fresh. The male human he'd consumed had tasted better than anything he'd ever eaten on his home world of Wythiria. The humans they had there were technically of the same origin as the earthlings, but centuries of factory farming and inbreeding had diluted their flavor, and their potency. Luchaver had never felt so strong as he did in that moment, with the earthling's blood coursing through him. But he knew there were even tastier morsels on this ocean-bound planet. He'd seen one, standing in the clearing. He had called the male first, for he had been larger and more of a threat, but thoughts of the woman made him ravenous despite his full stomach.

I must remain true to my mission. Feeding on the woman might draw attention. Even so, she needed to be eliminated before he returned to Wythiria. Earth seemed a likely candidate for the new blood-colony the vampires so desperately needed. They had been living off rationed supplies for nearly a year. What little blood Luchaver had brought on his journey had been depleted during the long spaceflight. He knew he should have abducted both humans before feeding on them, but he'd been so ravenous… and with his neural implants, it had taken only a few strong thoughts to make the male walk into his waiting embrace. I should have stayed for the female. He could have gone out into the meadow and taken her down like the hunters of old. But his attempt to invade her mind as he had done to the male had failed. His psionic thrust had glanced off her brain like a dart off a ship's hull. Confused and reeling with the pleasure of a fresh feed, he had retreated into his vessel and flown away.

Luchaver sighed and pressed a button on the side of his padded chair, reclining backwards. He needed to let the feeding frenzy pass before he proceeded with his mission. He closed his jet-black eyes and ran soft palms over his pale face, wiping the last of the drying blood into his mouth and licking his lips. His short hair, as dark as his eyes, hung limp and greasy from the long journey. He rolled his shoulders within his midnight neoprene suit and allowed his mind to drift back to the day he had left Wythiria. Remembering the mission would help his lust for the human female pass.

He'd always had a wish for adventure. He remembered staring at the stars above Wythiria's endless night, and knowing that one day he would venture into them. He remembered the emergency broadcasts that had been released more than a year prior, detailing the contamination of the blood supply. Even their best scientists could not determine whether it was the years of factory farming, the inbreeding, some other element, or a combination thereof. Only the result had been clear; there was no more fresh blood to be had on Wythiria. Fortunately, they had created great stores of the precious fluid over the centuries. Of course, bagged blood did not taste the same. It did not provide the visceral release of a fresh meal.

In desperation, the Wythirian starfleet had sent out two hundred of their finest pilots, to the two hundred nearest life-supporting planets. Earth was the furthest away, but seen as the greatest likelihood for success. It had been a great honor for Luchaver to be chosen for the task. He remembered standing next to his little spaceship, on a tarmac surrounded by hundreds of other vampires and vessels. The words spoken by their queen had emanated from the loudspeakers, and they still echoed in his mind.

Today you embark on a mission that will save every soul in Wythiria. Each of you has a different destination, but the same task. Journey outward, and do not return until you have discovered whether palatable life forms exist on these planets. Wythiria has been our home for many generations, but this weakness in our food supply is an indication that we must move on. Whoever finds the best candidate for our blood colony shall be given the great honor of spearheading the invasion. Know that every soul in Wythiria flies with you. Go now, to triumph!

Luchaver touched another button on the side of his chair and sat up straight, using his neural connection with the ship to activate a narrow screen which slid out of the side of the wall. The ship was small, an enclosed space which surrounded him with gadgets and terminals, but he felt as comfortable there as a babe in the womb. The screen showed a basic topographical representation of the immediate area, within a range of ten square kilometers. It showed a single red dot, which represented the human female, surrounded by a half dozen green dots, which were other life signatures of similar strength. Predictably, the female had alerted the local authorities. Fortunately the vampire had been close enough to her for her unique scent to register with his tracking implant, which, when linked with the ship, would allow him to easily pursue her within the area. He could wait. The vampires of Wythiria were not a rash race.

Time passed as Luchaver watched the screen, and several of the green dots sped away, presumably driving their land vehicles. Only two remained flanking the red dot. Luchaver licked his lips again. His tracking implant was not the only thing that remembered the female's scent. He had smelled her, and seen the beauty in the soft curves of her body. He had always wondered what the females of other races might look like. Other live races. Of course he had seen females in the factory farms, naked and afraid, but they had not been full of life like the one in the meadow. The terror in her eyes and voice enthralled him as much as her long blonde hair.

Perhaps I will take the time to taste her after all…