Geoffrey's anger, which had been on the decline, flared up again at the thought of all the terrorized people he'd felt brush his consciousness as he'd traveled to the church. Reaching his thoughts even deeper into the boy's mind, the vampire pushed his own feelings through the link, imprinting them on the quivering collection of memories before him.
What the boy had done to terrorize those around him was inexcusable. It was only just that he taste at least a small portion of the helplessness he'd inflicted on others.
The vampire pulled the boy down and spun him around so they were facing the same direction. The gangster had mastered his fear enough to want to resist, but Geoffrey intercepted the thoughts before they were able to fully coalesce and crushed them ruthlessly.
As the boy finally began to understand the futility of his efforts, Geoffrey sank his teeth into the tattooed skin before him. The pain that shot through the boy's thoughts should have revolted Geoffrey, but instead it gave him a sick sense of satisfaction.
He let his mind push a single additional message to the boy. "Yes, you are helpless."
The blood trickling down Geoffrey's throat sent little thrills of pleasure through him. For a moment he lost himself in the bliss of finally satisfying the hunger that had been stalking him for days. It wasn't until the trickle slowed, and the lattice of thoughts before him started to dim, that the vampire came back to himself and dropped the boy.
Geoffrey's hate and anger were suddenly extinguished as the magnitude of what he'd done swept through him. He'd killed them all. Most of them had been murderers, but he hadn't taken the time to be certain that they all were. The one he'd just fed from hadn't been a murderer. He'd been headed that direction, but he hadn't crossed that line yet. Geoffrey hadn't just fed on him, he'd enjoyed his terror.
Geoffrey had done exactly the thing he'd condemned the boy for. He'd tried to rationalize the deaths he'd caused up to this point as justice, but if this boy did die it would be something else, something darker.
Geoffrey reached down to pick the teenager up, only to pause at the sound of distant sirens. Reflexes took over and the vampire found himself running out the back door before his mind had fully processed what he was doing.
He was a coward. Not only that, Venice and Imastious were right. He was a killer. He should stay and let the police apprehend him, let them put him away like the animal he was. It was a tempting solution to his problems, but what if Imastious' reach was really as long as the older vampire kept implying it was?
If he could get to Geoffrey inside of prison he'd find out about the girl. He'd kill her as punishment. Geoffrey deserved to be punished, but the girl didn't.
Geoffrey couldn't change what he'd done, but he could at least protect her. He knew that he would hate himself later, but that didn't stop his headlong flight.
Chapter 9
Venice executed a blindingly fast overhead strike towards Geoffrey's head, but he caught her practice weapon on his own and turned the blow so that it slid past his shoulder.
"You're getting better, love. I'm still faster, but you're gaining ground on me."
Geoffrey launched an attack of his own, moving with speed he almost couldn't believe as he sliced his weapon towards Venice's stomach. She effortlessly parried the blow and riposted with an attack that hit his arm with bone-bruising force.
It was the kind of injury that should hurt for days, but his body seemed to heal faster than a normal person's. All of the wounds that he'd taken at the church had been gone within a day or so.
The thought of what he had done at the church brought a wave of sadness that must have made it to Geoffrey's face. Rather than telling him to defend himself again, Venice lowered her weapon and stepped back.
"There, there, love, don't fret. You're making real progress, especially considering how recently we started all of this."
Maybe Geoffrey would have felt a little better if the last kid had survived, but probably not. Even if the EMT's had arrived in time to save him it wouldn't have changed the fact that Geoffrey had tried to kill him. There wasn't any getting away from the seriousness of what he'd done.
Realizing that Venice was waiting for a response, Geoffrey faked a smile. "Oh, I'm fine."
Venice smiled back and then pulled her tank top over her head, leaving her dressed in just light cotton pants and a sports bra. "Well, I think we're pretty much done here, so it's time for a shower. I suppose that you're going to remain a prude and refuse to join me?"
Geoffrey had long since learned that the best course of action was to just ignore Venice when she started to flirt. "I'm going to go for a run while you're doing that. Lock up when you leave."
Venice's eyes tightened slightly, but then she shrugged in indifference. "I don't understand this sudden love of running, especially considering that you don't take any kind of weapon with you when you do it."
"You told me yourself that you run to maintain your conditioning. If what you tell me is true, no normal human could keep up with me, so it isn't like I have anything to worry about there."
"Yes, I do run, but I do so inside on a treadmill in the controlled environment of a very exclusive gym. That way, suitably overawed and appreciative males can watch me out of the corner of their eyes and wish for the kinds of offers from me that you so casually dismiss."
Despite his foul mood, a smile nearly made it to Geoffrey's lips. Venice really did have a way of growing on a person. He still didn't trust her, not by a long shot, but she was kind of nice to have around.
"Fine, continue with your uncivilized ways. I'll lock everything up when I leave, but in all seriousness, you need to stop thinking of humans as your only threat--there are other vampires out there who will kill you in a heartbeat if they realize who and what you are."
Geoffrey's mood further soured at the thought of someone like Imastious actively trying to kill him, but he just grabbed his keys and headed out the door.
