Once When I Was A Vampire

Chapter Two - In For The Kill

The night air was cool against my skin. For the first time in over a week my body felt the freedom of open space and the excitement of a hunt to come. The streets of London were busy. There was a mixture of late commuters rushing home and partygoers with the scent of alcohol already on their lips. The atmosphere was thick with car exhaust and the noise of life vibrated through the roads we walked down. My senses felt overwhelmed; it was almost too much after weeks of quiet inside my bedroom walls.

My eyes darted from body to body, searching for a weak target with a good pulse in their neck. Even at night my supernatural sight would seek out the ideal meal.

I followed my brothers down John Islip Street. Cassius and Andrew lead the way, their backs stiff and their eyes forward. Max and Charlie were more relaxed, taking in the sights while walking beside me. Max had an eager glint in his eye, and a cheeky smile that hadn’t left his face since we exited the house.

“So how should we make the kill look like an accident this time?” Max asked, his eyes twinkling. “Perhaps an elaborate car crash?”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Cassius hissed.

I knew where we were going. There was this large, but rather seedy, club a few streets up from here. It was the perfect place to hunt. We targeted individuals that wouldn't arouse suspicion, that nobody would miss.

“Then what? Pick another homeless guy because no one will ever notice he’s gone. I’d rather drink your sour blood,” Max replied.

Charlie chuckled beside me, but Cassius didn’t find it so funny.

“Quiet Max!” Cassius came to a sudden stop and faced Max full on. Their noses touched as Cassius glared at him. “No more of your stunts. Father is still reeling from the last one. We don’t need the press coverage of another mysterious killing on the streets of London. The Hunters don’t see it the same way as the clueless human police officers do.”

Max didn’t back down he stood tall, inching onto his toes because Cassius was bigger than him. Cassius was taller than all of us and the eldest of my brothers and me. One day he would take father’s place as king, and he took his future very seriously, too seriously if you asked me.

“Max, Cassius, come on.” Andrew didn’t speak much, but when he did, everyone listened.

My two warring brothers stepped away from each other and we carried on down the pavement as if nothing had ever happened.

There was a line outside the club even though the night was young. The humans were keen to start a night of public groping, socially accepted binge drinking, and wearing onesies out of bed. Sometimes I had a hard time understanding new human ways, their fads and trends changed in the blink of an eye.

We didn’t have to queue. Max had used a special vampire technique to convince the bouncers to let us in whenever we wanted. If that didn’t work we could buy our way in, but it always worked. Some vampires called it complement, a way to compel or mesmerise a human into doing what you wanted. All my brothers were brilliant at it; I wasn’t so skilled. Nine out of ten times I failed to hypnotize even the dumbest of humans. Max told me it was a natural talent to anyone in the Royal Evergrove Line, but I guess the skill had skipped past me. I’d stopped trying these days.

The bouncers stepped aside and we filed our way into the loud club. Dante’s was a dank cave. Most the humans that frequented the club didn’t see the stained floors or cracked walls in the low light. Yet, my eyes saw it all in high definition, and for once in my vampire life I wish I had human vision. Nobody wanted to see what dirty items were hiding under the seating area in the corner.

I took a stool next to Max at the bar while the staff poured us drinks we’d never touch.

“We’ll split into two and meet in the alleyway like normal,” Cassius said. He picked up a drink and walked with Andrew into the crowd on the dance floor.

The music boomed, the drumming electronic beat pulsed under my skin. It's beat only increased my desire to find a real drink.

After watching Max chat up some drunk girl for longer than I cared for, I was ready to ditch the boys and find a target on my own. I wondered how Cassius and Andrew were getting on. They weren’t as fun as Max and Charlie but I bet they’d found themselves a suitable human by now.

I turned to face the bar as Charlie and Max met one of the girl’s friends. They were wasting their time. We never targeted groups. There were too many possible witnesses. It would be suspicious if ten people suddenly vanished one night after meeting five beautiful strangers. Times had changed. Decades ago you could drain an entire house and nobody would ever suspect anything other than a horrific act of human violence. But nowadays, there were more vampire hunters. There had always been hunters, but now they were more organised. They worked in larger groups, and watched out for the signs a vampire had fed. I hated vampire hunters. They spoilt all the fun, and they were the reason father was so over protective.

“Can I buy you a drink?” A man stood at the bar next to me.

