The Blood Moons

Chapter Four

Bug practically skipped down the dirt road. The sky was robed in sparkling black above her and the dirt road was cool beneath her bare feet. Her hair bounced off her collarbones and emerald eyes twinkled merrily. The coarse brown skirt she had worn for her bar maid guise twisted around her slender legs as she spun, misleadingly delicate fingers trailing the stone walls of the building she was passing. Despite her carefree manner, her mind weighed heavily on her.

The conversation—as one-sided as it was—was racing circles in her mind. Why had she done it in the first place? Every time she found a damned Blood Mooner after her, she’d either quickly evade them and disappear into thin air or hurriedly kill them (as long as they fit her criteria, or course). But not her? Not Cyla Fillas? Why? Was it because she had stepped in when that man had gotten fresh with her? Not like Bug needed the help, but it was still a pleasant surprise. Not many people were like that, turning a blind eye to the ways of men. At that thought Bug rolled her eyes. If the world hadn’t been so wrapped around the notion that men could do no wrong, she wouldn’t be as she was today.

She was suddenly pulled from her thoughts when she heard a strangled cry. She paused, focusing her vampiric hearing on the slight sound. It seemed to come from an alley between two buildings just down the road from her. Her walk changed from the carefree teenager to the slow silent stalk of a predator. Without even disturbing the dirt of the road, she made her way to the alley. She pressed her back against the building wall and slowly peeked around the corner. The sight before her nearly had her snarling.

Bug watched as the drunk man from earlier had a young girl—even younger than she appeared to be—pressed against a wall. He fumbled about as he tried to paw at her. But the girl was twisting, turning, and struggling too much to make it easy for him. He snarled in frustration and backhanded her, causing the young girl to go still with a whimper of pain. Bug’s whole body vibrated with anger. The violent scene before her threw her back to her own childhood. Those nights had taught her fear, but they had also taught her strength. And in that strength, she had found her power. She curled a lip as she silently sneered. Clearly this man hadn’t learned anything from Cyla’s intervention.

She’d teach him the meaning of fear.

She adjusted her tunic collar even lower, her breasts threatening to burst out. She pinched her cheeks to add a bit of color to her pale skin and tossed her hair around erratically until it looked like it had taken on a life of its own. Then, taking a deep breath, she started to slowly walk past the alleyway entrance, purposefully making as much noise as possible.

Her plan worked. She purposefully kicked a rock, the scuffing noise echoing faintly down the alley. The drunk froze instantly, his head snapping in her direction. Though his eyes were glazed and unfocused, but knew he recognized her. His mouth slipped into a sloppy sneer and his eyes flashed black with lust. Bug pushed down her disgust and focused on the making her eyes as wide as possible, slipping in a bit of fear among the green.

The man’s previous victim noticed his attention elsewhere and she took the opportunity to squirm out from under him. She threw a fearful, apologetic gaze at Bug before she ran away into the building’s shadows. Do not worry girl, Bug thought to herself behind her terrified mask. I will make you safe once more. The man didn’t even notice the girl’s hasty exit, keeping his eyes pinned on Bug. He licked his lips, obviously thinking his newest victim easily at hand. She knew her mused hair and exposed pale, freckled skin was too much for him to resist. She was sure she looked like a very tasty morsel.

He leaned heavily on one shoulder against the building wall.

“What do we have here?” he sneered. His licked his lips once more, eyes roaming hap-hazardously. “I knew you wanted some of me.” He staggered towards her and Bug forced herself to not reveal her eagerness. Even going so far as to step back a moment. Bug covered her mouth with her hand in mock fear.

“Please, sir. Can’t you just leave me alone?” She sniffled and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. The man licked his lips while scratching his crotch. His eyes never left her. “Tha-that woman said she-she would hur-hurt you if you touched me again.” The man paused for a drunken moment, recognition flashing across his face before he pulled his lips thin.

“I don’t see her here right now,” he drawled. “And,” he stepped the final step closer to her. He grabbed her by her upper arm with one hand while clumsily running a grimy finger down the side of her face. He leaned in until he was right in her face, nearly head-butting her. “I don’t think you’ll be telling her a thing, will you, my flower?” Bug’s face darkened, but the man missed it as he dropped his face to her neck.

“No, sir,” she forced her mouth to say, hardly pretending anymore. “I can’t let you do that. It’d be wrong.” She squirmed half-heartedly. The man was so drunk that he didn’t even realize how fake she was being. He gripped her tightly by both arms now, shoving her back against the side of the building.

“You can, and you will keep it between us. It will be our little secret,” he growled. He pinned her against the wall, one hand holding her arms above her head. He shoved a leg between her thighs, forcing her legs to spread. His smell overtook her nose, the stench making her want to retch. The greasy feel of his fingers as he fumbled under her shift made her skin crawl. He started kissing her neck as he groped a breast, tweaking a n****e painfully and causing her to gasp. The strong heady smell of beer filled her nostrils, making her hyper senses swim.