Geoffrey had little if any real hope that running would help him sort anything out, but possibly it would at least serve as a distraction for a short time. The vampire settled into a natural pace that his body seemed willing to sustain, and absently wished that it was still light out so that he could see the vibrant green of the foliage as it slid past him.
No amount of exertion seemed able to tear Geoffrey's mind away from his problems, but he increased his speed with each mile in a vain attempt to force his thoughts into some semblance of order.
The last mile flew by in a near sprint, leaving Geoffrey feeling as crushed physically as he was emotionally, but it still didn't accomplish what he'd hoped it would. His mind still troubled, the vampire started walking in a random direction to allow his body to begin cooling down.
Venice had come over early enough that even after running for longer than normal, it still wasn't late enough for most of the city to have gone to bed. The first couple of panhandlers Geoffrey passed tried to accost the vampire, but halfway through their pitch something in his eyes caused them to begin stammering and back away.
Their business was one of making people feel guilt and loss, but when faced with real evil, actual suffering, apparently they'd turn and run lest it somehow prove contagious. None of them really knew what it meant to suffer.
Geoffrey's feelings boiled inside of him, seeking the catharsis that had been denied him during his run, and for a split second the vampire wanted to cry. Tears might be the only way to purge himself of everything he was feeling, but something refused to let Geoffrey break down. Instead the sorrow turned to anger, an anger that made him spiteful. He started reaching out with his thoughts to somehow punish them and then thought of the girl he'd saved.
She knew what it was to suffer. She knew what it was like to watch her only remaining family member slowly slip away from her, all the while wishing there was something she could do to halt their decline. She knew what it meant to slip out in the night, fearing for her life but still risking who knew what to try and bring relief to that last fa
mily member.
Geoffrey had avoided thinking about the girl for quite some time, as if doing so might somehow prevent Imastious from learning about her, but his worry for her now pushed its way to the forefront of his mind. Was she okay? How had the memory of what had happened affected her?
The vampire knew it was foolish to meddle any further than he had, but he nonetheless found his feet turning so that he was walking towards the projects where everything had happened.
He placated his conscience by telling himself that it didn't matter. He would get there, the door would be locked, and that would be that. It was too late for her to be out and about, so waiting to see whether or not she looked okay would be a pointless exercise. He would mope about and then, having safely gotten her out of his system, he'd go home and forget about her.
Geoffrey arrived at his destination, but his desire to see the girl had grown rather than fading as he'd expected. He looked up at one of the few windows still lit up in the building and tried to remember whether it was hers, or if hers had been the one just to the west. A memory bubbled to the surface of Geoffrey's mind, and he allowed himself to picture the way she'd looked lying peacefully in her bed, seemingly unspotted by all the violence she had just seen, unmarred by all the suffering she'd experienced.
Hesitantly trying the outside door, the vampire found that someone had destroyed the lock since his first visit. As he started inside, he told himself that he'd go to the top of the building, climb down to her window, and look in from the fire escape for just a few minutes. He'd be there just long enough to confirm she was okay and then he'd leave forever.
A few minutes later Geoffrey crept down the corroded metal until he reached her window. The lack of lights initially made it impossible to verify that he had the right apartment, until the vampire recognized the barely visible curtains resting against the window frame.
Trembling from emotions he couldn't identify, Geoffrey curled up in a shadow and closed his eyes. It was coming easier now, after so many hours of practice. Geoffrey filtered through the chaos of his thoughts and found the subtly alien part of his mind that allowed him to reach out with his thoughts.
The thinnest of tendrils drifted into the room, slowly questing for his target. When Geoffrey finally brushed up against the girl's thoughts, the contact was so light as to be practically imperceptible.
She was asleep, but not peacefully so. Geoffrey strengthened the connection between them until he was able to pick out more surface thoughts. As images started flowing through the link, Geoffrey found himself looking out of the girl's eyes as she stood in front of a mirror. He had just enough time to register he was in a public bathroom of some kind before his attention was captured by the figure staring back at him.
It was the girl, but she looked different. It was as if even the slightest of imperfections had been magnified and made more obvious. The lithe, almost perfect figure that Geoffrey remembered from the last time he'd seen her had been replaced with a heavier, average build that, if anything, was disproportionately small-chested and large through the hips. The shiny dark hair that had reminded Geoffrey so much of the girl from his dream was now dull, somehow changed to a decidedly less appealing shade of brown.
The only possible explanation for her altered appearance was that this was how the girl saw herself. Before Geoffrey could reflect on what would cause such a disconnect from reality, the bathroom doors swung open and a trio of emaciated teenage girls walked in and surrounded the sink where Geoffrey and his host were standing.
"What are you doing in here, loser?"
A wave of anger rose inside of Geoffrey at the hurt flowing through the link.
"Nice outfit, Melody, I think my grandma wore something like that back when dinosaurs roamed the earth."
The hurt increased, joined by spikes of inferiority and shame.
Once she stopped laughing, the blonde girl standing in the middle of the trio looked Geoffrey/Melody over and shook her head. "You so don't make the cut to be here, go use the bathroom down by the sophomore lockers."
