Serial

04. The Vampire of East Ernesting

     Every city has two sides. There is the side you want to show special family and visitors, the city center, the parks, the cute rows of townhouses with matching picket fences. Then there was the side that every city tries to hide. That side of town held the drug dens, the dive bars, the whores and the hoodlums. Ernesting was no exception.

      The Bloody Phoenix operated on the East side of Ernesting. Being in the more unsavoury side of the city, the small tattoo parlour saw its share of junkies, drunks, and college students, high off the city and feeling rebellious. The small shop was located in a dark corner of Maple street. The doors and windows were covered with graffiti and colourful sketches, and lit up by a sign reading“Tattoos and Piercings”.

     The inside of The Bloody Phoenix was small. Customers would walk into a small desk, cluttered with papers. Behind the desk were two curtained off sections, giving privacy to the customers as they got their work done.

     As dirty as the outside looked, the inside of The Bloody Phoenix was kept clean and sanitary. Venice Lee, the owner of the establishment and head tattoo artist, had built the business from the ground up, and wasn't about to lose it because of a paper jockey from the health department.

     Venice was dark haired and short statured. Her arms were covered in sleeves of intricate tattoos, stopping at the base of her neck and winding back down her chest, which she liked to show off by wearing gothic style corsets. She had dimple piercings, a tongue piercing, a nose ring, as well as some other piercings in more private parts of her body. On her back a large bird, blood red, rose from fire and ashes in another large tattoo.

     If Venice were to walk down the West side or Ernesting, she would expect quite a few looks from the residents there. When she had to make the occasional visit to the more posh side of town, she was often greeted with looks of fear, disgust, or disdain. In East Ernesting however, Venice was just a face among many.

     On the evening of October 25th, 2017, Venice was sitting at the cluttered desk in the front of the shop when a man stumbled in, eyes red from drugs and breath reeking of alcohol.

     “Whoa. Hey sexy thing.” The drunk man ogled Venice, eyes lingering on her curves. She gave him a once over then returned to looking through papers on the desk, pulling a blank form out after a moment of searching.

     “Sign this first.” Venice said it matter of factly, handing him a pen. The man scratched out a signature, not bothering to read the legal liability information of the form. In Venice’s experience, men like him never did, especially when they came in this late and this drunk.

     Venice led him to one of the curtained off areas, closing the curtain of the other one as they walked past, where her other tattoo artist lay sleeping. She sat him down on the plastic covered bed, then went to her own chair and got out another empty form.

     “So what do you want?”

     The man dropped his pants and lay ass up on the bed, “I want the numbers 666 big and bold on my right ass cheek.”

     “... Right.” Venice sighed to herself and wrote a couple things down on the paper, once again handed it to the man to sign, then drew the big “666” on his ass for him to approve, of which he barely looked at.

     The man lay patiently as Venice prepared the ink and needles, and often she caught him checking her out when she was turned away. She never minded, and often attributed her tight clothes to her large tips.

      “Have you ever gotten a tattoo before?”

     “Nope. First time, initiation of sorts.”

     “It's going to be hot and it's going to sting. Are you ready?”

     “Go for it baby doll.”

     Venice got started on the tattoo, not caring enough to be gentle. She felt the man clench in pain under her hands. She smiled to herself and continued on.

      Most tattoo parlours would refuse service to a customer if they were too drunk. Alcohol thins the blood, making it harder to see the tattoo as they worked on it. Venice didn't care. She enjoyed the smell of blood, and the feel as it dripped down her gloved fingers.

      After 40 minutes of tattooing, Venice put a large bandage over the man's ass, sealed tightly with tape. She dryly went over the aftercare routine as the man struggled to find a comfortable way to sit. The drunk man was then led back to the front desk, where Venice wrote up a bill and waited patiently for him to pay.

      The man pulled up a wad of large bills, focusing hard on trying to pull out the right amount, as well as a bit of extra for a tip. Venice eyed the cash, eyes lighting up for the first time since the man walked in. As he handed her the cash, she grabbed it with one hand and used the other to grab the man's arm, pulling him closer to her as she leaned over the desk.

      “You know… I have an apartment upstairs.” Venice gave him her best seductive look, stroking his arm with one arm and biting one of her fingers of her free hand. The man looked at her dumbfounded, then nodded vigorously, not needing more of an invitation.