“What a lovely little flower,” he whispered coarsely. Her body started to shake as he used his one free hand to pull at her underwear. Ripping them off her, he fumbled at his belt. As his pants fell to the ground, he gripped her thigh, shoving the skirt up to her midsection.

Finally, she couldn’t take it. Her shaking intensified and a hysterical laugh burst from Bug’s lips. He stopped, staring at her strangely. Slowly Bug pulled her arms down, easily removing them from his hand. She pushed him from her, planting her legs firmly on the ground. The man stumbled to the dirt, his pants still around his ankles. Bug straightened her clothes before throwing a disdainful look at him.

A low humorless chuckle escaped her. “You know, despite how long I’ve been alive, I still hope that there is some decency left in humans. Obviously, I felt you would fail. Even when you were warned, I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist. But still, I had to make sure. I had to know how far you would actually go.” With those words her eyes started to turn black, her lips pulling back from her teeth to reveal two long canines. The drunkard’s eyes seemed to have finally cleared as he instantly sobered. He cried out in fear, twisting himself around and struggling to crawl away. She could smell the exact moment he pissed himself, causing her to scrunch her nose in disgust.

Slowly she stalked towards him, letting the fear build in him. She was no longer the young and innocent girl. She was the wild and beautiful creature, full of terrible want and hunger. “You worthless f**k!” she spat. “You don’t deserve to breathe. Your heart pumps for one purpose and one purpose only.” She grabbed him by the back of his collar, pulling him to her as she crouched over him. She flipped him over to be able to look him in the eye. “To feed me.” Without hesitation she sunk her fangs into his neck.

The sweet taste of blood flooded her mouth, sending her body into ecstasy. As she continued to drink, she felt her body strengthen and her senses sharpen. Tingling ran through her and she knew without even looking that a bit of color was returning to her skin. Her hair was becoming fuller and healthier. It had been so long since she had last fed. And though she hadn’t looked like it to the unknowing outsiders, she had become starved. The blood flow had slowed to a trickle and the vampire realized that she couldn’t hear his sniveling and crying any more. He must be just about tapped out. Sucking one last time, she extracted her teeth and dropped him away from her.

“Better than s*x,” she muttered triumphantly, a shiver running down her spine. Standing, she kicked the body, strength her small body shouldn’t possess shoving him across the alley. She turned to leave, blood still dripping down her chin, when she noticed the pretty little Cyla standing there.

“Goddess’ t**s!” Cyla cried, her eyes wide as she stared at her. “You actually drank him? Here? In a f*****g alley where anyone could have seen you?!”

“You missed the part where he absolutely deserved it,” Bug stated, panting slightly at the new blood coursing through her system. She wiped the blood from her chin with her fingers before slowly licking them clean.

“But here?! In the alley?!” Cyla hissed in exasperation as Bug took a step closer.

“And it was delicious.” Bug fixed her hair for a moment before glancing at the angered bounty hunter. She sighed. “You know I’m a vampire. You know what we do. And I told you, I only kill those who deserve it. Whenever and wherever it was needed. Why in the alley? Because he was going to r**e me, Cyla. r**e me. In the alley. All because he wanted to get his d**k wet. How many people have fallen victim like he tried to victimize me? How many more if I had let him live? Why should his blood have gone to waste in such a despicable human being?”

Cyla chewed on her cheek.

“I can see that beautiful little mind of yours working,” Bug said with a sly grin. She sauntered the few feet that separated them. Lightly, she ran her fingers up Cyla’s arm. “Forget him. It was justified.” Cyla swallowed once, fighting the urges ingrained in her muscles to take the offending vampire back to the guild. Curtly she nodded once, allowing herself to let it slide. “Great. I see you got my note. You’re here because you want my help finding him, right?” She walked slow circles around Cyla, a teasing smile in her voice. “Don’t worry. I won’t drink from you.” She paused to brush Cyla’s hair from her face. “You’re too pure and all that.”

Cyla sighed heavily, rolling her eyes and shaking her head. Slowly she dropped the hood, her auburn hair tossed about in a sudden wind. She brushed it out of her face before looking Bug square in the eyes.

“You are a supernatural being. Dinasis Denor, by all accounts, is as well if the guild has a contract out on him. Maybe you know how to find him, like you said.” Bug leaned in close, the faint metallic smell of blood still on her breath. Cyla stared down at her, waiting. The vampire stood on her toes, bringing her mouth close to Cyla’s ear.

“Sounds like an adventure. It’s been ages since I’ve been on one of those.”

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The sun was rising when Cyla came down the stairs. She adjusted her pack once more on her shoulders, the straps settling into their regular place, and the black cloak concealing its shape easily. “Oh, m’dear,” Helda tutted as her slender form wove around the busy kitchen while wiping her hands on an apron. She stopped right in front of Cyla, motherly tucking the curls behind her ear. “You can’t leave already. You just got here.” She placed both hands on Cyla’s shoulders while sighing deeply. Cyla half-smiled.

