Young Blood (A Witch Hunter Saga Novella)

  The front garden was decked out in Halloween decorations, though nobody was dressed up in costume. There were fake spider webs, pumpkins and all kinds of creepy things stuck in the lawn.

  A handsome looking guy stopped in front of them and waved a plastic pumpkin shaped bucket of candy at them.

  “Candy for the pretty lady?” he asked, holding out the bucket.

  Laughing, Liz took a few pieces and tossed some to Will.

  “See?” she said, elbowing him. “It’s gunna be great.”

  Walking across the lawn, she saw the front door was propped open and she glanced inside, trying to be easy about it since Will was right behind her. Thankfully, a girl was standing just across the threshold who she recognized from one of her literature classes.

  Catching her eye, she called out, “Hey, Francie.”

  “Hey Liz, c'mon in.”

  With a bright smile, she stepped through the threshold. Problem solved.

  “Uh, Liz?”

  She turned to see Will standing sheepishly outside where she left him. He kicked his foot at the threshold and it connected with thin air. Instantly, her face fell when she realized all her insecurities about him were completely true. He couldn't come inside because he hadn't been invited.

  “I know you know what this is,” he said like he was taking a chance.

  Spinning on her heel, she stalked back outside and jabbed a finger at his chest. “I defended you to my boyfriend,” she hissed, “and all this time you were keeping this from me when you knew what I was?”

  He squared his jaw before answering. “You kept it from me, too.”

  “I didn't know, Will. I. Didn't. Know.”

  “I had to be sure,” he went on. “I couldn’t just say it.”

  “Yeah, you could.”

  “No, if I was right about you and you freaked… I can’t compel you. Anyway, if you were human and freaked…” He shrugged. “I don’t think I could’ve handled that.”

  She started at him and realized he was into her. Of course she knew, he’d practically told her a million times, but she didn’t want to hear it. Sam was right. Shit, that pissed her off even more.

  “Will,” she said gently. “I’m with Sam.”

  He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I know.”

  “Shit,” she hissed, shaking her head.

  “I’m sorry, Liz. We can still be friends, right? We can have a good time.” He opened his jacket slightly and she saw he had a blood bag pinned to the lining.

  “What's that?” she asked, her eyes widening.

  “What does it look like?”

  “Why do you need that?”

  “These things tend to get pretty wild if you haven't noticed,” he said nodding through the door and toward the kitchen where seven kegs were stacked, waiting to be drunk by hormone crazed college kids. “It's a just in case, you know?”

  Narrowing her eyes, she grasped the arm of a passing student. “Invite him in,” she snapped.

  The student blinked and shook her head. Glancing at Will, she giggled. “Come on in. Enjoy the party.”

  Will cocked his head to the side and she shrugged. “You heard the human.”

  Stepping inside, she made a beeline straight for the kitchen and snatched up a red plastic cup. Filling it to the brim from the open keg, she handed it to Will and got one for herself. She downed it all in one go and the group of guys standing around the island clapped and cheered, wolf whistling their appreciation.

  “I’d tell you to slow down, but you know,” Will said, laughing.

  “I’d say you only live once, but you know.”

  First pouring herself a refill, she tugged Will into the sitting room where some fast, popular, dance song was playing. She’d fought with Sam, Will was a vampire and all she wanted to do was forget and have some fun for a few hours. Let fucking loose.

  Holding her cup in the air she danced around to the music, bumping against other people, against Will. She forgot about all her problems for one second and just enjoyed herself. For that one small slice of time, she could forget she was trying to hide the truth about who she was, forget about her stupid fight with Sam, and forget Will’s deception. That was until a group of football jocks decided to have a fight in the middle of the room.

  There was a crash as a broad shouldered guy fell against the coffee table, cracking his head against the corner. There was a few cries of annoyance from the crowd as they jostled them to get out of the way.

  Liz stopped abruptly, staring at the blood that was now gushing from the guy’s head.

  “Liz,” Will said, grabbing her arm. “You okay?”

