Relics of Blood - Wolfheart (classic book list .TXT) 📗

Prologue

In the dusk's failing light, something moved in the shadows. Something in the likeness of a human. Its swift, predator-like gait was all wrong, however. The scarlet gleam in its moonlit gaze was beyond animal, beyond hunger.
Its eyes locked on a young woman no older than twenty. She rushed toward a small bakery along the failing city slum lamps. On her hip was a pistol, fully loaded. The human-like beast hissed. Suddenly, he dropped from the roof he'd been pacing to stand before her.
"You are mine!"
And he pinned her to the wall and bit deep. Blood spilled into his mouth. The creature slurped it up greedily, like a starving kitten at its mother's milk. Somebody shouted. Panicking, the man-like beast fled.
As he disappeared into the night, two shadowy figures approached the fallen girl. As the taller pointed a gun into the moonlight and scanned the rooftops, the shorter knelt to examine the man-beast's victum. Taking out a glow-light and shining it onto the marks against her neck, the examiner gasped.
"What is it?" A male voice asked. It came from the one looking at the roofs. "Did she get blood?"
"Yes. But this time, he saved us a lot of time." The kneeling one answered in a undoubtably female voice.
"What? How?"
"I recognize her as a girl on the Class A list. She didn't get enough blood."
"Good." He sounded relieved. "Those things are dangerous."
She got into his face.
"Get over there and give her blood. Your part of the pact is to help us find people like her.

"
"What? But -"
"Do it or you will be left to die, vampire."
"Damn!"
She moved aside and he replaced her. Using his fang, he drew a slim line of blood along the vain in his wrist. Nervously, he put it up to her mouth. Instantly, the victum grabbed it and began to suck desprately.
He gave a sound that resembled a moan.
"You're sick."
"Shut up." He whispered. "You don't understand it. Besides...she's Awakening."
"Already?"
He didn't answer. The air seemed charged.
"Uh...keep an eye on her from the shadows. I'll test dad's theory. Meet you at that resturant you work at. I'll clear the streets and change...we've got to make this work."
"You mean get her on your family's side?"
"Yeah. See yeah."
She vanished into the darnkness of the night. He let the girl feast for a few minutes longer before dragging his wrist away. Then, before she could wake up, he too leapt to the rooftops. From there...he would see everything. Perhasp after he refueled he would see her feed...

Chapter One

First Blood

The moonlight was strong when I slowly came too. Everything was agonizingly painful to move. Though my head was throbbing and every one of my muscles were pulsing with pain, it wasn't anything like the fire in my throat. It felt as if I'd swallowed a lit match.
Where am I? What did I do to feel like this, anyway?

I reached for my gun. It was there, thankfully. As was my wallet.
That's odd. Wasn't there a guy...?

I looked around carefully. Even the full moon seemed too bright to my eyes. I was in the middle of the city. But it wasn't a part of it I was familiar with; everything was far less...clean.
The last thing I recall is being pinned by some punk ass in the ally close on the way to the bakery and...fangs...

With a quivering hand, I reached up and gently touched the sharp pain on the base of my neck. It was met with a cold liquid. Pulling my hand away, I saw the crimson stain on my fingers as if it were daylight.
Before I could completely flip out and loose my mind, a bizarre yet enticing scent distracted me. In fact, it was suddenly all I could think about. Rising on trembling legs, I trailed after the amazing smell.
When it led to a young woman around fifteen, I froze. It was true...he'd...
I'm already a monster. Why should I try to live?

"Hey." The girl looked up. Her eyes were bright green, and her long black hair uncombed. She was in rags that barely covered her. I noticed the girl was shivering. "Can I use that jacket? Please? It's really cold out..."
It is? Huh. I'm not cold at all.

Shrugging out of it, I wrapped it around her.
"Are you hungry?" I asked quietly.
Her face lit up. "Yeah. Do you have anything to spare?"
I shrugged. "Not on me. But I can take you out to eat. And perhaps get some new cloths."
"What? Really?"
"Sure. I just got paid." I lied. I didn't want to bite her.
Maybe if I die, I can die helping her. Why shouldn't I?