His tall, well-built frame dwarfed my own. But little did he know that I was far more powerful than he could ever dream of being. No amount of gym sessions could compare to a vampire’s natural power.

“Sure.” I smiled, watching the club’s lights shine off his blue eyes. His dark hair was short and the stubble along his jawline famed his rugged face.

He leaned forward to hand the bartender the money, and I caught a clear view of a strong pulse in his neck. Losing control for a second I licked my lips, hopefully no one saw my fangs.

“You look like the kind of girl that drinks red wine. Hope you don’t mind?” He placed a glass of dark red liquid in front of me and I couldn’t help but smile at the little glass. It could have been a glass of blood by the way it looked.

“Thanks,” I replied, taking the glass in my hand. I kept my answer short. Rule number one in finding a new victim was to never give too much away. A little mystery kept the human curious and wanting to know more.

I picked the glass up and crossed one leg over the other as I turned to face him. He wore dark jeans and a smart shirt. The dark fabric looked expensive and he didn’t seem like the type that visited Dante’s. His shoes were clean and he had a sensible look about him. I couldn’t imagine him in fancy dress for a stag do or in a scruffy jeans and t-shirt. Those kinds of guys were Dante’s regulars.

“So… what’s your name?” he asked, a small smile turning his lips. He was handsome, very handsome for a human.

“You tell me yours first,” I replied, while scanning the room to see if he was here with friends. He appeared to be alone. Rule number two when hunting; make sure your target is on their own.

“Harvey.” He held his hand out for me and I took it with care. His grip was firm but there was something tender there as well. His dark shirt rode up his arm a little, revealing the edge of a tattoo. It looked like the start of a pattern that went up the length of his bicep, but I couldn’t be certain.

“Nice to meet you, I’m…” Max came up behind me as if out of nowhere. He put a hand on my shoulder and whispered into my ear.

“We have a target primed and ready in the stock room. Come on, this guy is too noticeable, Mary.” He spoke too fast for a human ear to understand.

I stood, placing the drink down. The man, Harvey, grabbed my hand.

“Aren’t you going to tell me your name?”

I shook my head and pulled my hand free from his. Then I followed Max leaving Harvey behind without another word. He was a lucky man who didn’t realise how close he’d been to death.

The stock room was down a flight of stairs past the unpleasant club toilets. Once inside I followed Max round a large stack of boxes to find a girl laid flat on the dusty floor. Her blond hair splayed out all around her and her clothes were damp from a spilt drink.

The hunt was over we had our meal.

After finishing we took the girl out through the back exit where we found Cassius and Andrew. This was the alleyway we would meet in after a hunt.

“It’s a shame we can’t take the servants out with us. Grant would have enjoyed this,” I mused, while helping Cassius slump a dead man against the dumpster in a convincing position. Charlie placed the girl we’d drained on the floor, by the man’s feet.

“Really Mary, your attachment to that necromancer is getting out of hand. He’s your servant, not a pet you feed your left overs to,” Cassius spat.

“Hey!” I dropped the arm of the dead human and frowned at him. “Grant is the best servant in the house. There is nothing wrong with rewarding his good work.”

“With an attitude like that you will never make a decent vampire Queen.” Cassius turned to face me. Andrew took his knife out and cut into the man’s neck to hide their bite marks and make it look like a fight gone wrong. He did the same to the girl, taking her purse and empting it of her cards and cash. A robbery gone wrong was the best way to fool the human police.

“And how will you ever be able to rule this country with such an enormous stick up your bum? You won’t even be able to sit down on the throne!” I teased.

Max began to laugh uncontrollably. “She got you!” Max wheezed, slapping Cassius on the back. Cassius grabbed his arm and I was certain he was about to strike Max, but then he froze.

“Shut up!” he hissed, and his face paled.

We all stood like the dead, and my senses went into overdrive listening for what he’d heard.

When I was younger, only a few decades old, I’d been off guard and let my prey get away from me. A young woman escaped my clutches whilst I'd fed on her. Once she was free of me she started running around the palace, throwing paintings from their walls and smashing furniture. I got her back eventually, but father was so disappointed with me. He’d told me, never let your guard down. Humans, even though inferior to us, are still crafty. Do not let them get the better of you. You are a princess and a vampire, don’t forget that, Mary.

This evening I’d forgotten his words. I’d let my guard down and now three vampire hunters stood between the exit and us.