  She shook her head to clear it, the stench of blood thick on the air. “Yeah, I…” She trailed off as she felt her throat constrict.

  Will’s eyes narrowed and he pulled her toward the back door. “Let’s get some air, huh?”

  She had no choice but to let him drag her out of the house and into the rear garden. Shit, she’d let her control slip for one second and it was almost a disaster. What if she’d changed and gone on a rampage in the middle of a room crammed full of college students?

  Cool air hit her skin and the scent began to die away until all she could smell was the earthy tones of the garden that had been churned up by dozens and dozens of feet.

  “I told you these things get crazy,” Will said, guiding her down the garden path.

  Sitting on a bricked edge of a flowerbed she said, “I thought I had a handle on it.”

  He sat next to her. “How old are you?”

  “Two years give or take.” Two years sounded like a lot of time now, but in two hundred? Shit, her throat still hurt.

  “That’s all?”

  “Why? How old are you?”

  Will grimaced in the darkness. “Old.”

  “Spill.”

  “A hundred and fourteen.”

  “Shit.”

  He started to laugh. “Well, I can’t say I’ve gotten that reaction before.”

  Swallowing, she tried to get rid of the metallic taste in her mouth, but it wouldn’t go away. It was driving her mad. “You got that blood bag?”

  Will opened his jacket. “You need some?”

  She nodded. “Just a little. My throat is killing me.”

  Unfastening the safety pin, he handed it to her. “You on the human stuff?”

  “No, but I can take it.”

  Will glanced back to the house uneasily. “Liz, I don’t think that’s such a good idea. If you don’t-”

  “Just give it here.” She snatched the bag from him and ripped the top off. “Just a little, okay?”

  She’d survived on a combination of human and animal blood in her first six months before weaning off it completely. A mouthful wouldn’t hurt and she knew she could handle it. It wasn’t like being an alcoholic. One taste wouldn’t send her off the rails because she hadn’t been hooked on it in the first place.

  The bag hit her lips and the tang of blood hit her tongue and everything came alive. Every nerve ending in her body sung with intense clarity and as it ran down her throat she felt an overwhelming need. She wanted more. She drew another mouthful and felt Will’s hand on her arm.

  “I think that’s enough, Liz.”

  She shook his hand away and continued to suck the bag dry.

  “Liz.”

  “No,” she hissed, rising to her feet. Where was impulse control now? One drop of human blood spoke to all the things that had been dulled inside of her. Her hearing was sharper, her sight was crisper…and she felt stronger than she’d ever had - and the sensation was only growing as the blood began to circulate through her system.

  “Liz?”

  Her head snapped up at the sound of Francie’s voice. They’d been paired together for an assignment in one of her classes a few weeks back and had instantly liked her. She was tall, slim, pretty with a wild head of curly hair and constantly had a string of guys following her around. But Liz wasn’t seeing any of that. All her bra
in could process were two things. Human and food. She was so hungry.

  “What’s up, girl? Some party, huh?”

  She felt Will’s hand on her arm, but nothing could’ve stopped her. She was high on human blood and beyond reasoning.

  Launching herself onto Francie, she went straight for her neck, biting into flesh. Blood burst into her mouth and she groaned at the sweet taste, hardly hearing the screams splitting the night air. Her hand clamped down on her friend’s mouth as she held her in place, drinking like there was no end in sight.

  Hands pulled at her from someplace far away. “Liz, stop. Let her go, you’re killing her.”

  She didn’t listen.

  “Liz, stop.” Suddenly, she was torn away and a wail came from her throat, but it was the split second she needed to realize what she’d done.

  Dropping Francie, she stumbled back and almost fell into the opposite garden bed. Francie began to sob, curling into a ball like it’d protect her from the monster that had just attacked her. Her heartbeat was slowing, her skin color was fading and her eyes...

  “I killed her,” Liz sobbed, her hands clawing into her hair. “I killed her.”

  “Shit, Liz. Calm down,” Will pleaded with her, but she was too amped up.