"Why are your eyes red?" She asked cautiously.
"Contacts." It was another quick, simple lie. But it kept her from knowing.
The child followed me as I led her toward a fancy restaurant.
We slipped inside together. The waiter who came saw my eyes and became tense. He handed the girl a menu.
"May I speak with you in the back?" He asked me. I noticed there was more determination in his eyes than fear.
She looked at me questionably.
"I'll be right back. I frequent this place."
Smiling, the girl opened the menu and began to sift through it. I rose and followed him into an ally.
"What the hell are you doing, leech?" The boy demanded. "Playing with your food first?"
"Don't talk to me like that." I growled. It was painful not to stare at his veins. "I'm not gonna touch her."
"Then it's just a chance that your eyes gleam in the moonlight? That you're wondering around the city with a homeless runaway child on a night you're half-starved?"
"Half-starved?" Hope filled me. "You mean I'm already that close to dying? How long does that take?"
He blinked at me in astounded shock. Then his gaze - the color of mud right after a summer rain - found the wound on my neck.
"...You've not fed yet, have you?"
"No. And I don't plan to."
He looked around. "Where is it?"
Mystified, I looked around me. "What? Where's what?"
"The blood-sucker who changed you and set you after a small child?"
I felt my eyes become wide. "You mean that man was supposed to help me? He was supposed to stay with me?"
The man rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, yeah. He didn't?"
I shook my head. "No. I was attacked as a human around dusk and woke up alone a vampire."
"That's...uh...very different..."
I leaned against the wall, trying my hardest not to jump this man giving me answers.
His eyes blazed suddenly with a new light.
"How about I give you some blood and teach you? Hmm? Then you wouldn't need to die the most painful death in the universe and you could help that girl out more than just giving her clothing and a meal."
My first reaction would have been no. But he didn't wait for an answer. He pulled out a knife and slit a thin line down his collar bone. Before I could think, the boy was pinned to the wall. My fangs sank in.
Blood poured into my mouth. Instinctively, I buried them deeper into his neck. He gave a muffled cry of pain.
It was the most amazing feeling in the world as my body forced me to take his blood. The pain and thirst evaporated. My chest loosened.
And the taste...it was amazing...
As soon as I gained control, my fangs were out. I pulled away in horror. The blood running down my chin and his neck no longer drew me. It disgusted me that I'd reacted so.
He slowly fell onto the ally ground.
"I knew it!" The girl's voice made me jump. I whirled around and instantly hated myself. "You're a vampire!"
Then I heard the excitement in her voice.
"Shouldn't you be terrified?"
"Why?" She laughed. "You had several chances to take me out and didn't! You didn't change or kill that person, either. Were you protecting me?"
She's so...hyper...

"Not at first..." I replied. "But I just couldn't take your life...and was so hungry..."
"Why didn't you just hunt somebody else?"
"Because you need clothing, shelter and food."
"Cool. Why didn't you kill him?"
My cheeks grew hot. "I...uh..."
Her eyes became wide. "Oh. I get it. You finish up. I came to ask what the limit is."
"Don't worry about it, kid. Get what you want. Just don't stuff yourself until you puke." It was the boy. His voice was rather weak. I blinked, a bit surprised.
"Won't you get in trouble for that kind of thing?"
He shook his head and grinned. "My dad owns the place. He'll understand. I'll tell him the truth; she's literally starving and has no money. You two are sisters, okay?"
She winked. "Okay sis.

" Then she turned and vanished into the cafe. I turned back to him.
"Okay, mister. You got me into this mess. Now what the hell do I do? This is a human. I'm a vampire. What am I going to do with her? And why the -"
"Later." He grumbled. "Your fangs hurt. And you may not realize this, but I don't feel well.

"
"Oh. Right."
Now what do I do with an idiot that willingly gives a vampire their damn meal?

"Have a place to stay?" He asked quietly.
"Sure. My folks will be worried...oh..."
"Yeah. Not your old place. A new pad..."
"Right..."
For a while, I watched him as he slowly fell asleep in what was probably a very cold night. When he was completely asleep, I noticed his wound was still bleeding. Reacting more on instinct than thought again, I leaned down to lick it clean. To my shock, the wound healed before I could touch it.
Then I sighed and shook my head. Picking him up, I carried him to a light blue car. I typed in the code automatically and put him inside. Then I shut the door again and locked it. Returning to the girl, I sat down.
She was eating steak. Just steak. With lots of barbecue sauce. And it was so rare that I could still pick up the slight scent of animal blood. She had a root beer for a drink.
"Wow." I said. "Go figure."
"Do you know how long its been since I had a steak?" She demanded - with food still half-chewed in her mouth.
"Please don't chew with your mouth open in this restaurant. It's a very fancy place." I asked quietly.
"Are you loaded?" She asked. "If so, why are you working?"
"Later." I told her. "Eat, and I'll take you get decent cloths. But hurry up about it; we only have three hours until sunrise."
"What? How do you know that?"
I have no fucking idea.

"I'm a damn vampire. Now stop asking questions and eat. With manors."
She took her elbows off the table and picked up the fork.
Oh. My. Fucking. God.

There were definitely stares. But it was all too clear that I wasn't somebody to approach. So we were left alone as she ate. I wasn't approached for the bill or anything. We left. I led the way to