Forbidden Fangs

Chapter 15

As the sun set the opacity of Luchaver's ship's windscreen naturally faded, and the moonlight roused the vampire. He opened his jet black eyes and ran his hands through his matching, greasy hair. His ship had remained safe, concealed within the woods and its cloaking mechanism throughout the night. That meant one of two things; either Kylie had not reported him to the authorities, or the people of Earth were truly as inept as the average Wythirian believed.

The slayer would not go to the authorities; his kind were too proud and set in their ways, unless they had changed greatly in the past millennia. Luchaver had been well educated on the warriors of Earth before embarking on his mission. They appeared to have evolved significantly technologically, of course, but still clung to certain traditions. The gunblade, for example. It was clearly a throwback to the swords the original slayers had wielded. Luchaver felt raw hatred curl his lower lip in disgust. The men who had captured and tortured his ancestor were long dead, of course, but he could slake his wrath on their descendant. And Kylie… he would take care of her, one way or another.

The vampire rolled his lean shoulders within his neoprene suit. He was hungry, and surrounded by delicious prey he could not afford to take. It was agony to think of how easily he could have plucked a tasty morsel to boost his strength. But he needed to remain hidden. He strongly considered leaving his ship and traveling on foot, but his instruments showed that the woman had moved some distance to the north. Perhaps he could commandeer one of the humans' ground vehicles. Yes… that would work. He liked the look of them; driving one appeared to be a very tactile experience. His ship would remain safe in the woods south of Wallgrave, and he would go north via the roads.

The door melted open and he stepped out into the fresh woodsy air. As the door molded shut he lost sight of the ship, although he could still detect it through his neural implants. He could remote-pilot it if need be, within a considerable range. But he doubted that would become necessary. He turned and set off northwest, in the direction of the nearest road. Though the brush was thick with branches and brambles, his gait and his suit were strong and slick. He pressed through the foliage rapidly and emerged unscathed on the shoulder of the road. For a time he merely watched cars pass, and then he crossed and waited dangerously close to the cars traveling in the direction he wished to go. One came along every few minutes, its headlights brilliant in the night.

Luchaver raised a hand and smiled as each vehicle passed. For a long while, no one even slowed. Then a small blue car pulled off the side of the road and waited, its blinker flashing. The vampire approached and poked his head in the window which had buzzed down.

“Where ya headed?” The driver, a small brown-eyed woman, asked. She tucked a strand of chestnut hair behind her ear.

“North of Wallgrave,” Luchaver said mildly.

“Well I can get you as far as the town,” she said, “hop on in!” She pressed a button and there was an audible thunk as the door unlocked. Luchaver pulled the strangely shaped handle and got in somewhat awkwardly.

“You can push the seat back,” the woman laughed, “there's a lever under the front there. Nothing behind you, don't worry.” Luchaver pulled the lever and straightened his long legs, riding the seat all the way back on its rails. Such interesting mechanics these earthlings still used. He wondered if more expensive vehicles conformed to the body automatically, or if that was still beyond their commercial capabilities.

“So, what's your name?” The woman asked. “I'm Ruth, but everyone calls me Ruthie.” She was about Kylie's age, if Luchaver was any judge, but smaller and much more fine-boned. She would not make as good a meal. Even so, he found himself thirsting for the large veins in her throat.

“Luchaver,” the vampire said slowly.

“Luke Aver?” Kylie replied. “Interesting last name. Where's it from?”

“Not around here,” the vampire said, “let's talk about something else.” He tried inflecting his words with a little compulsion, and the neural implant worked admirably. Ruthie nodded.

“We'll talk about something else.” She said. “When I saw you out there you reminded me of my boyfriend. He hitch-hikes too. So I had to pick you up.”

“How much further until Wallgrave?” The Wythirian asked.

“Just about five more minutes on the highway,” the young woman replied.

“Pull off up here,” Luchaver commanded, pointing at a dark dirt lot. It was empty, marked for something called carpooling.

“I don't think I should-”

“Pull over.” The woman's spine straightened and she twisted the wheel with a gasp, turning into the dark lonely lot. She parked and turned off the engine.

“Now…” Luchaver whispered. “Show me your neck.”

There was terror in her eyes as she obeyed, peeling back the curtain of her hair to unveil the pale flesh beneath. Luchaver could resist no longer. He extended his fangs and bit into the soft skin, drinking deeply of her blood. The woman gasped and sputtered but did not resist; she was fully under his spell. He felt his strength and stamina renewed, his focus becoming like a laser. He knew what he had to do, and he had watched Ruthie drive long enough to understand her vehicle's operation.

He carried the lifeless brunette body to the small sedan's trunk and slipped her inside, closing the lid decisively. Within minutes he was back on the road, his mouth and neoprene suit wiped clean of crimson, his eyes like two chips of ebony. He followed the signs that led him through Wallgrave, to the highway that led north of the city, where his tracking implant still said he would find Kylie.