  She’d killed a vampire before, but never a human. Never. She was covered in blood. It was all over her hands, clothes, her face, in her hair…and it burned. Is this what Zac felt like? Is this what he had to deal with every single day? She thought she’d understood, but turned out she didn’t even have an inkling.

  Sam hovered at the front door of the frat house, unable to get inside. The party was at rager status and everyone was too drunk to notice him, let alone give him an invite. Scanning the crowd, he couldn’t spot Liz, so he rounded the house to try the yard at the back.

  He’d called her cell nonstop since she’d left and she hadn’t picked up once. He had a bad feeling and when he got bad feelings, he was usually right about them. He didn’t trust Will for good reason. The guy was secretive and cocky and moving in on his girl. Time to end this stupid pissing match once and for all.

  He hated fighting with Liz. He hated that she’d left angry and upset with him. He hated that he was so jealous of Will, but he couldn’t let it go. Liz...

  As he rounded the corner of the house, he smelt it immediately. Blood. Human blood and lots of it.

  When his gaze laid on the most horrific sight he’d ever seen, he almost lost it. He stared in shock at Liz, who was standing over the inert body of one of her classmates, her eyes black and blood dripping from her mouth onto her blouse. Oh, fuck...

  “Oh shit, I didn’t mean for her to loose it. I didn’t mean-”

  “Will?” Sam exclaimed, staring straight at him. He knew it. The guy was a fucking vampire. A very fucking stupid one.

  “I didn’t know. She said she was okay…”

  “She doesn’t drink human blood,” he roared, stalking forward.

  “It wasn’t meant to get out of control. I told her to only take a little at a time.”

  Sam thrust his fists into the front of Will’s shirt. “What kind of idiot are you? She could’ve killed her.” Shoving the vampire aside, he was in front of Liz in a flash, no longer concerned about hiding what he was. The human girl was hardly conscious and Will? Well, he’d deal with him later.

  Cupping her face, he started into her black eyes. “Come back to me, Liz.”

  Her entire body was shaking from the high she was buzzing off, tears streaming down her cheeks, smearing the blood she’d tried to wipe away.

  “I-I-I killed her,” she choked out.

  He shook his head, holding her close. “No, she’s going to be okay. I’ve got to help her, Liz.” he guided her to sit on the edge of the flowerbed, hardly aware that Will had disappeared. The asshole had fled at the first sign of trouble like a coward.

  “Stay there,” he murmured. “Don’t move, okay?”

  Liz nodded slowly, her eyes filling with more tears.

  Turning back to the human girl, who was shivering uncontrollably against the garden wall, he grasped both her shoulders. She started to struggle and cry out, but he held her firm, even as she sobbed.

  “What’s your name?”

  “F-Francie.”

  “Francie, you’re going to stay calm, okay?”

  She nodded as his compulsion took hold. Taking his wrist, he bit into his flesh, drawing blood. Wetting his fingers, he began rubbing it into Francie’s torn neck and her face contorted in pain, but as commanded, she didn’t make any sound. Soothing her skin, it began to heal, knitting back together. Once it was pink and new again, he drew back and placed his hands on her shoulders again.

  “Now, you’re better okay?” he said.

  She nodded again. “It’s stopped hurting.”

  “Good. Now, you’re going to go home and get cleaned up. You’re going to go to bed and get some sleep. The moment I let go of you, you’re going to forget everything that happened here. You’re going to remember having fun at the party, but you had to go home early because you were feeling sick.”

  “Okay,” Francie said, her gaze locked onto Sam’s.

  Pulling his hands away, she shook her head once and stared at him for a moment before saying, “Oh, hey. I’m just going home. Have fun at the party, okay?”

  Smiling, he replied, “Will do.”

  She stumbled to her feet and started walking off like nothing had happened and a moment later, she rounded the corner of the house and was gone. He had to get Liz back to the apartment and get this blood off of her. Francie would be okay, she’d go back to wherever she lived on campus and be none the wiser. He’d go and check on her later.

