Colfax Avenue was perfect. For one thing, there was plenty of prey; hunting was always easy. For another, they were the best sort of prey: humans no one cared about, who wouldn't be helped if attacked or missed if they disappeared. The dregs of society. They were always plentiful, and there were always fresh ones showing up. Provided she was careful and judicious, she could feed off them for years.
She crept up an alley to the edge of the street and crouched in the shadow behind one building. There were over a dozen humans on the street tonight. Their heat auras made them look ghostly, but the psychedelic red, orange, and yellow figures stood out in a stark manner against the blacks, violets, and blues of the street and buildings. Occasionally one would pass under a street lamp, and then she saw them as clearly as a human would in the daytime. Their appearances didn't matter; neither did their sex, age, or physical condition. All that did was their health, but she could spot anyone with a disease or deleterious blood condition from a hundred feet away.
Peering around the corner, she spotted a human walking up the sidewalk towards her. It was a female, not yet two decades old, plump and ripe. Her aura glowed with health and vigor, and no trace of disease or toxic substances in her body. As she approached, details of her body became more distinct. She wore scanty, revealing clothing with a great deal of makeup and spiked heels. The intersection between her legs glowed an especially vivid shade of pink.
She grinned in a feral manner. This human would do nicely.
Standing erect, she waited until the female came abreast of the alley's opening. Lashing out, she seized her by the throat, then squeezed, choking off her breath before she could scream. In a flash, she pulled her into the alley and deftly whirled around, slamming her face-first into the wall. She let the stunned female fall to her knees and ripped off her top before kneeling behind her. Leaning forward, she bent her head and clamped her teeth onto the neck at the shoulder, biting deep into the flesh. The neck was the best place to feed; there were so many blood vessels just under the skin but none particularly major, provided she avoided the carotid artery and the jugular vein. She felt the blood flow into her mouth and she began to suck on the wound, letting the hot fluid flow down her throat.
In moments the Hunger abated to a barely noticeable level, but she continued to feed for some minutes. There was no reason not to fill her stomach. However, she stopped as soon as she felt the lifeforce slipping away. It was tempting to drain the female completely, but she couldn't allow herself to do that, she had to practice restraint. She hadn't killed any prey yet, though the first couple of nights she nearly drained three of them dry. Though killing humans, whether by accident or on purpose, was inevitable, it was still dangerous. If she did it too often, the prey would leave her hunting territory, and then hunters would come looking for her. And it made little difference whether those hunters were humans or her own kind.
She licked the wound and the surrounding skin, both to retrieve every last drop of blood and to clean the wound. She folded the top and laid it over the wound, tying it off tightly under the female's arm. It made little difference to her whether the human would be found before she bled to death, but at least this way she would have a fighting chance.
She stood and took a moment to collect her bearings. Facing south, she started walking. She only paused long enough to wash her face and hands in an outdoor swimming pool. She had no destination in mind, yet she knew exactly where she was going: to a two-story, square house at the edge of a gated community, across from a large cemetery.
She felt drawn to the house. She didn't understand why, but each night, after she had fed and the worst of the Hunger had abated, she went to it without fail. She had no difficulty getting past the security measures that protected the neighborhood. They were meant to keep out human criminals; they were never designed for individuals such as she. She spent a few minutes examining the structure, as if figuring out how to get in, then deftly climbed the wall to the roof. She made her way to a skylight, and settled down into a crouch as she looked into the room below.
It was a bedroom, with a queen-sized bed. It held two occupants: one was a cat, curled up at the foot of the bed, the other was a young girl. She slept naked under a sheet, on her side, her mane of gamboge hair billowing around her head, shoulders, and torso.