“I know, Helda. But I do. I have another contract already. I’m just sorry that I wasn’t able to help out with the chores this time.”

“Oh, hush, you silly little thing. Think nothing of it. Here,” Helda turned away from Cyla. Cyla watched her as she grabbed two small bags. A slight warm feeling filled her heart to see the woman before her, the only woman she could really call a mother. There was a bit of flour on the side of her head, stark against the warm brown hair, and the story of her hard life was evident in the small wrinkles about her eyes. Yet she still smiled and was always the kindest person she knew. Cyla was thankful, just this once, that the whole family was ignorant to the supernatural world. She couldn’t bear the thought that anyone in this small surrogate family coming to harm. Like everyone else in her life had.

“I packed you some food. It’s nice of you to take the girl to her family on your way. I’ve been able to tell that she has been missing them desperately. There's enough dried meat and fruit and even some bread and cheese to last the both of you a few days.”

“Thank you, Helda,” Cyla said, allowing herself to lean forward and place a kiss on the woman’s cheek.

“You’re so lucky,” the oldest daughter said over her shoulder, looking wistfully at Cyla. “I never get to go anywhere.”

“In time, Sarie. Why would you want to leave your poor mother to deal with these people?” Helda said, motioning at the tall blonde while faking a pout.

“Your mother is right, Sarie. Your place is at home,” Tom said, coming into the kitchen behind Cyla. Sarie huffed before returning to the dough she was kneading. “Cyla, leaving already?” Cyla nodded bashfully. “And without a story, again.” Cyla shrugged unapologetically, failing to keep her smirk off her face.

“Ready to go, Cyla?” Bug’s sweet voice proceeded her entrance. She stopped abruptly, looking around at the people. She started fidgeting nervously at the attention. “I’m just really anxious to get home to my family.” Cyla quickly darted her eyes about, taking in all the understanding and empathetic looks the vampire was getting from the keepers. She’s good, I’ll give her that, Cyla thought.

“Of course, my dear. Please, if you find yourself coming back this way, don’t forget to see us. We’ll miss you, sweet thing,” Helda gushed, pulling Bug into a tight hug. Tom patted Cyla on her shoulder in his fatherly way.

“Until the next time we see you, bounty hunter,” he said gruffly, emotion thick in his voice. “Don’t let it be another six months before we see you again.”

“I can’t make any promises,” Cyla said. She patted Tom’s arm before heading towards the door, Bug following behind. Suddenly she spun around, continuing to walk backwards. “I expect my room to be the way I left it, Helda. No cleaning!” Helda’s laugh followed her out the door.

The summer air was quickly warming up, but the girls paid it no mind. Bug couldn’t feel any temperature and Cyla just did as she normally did, ignore it. Besides, she had more on her mind than the heat.

“This is going to be so much fun,” Bug quipped, skipping along. She’d changed out of her bar maid guise once they’d left the town and was now adorn in a deep red dress that hugged her girlish figure. The hem danced over the dirt road and swirled around her bare feet while the long open sleeves hid the girl’s hands. Her straw hair was braided down her back with elegant little twists along the side. The only non-elegant-looking thing about the girl was the road-weathered bag on her back that she’d borrowed from Tom. Cyla chuckled to herself. It was like a picture of the two of them on one person, the elegant and the functional all in one. “Where do we go first?”

Cyla chewed her lip a moment. “I’m not sure. This contract has been a long-standing one, long before I came to the guild. I’ve been looking for Dinasis Denor for ten years, always looking for signs and clues while working whatever came my way. And I’ve found very little in the way of, well, anything. You said you could help,” Cyla looked over at the vampire, studying the girl. “What is it you know?” Bug scrunched up her face before looking back out the side of her eye.

“Admittedly, not much.” She cleared her throat nervously. “I’ve heard a few rumors that he may either be the leader of some sort of supernatural resistance against the Blood Moons or that he may be a sad, old man that has lost his mind and is living in the middle of the woods somewhere.” Cyla stopped in the road, glaring at the vampire. Bug stopped not far ahead, embarrassment clear on her face.

“That’s it?” Cyla growled. “That’s all you know?” Bug nodded slightly. “How did you think telling me the same rumors that I already know was going to help?” She marched up to the girl, bending slightly so that she was in the vampire’s face. “You said you could help.”

“And I can!” Bug quickly said. “I can talk to other vampires and get information where if you had tried, they would just try to kill you instead. I can be your-your-your liaison! See, see. I can help!” Cyla kept eye contact with the vampire, her eyes flashing white for a moment as her emotions started to get away from her. Taking a deep breath, she reined in her anger. Without saying a word, she continued down the path.

Bug watched her walk away for a moment before dashing with a blink of an eye to be back beside the woman. “So where are we going?”

“We’re going to have to start at the next town. Perhaps there’s someone there that has some information. We’ll see if you can actually be of any help.”