  Holding his hand out to Liz, she stared at it for the longest time before taking it in her own.

  “C'mon,” he said. “I'm taking you home.”

  Chapter 9

  Sam held Liz in his arms while she cried herself to sleep. The human blood was doing a bang up job of tearing her insides apart and there was nothing he could do but hold her until she was out for the count. She’d wake up with one hell of a headache, vampire or not.

  Her cell had been lighting up all night like a Christmas tree, so the moment she was asleep Sam picked it up and saw the messages Will had left and his anger began to simmer again. Fucking coward.

  Are you okay?

  Can I see you? I have to make sure you’re okay.

  I shouldn’t have let you take that blood.

  Liz, we have to talk.

  He wanted to make sure she was okay? Then maybe he shouldn’t have run off like a fucking scared child the moment things got tough.

  Squashing down the urge to hurl the cell at the wall, he sucked it up and texted him back. Someone had to talk to him and it wouldn’t be Liz. Punching in a message, he sent it before he could think twice.

  Meet me at the coffee house in an hour.

  It was already seven, so eight didn’t seem that much of a stretch and something said Will wouldn’t pass up on the opportunity. When a message came back almost instantaneously, Sam snorted. Asshole.

  Grabbing his keys, he took one last look at Liz. She was still fast asleep and probably would be until tonight. She’d overloaded every system in her body and the only way of describing it was that she was in the middle of the worst vampire hangover in existence. By the time she woke up he’d be back and it would all be over.

  When Sam got to the coffee house, he parked his car out back in the alley. Round front in the shop, it was filling up fast with students that lived on residence. They were all looking worse for wear, having breakfast and coffee after a hard night out.

  Will sat alone at a table inside by the windows, looking at his watch. Staring at the vampire, Sam knew he had to take a page right out of his big brother’s workbook. He’d been witness to a lot of threats and follow throughs in his time, so this should be easy enough.

  Pushing open the door, he stepped inside, the smell of roasted coffee filling his s
enses. Crossing to where Will sat by the window, he put on his poker face. Cool, clam and collected. Will tensed as his gaze landed on him.

  “Liz didn’t send that message, did she?” he asked, cocking his head to the side. There was nothing friendly about his tone and Sam began to wonder if this was the real Will talking. No pretenses, no performance for Liz’s sake...

  “You and I need to have a little chat.” He clapped a hand on Will's shoulder, digging his fingers into flesh with just enough pressure to cause pain. “Out back.”

  Will stood, the chair he sat on scraping loudly on the floor, and snarled, “Fine.”

  Pushing the vampire in front, Sam followed him through the coffee house and out a service door at the rear of the store. Nobody was in sight amongst the crates and a dumpster that lined the small alleyway and the moment the door slammed shut, Sam pushed Will from behind. “What's your interest in Liz?”

  “We're friends,” Will replied, turning to glare. “Nothing more.”

  Sam inched closer, never taking his gaze of the vampire. “See, there's a problem with that. I don't believe you.”

  Will began to shift from foot to foot, his hands shaking and his pupils dilating. Sam didn’t like the looks of this. What else was the guy hiding from them? Compulsive tendencies, manipulation. Insanity?

  “I think you need to tell me the truth, Will,” he said, staring the vampire down. Time to bluff a little. “It’s only a matter of time before I find out all the pieces to your sordid little puzzle and what do you think I’ll do with it then?”

  Will’s eyes began to turn black and he fisted his hands into the front of Sam’s shirt. “You need to get out of my way.”

  Sam curled his hands around the vampire’s wrists and began to squeeze. “You need to leave her alone.”

  “Or what, Sam? What are you going to do?”

  “Whatever it takes.” He shoved Will hard, dislodging his grip and he stumbled back into the wall of the coffee house. “What do you want with Liz? I won’t ask you again.”

  Will began to laugh, running his hands over his face like he was wiping away a mask. His entire expression began to twist into something horrible. This guy was actually mad. A mentally unstable vampire? Is that was he was? A crazy fucking vampire had fixated on his girlfriend?