As the scene dissolved into something else with the usual abruptness of a dream, Geoffrey withdrew his mental probe from the girl's thoughts. Melody, the girl's name was Melody. At least Geoffrey had that much now.
Chapter 10
Ever since Geoffrey had shared Melody's dream he hadn't been able to think of anything other than her plight with the three girls. Even his own situation hadn't made the vampire feel quite as helpless as what was happening to her. Geoffrey's plan to help had seemed much more reasonable before he'd spent several hours sitting out in the uncomfortable sunlight. He wished that he'd thought to pull the names of the three girls from Melody's mind when he'd followed her to school. Unfortunately, unless he was going to turn around now there was nothing to do but press on. If all else failed, he could always try again tomorrow.
Shrugging slightly, Geoffrey stood and walked towards the main entrance of the school. It had probably been a shiny marvel back twenty years ago but now just looked run-down and decayed. As the vampire stepped inside the building, a middle-aged man who managed to look stern despite a heavily-receding hairline intercepted him.
"Are you a parent?"
Geoffrey reached out with his mind, worming tendrils of thought into the man's subconscious as he pulled a leather wallet from his coat pocket.
"NYPD. I need to question some of your students about a sensitive matter."
Sight of the nickel badge initially garnered the incredulous response that Geoffrey had expected, but he ruthlessly suppressed the thoughts he didn't want before they made it to the forefront of the man's brain. It was the work of a couple of seconds to implant the belief that the badge was real and that there was nothing to do but just cooperate and hope that Geoffrey didn't cause too many problems before he left.
"I won't take up too much of your time, but I'll need to see your records to identify the students in question. If you'll point me towards the office and let them know I'm on my way, I'll be out of your hair before you know it."
The thoughts flowing through the link took on worries about student rights and possible repercussions, but Geoffrey rooted out the assistant principal's concerns and replaced them with the idea that it was really the principal's job to worry about that kind of stuff.
After a moment's hesitation, the other man reached down to his side and pulled out a walkie-talkie. "Beth, I'm sending a detective down to you guys. Please let Principal Sorensen know he's on his way and ask if he can go through the picture files we keep on the students."
Geoffrey suppressed the sigh of relief that tried to give him away, and instead gave the assistant principal a casual nod. "Thanks, and the office is…?"
After walking down the tiled halls in the direction he'd been pointed for a couple minutes, Geoffrey's senses picked up a gathering of minds that looked like it was probably what he was looking for.
Upon entering the office, Geoffrey was confronted by a number of giggling high school girls and three middle-aged ladies. The two casually dressed ladies had taken up positions behind the large counter that seemed to serve as a barricade to keep any irate students at arm's length, while the third lady was obviously waiting for Geoffrey to appear.
"Who the hell do…" The principal cleared her throat and then began again. "I mean why are you here, and why wasn't I notified you were coming?"
Geoffrey's thoughts had already reached out and threaded their way into the tightly organized mind before him. As a result, he knew exactly why the principal cleared her throat, and it was all he could do not to blush at the thoughts that were darting across the link. As he dove deeper into the principal's mind he wondered if Venice was thinking the same kinds of things while she was with him.
"Principal Sorensen, I presume?" Geoffrey flashed what he hoped was a winning smile, as he mentally reached to turn up the attraction flowing down the link towards him. The annoyance that had been predominant just a second ago was already melting away. A t
winge of conscience reminded Geoffrey that he was very much interfering with the woman's free will at this point, but he ignored the inclination to back out. Something like this wasn't really all that wrong, not when weighed against the opportunity to make sure that Melody wasn't hassled so much.
Realizing that the principal was still waiting for him to answer her question, Geoffrey continued. "I'm Allen Smith, NYPD. I apologize for the unusual circumstances surrounding my visit, but the answers to your questions are somewhat confidential. Would it be possible for us to step into your office?"
Geoffrey had actually just been trying to stall for time to think of a reason he was here, but the sudden increase in desire he was feeling through the link told him he'd hit on one of the best possible suggestions he could have made.
Maintaining a slightly irritated exterior that was corresponding less and less with what she was actually feeling, the principal led Geoffrey to her office, invited him to sit down, and then instead of taking a position behind her desk, chose a seat only a few feet from him.
"Officer Smith, I'm sure you understand my position in all of this. We can hardly allow actions that could result in any kind of outcry that student rights had been violated."
Apparently the attraction she was feeling wasn't quite strong enough to do the trick. That, or maybe she was normally just such a bulldog that this was incredibly accommodating compared to how she usually would have treated an interloper.
Geoffrey braced himself and then dove deeper into her mind.
"Please, call me Allen. Of course I understand completely the situation you find yourself in. Trying to balance the rights of the students with their need for oversight and guidance is always going to be a very difficult path to walk."
As he continued talking, Geoffrey tried to fuzzy up her recollection of whatever laws might apply. Then he installed a solid belief that they'd adequately discussed the relevant points, and that she was completely covered from a liability standpoint.