      Venice smiled, grabbing the man's hand and pulling him to the back of the parlour, through a door, and up a set of creaking stairs. She then unlocked one of the two apartments up there, pulling the man through with her and locking the door once more.

      The apartment was small and bachelor styled. It had one big bed, against the wall in the center of the room. On one side a small kitchen sat, minimal with just a small stove, refrigerator, and cupboard. On the other side was the bathroom, open to the room, with a lone toilet and a big porcelain bathtub.

      Venice pushed the man over to the bed, he grimaced in pain when he first landed, but then he was easily distracted by Venice beginning to unlace her corset, back facing the man. The top fell to the ground and she looked over her shoulder to the man, smiling slyly.

      “What are you waiting for?”

      The man then stumbled into gear, kicking off his pants and practically ripping off his shirt. Venice dropped the top, walked over and straddled him on the bed, leather pants and heeled boots still on. She grabbed his face in her hands and kissed him deeply, biting his lip as she pulled away.

      “Do you trust me baby?” She asked him in her best baby doll voice. He nodded, jaw agape. She smiled and pushed him down on the bed, pulling his wrists together above his head. Then she licked his body, from stomach to neck. “I'm a little kinky… is that alright?”

      The man shuddered under her, putty in her hands. She smiled and slid off of him, going to her bedside drawer and pulling out a thick rope. She climber on top of him again and leaned over him as she bound his wrists together. The man didn't mind, he was fixated on her naked breasts hanging over his face.

     Once her knots were tight, Venice sat up again, grinding her body against the man's. He moaned with pleasure and throbbed against her. She let out a small laugh and got up once more,pulling the man to a sitting position once more. He was more than willing to be pulled however Venice wanted. She got off him once more and pulled another item from her bedside.

     “Will you humour me a little more?” Venice gave him an innocent smile as she wrapped a leather blindfold over his face.

     The man chuckled nervously, “I still haven't seen that great ass yet.”

     Venice tightened the blindfold and rubbed the mans shoulders and whispered into his ear, “Trust me baby it's worth it.”

     Venice spent some more time pleasuring the man into relaxation, massaging, grinding and licking. When he was thoroughly enjoying himself again she got to her feet, pulling him up to his as well.

     “What's happening now?”

     “We're going to go to the bath.”

     “You are a dirty girl aren't you?” Venice rolled her eyes as she led him up to the porcelain tub.

     “Big step in now.”

     The man complied, stumbling slightly as he took a step into the tub. Venice lifted his arms, sliding the rope of his bound wrists to a hook on the wall. She then put a plug in the tub, and started the hot water of the shower over the man.

      One last time she did what it took to bring the man to a state of utter bliss and relaxation, then she stood up, took a straight razor from the side of the tub…

     And then slit the man's throat from ear to ear.

     The average human body only contains about 5.5 l****s of blood. This meant as the thin blood drained quickly out of the drunk man’s throat, Venice also was slowly filling the tub with hot water. When the tub was full of liquid, she also added a few drops of different essential oils, giving the bath some earthy tones to compliment the smell of fresh blood. At last Venice stripped bare, got into the deep red tub, and thoroughly enjoyed soaking herself.

     Venice drained the bath when it ran cold, then showered the remaining streaks of blood off her skin. She put on a silk bra, silk underwear, and wrapped up in a silk bathrobe, loving the way the fabric felt against her revitalized skin. She slipped on a pair of heels and went back downstairs to the tattoo parlour.

     Tidus, the other artist at The Bloody Phoenix, awake now from his nap, gave Venice a smile when she slipped in. Venice smiled back, feeling awake and refreshed.

     “Anyone come in?”

     “Nope. Just some mail. You got a special letter by the way.”

     Venice briefly looked through the small pile of envelopes, eyes lingering for a moment on the handwritten one at the top of the pile. Then, deciding she wasn’t in the mood to look at bills, she tossed them onto her small table at her tattooing station. She then went to Tidus’ area, sitting down on his tattoo bed. He joined her a moment later, handing her a drink.

     “So what did we have tonight?”Tidus asked with a devilish grin.

     Venice took a long sip of her drink, then laid down on the bed, exposing her stomach. “He was a puppy dog, begging for treats and happy on a leash.”

     Tidus prepared the ink and the needles, then got started adding another trophy to Venice's collection.