There was something about this girl, something that fascinated her. She didn't know who she was, but she felt familiar, as if she should know her but couldn't remember. She was definitely vivacious, full of life and blood, and she often toyed with the idea of breaking in and feeding on her. Only two things stopped her. One was the risk. It was one thing to take derelicts no one would miss off the street; it was another to take prey in its own home, especially a home like this. An attack on this girl most likely would raise questions, which would lead to an investigation, that could result in the authorities uncovering her existence. The other thing was that she never came to this house until after she had fed, so that she didn't need to take this girl's blood. Besides, she felt enamored rather than predatory. Maybe some day she could take her as a pet, or even a companion, but for now she was simply content to watch her.
"Eile Chica."
She snapped her head up at the words. In front of her, perched on the peak of the roof, stood a massive woman, with adobe-colored skin, long gold-tinged bronze hair, and a long, sharp face. Her heat aura blazed a brilliant white with harnessed power.
Her again! For four nights now she had been following her around, spying on her, confronting her, trying to catch her. Why couldn't she leave her alone!?
Eile hissed a warning as she stood, her body taut, her arms held out from her sides, her palms up and the fingers flexing. She was ready to fight if need be, but she knew this human was too strong for her. It would be better to run, but she had to make sure the woman wouldn't follow.
"Eile, listen to me. I will not hurt you. I am here to help you. Please, you used to trust me. Trust me again now."
Her words meant nothing. She understood what the woman was saying, but they had no significance for her. For all she cared, the woman could have been reciting limericks. All that mattered was that she was a threat, a danger, and she had to get away from her.
"Eile, calm down," the woman continued, as she started down the slope of the roof. "Come with me. I will shelter and feed you, while I try to find a way to restore you. You need not have to live like this. Let me help you."
Eile hissed again, turned, and leapt off the roof onto a balcony.
"Eile, no! Wait!"
Eile turned and hissed back at her, then jumped to the ground. She raced off as soon as she landed, vaulting over the high fence that surrounded the back yard, running as fast as she could manage. In moments the house was far behind her, as the scenery flashed past her in a blur.
Medb hErenn drifted down to the balcony as she watched Eile disappear into the night. "Damnaigh!" she cursed, frustrated, both with herself and the situation. Technically, she realized, she should chase after her, but she knew from past encounters that Eile was now as fast as she was. Having a head start like this, she had no hope of catching up with her. Besides, Eile could easily lose her before she returned to her daytime sanctuary, so there was no point in trying to follow. She had already tried that twice, with no success.
This wasn't working out, and what made it worse was that she couldn't shake the feeling Eile was running out of time.
The night that Eile disappeared, Medb had mobilized her resources both in law enforcement and the criminal underworld to find and rescue her. At the time, she had no reason to believe it wasn't a conventional kidnapping. As such, when three nights later Sunny reported she had seen Eile looking at her through the skylight in the ceiling of their bedroom, she greeted the news with some surprise. Nonetheless, the following evening she staked out the house and saw Eile herself. She followed her, and she realized what had happened when she observed her feeding on a street person. Unfortunately, she made the mistake of confronting her there and then. Eil
e spooked and tried to run, and Medb grappled with her. That was when she discovered just how strong Eile had become. Afraid she might hurt her, she let her go and Eile disappeared into the night.
She recriminated herself for the blunder again. She should have stayed hidden and followed Eile to her sanctuary; instead, all she had accomplished was to put her on her guard, which made her and Sunny's job all the more difficult.
The next day she called off the search. She knew her contacts were not equipped psychologically or intellectually to deal with this turn of events. Besides, there were delicate politics of a unique kind involved. In any event, she didn't want anyone else knowing what had happened to Eile. She would have preferred to keep Sunny in the dark as well, but Sunny had seen too much and quickly guessed the truth, and in any event Medb knew she would have to tie her up in a gunny sack to keep her out of this. Even then, there was no guarantee the resourceful girl wouldn't find a way to get loose, at which point she would go off on her own. For her own safety, Medb wanted to keep her where she could keep an eye on her.
As such, during the day, she and Sunny searched the city for Eile's sanctuary, while at night, as Sunny slept, Medb tried to