II

The moon was cruel tha' nigh'
Ah' bitter wind blowin' …
She was oh so cold…
Oh, so, oh, ahh...lone

"Valentin, shut up!" Kagome snapped.

She glared at the man as he put the harmonica to his mouth. The notes flew out as he winked at her, the corner of his lips curling. The past was something she didn't want to think about. It was four hundred years behind her, where it should be. The future was nervously sitting at a table eyeing the glass of blood like it was poisoned. It'd be stupid to waste good blood.

"One night for a free pass in your city?" Edward questioned. He was trying to read her again; she smirked. She was too old to be open to him and far too used to invasive techniques.

His heart was dead
But he got the means,
Taking her places she neva' seen
It was just a prick…
...the bloodletting had begun.

Kagome ignored Valentin as he continued to sing. Edward was whom she needed to focus on if anything was to come of this night. Her stomach clenched, a familiar hunger rising as she anticipated winning him over.

"I normally don't ask for such things, but you enter my city without announcement and insult me," Kagome said, her brows furrowing.

Edward tasted the blood, deciding it wasn't poisoned he took a deeper drought. Kagome waived her finger back and forth in a ticking motion as she waited for his answer. He was buying time, being brash might get him dead and she was pleased he was taking his time.

It was just a prick,
And she was oh so dead.
The moon was cruel tha' nigh'
When her heart was oh so dead.

"I wasn't aware…"

"Ignorance isn't always bliss, Edward."

Beneath the stones,
he left 'er oh so cold.

Valentin wasn't going to quite singing, and she could see Edward putting the pieces together. He was listening to Valentin's song more than their current predicament. This stalling and indecision was so he could hear the rest of the song play out. Leaning forward, she placed her hand over his glass and glared at him.

"Tick-tock, Edward, my patience has worn."

'Er heart still as nigh',
But her soul thirst for more,
Tha' cruel moonligh' shine down,
She rose as something.

"You can't harm me," Edward said as he grinned at her. "You can try to take your pound of flesh." He slipped the glass from under her hand and took a sip.

Her lips curled as said, "Wonderful."

Valentin chuckled as he hopped off the stage. The familiar sound of the saxophone filled the silence left by Valentin's song. Kagome pushed away from the table and curled a finger signaling him to follow. Her eyes glowed in the darkness before she winked and slinked into the crowd. His footsteps, no matter how light, were still a bit too heavy. There was no doubt he was young; she was going to enjoy this.

Miss Kagome 'Madam' Higurashi died at the youthful age of eighteen. She'd been searching for a flower that blossomed only on the full moon only to find herself buried beneath stones and moss three days later. She'd awaken lacking living attributes with a hunger that burned her throat. Everything she felt was intense: hunger, anger, lust, and fear. The fear drove her to run far and fast from her friends. The shame she felt after her first kill drove her further away right toward the creature that killed her.

"What type of undead are you?" Edward asked.

Kagome pulled herself from her memories. Emotions and memories were the quickest way to a true death. She knew she couldn't recover from having her heart torn out.

"I'm a vampire."

"…you're not like me."

Kagome smirked as they descended the stairwell. The darkness blanketed them only to be pierced by light when she opened a door, pulling it toward her. The carpet was black, her walls covered in silks of crimson and blues. Ribbons hung from the ceiling above her round bed.

"I'm vampire, one of the many creatures inhabiting the darkness." She shut the door. "We're both undead, cursed by circumstance."

Her room smelled of warm apples. The light of the candles flickered as the wicks burned creating a warmth in the underground room. Her bed was off to the far right, but she ignored it. Walking to the ribbons, she wrapped them around her arms and lifted herself. Satisfied they held, she unwound herself and motioned Edward forward.

"I've traveled a bit and have come across a few vampires like me," Edward said.

"Your Volturi took care of most of the rogues, but they hold no power over other undead."

"You keep saying other, what do you mean?"

Her fangs were down as she slowly said, "Those cursed to be undead, possessed by some demon, some that are just monsters, and then those from whatever bloodline." She grinned at him before she stretched. "Strip."

"Bloodlines?"

"Strip, I shall talk."

His fingers worked the buttons on his shirt slow. Kagome explained that his breed didn't have sires. There are breeds that don't have sires; his type and those possessed by a demon. Her breed of vampire was bound to a sire despite its origins. It was possible for a corpse to be possessed and create a fledging. That fledging would then be the start of a bloodline.

"I killed my sire long ago. A sire is supposed to guide his fledging…I ripped his heart out."

He removed his shirt before he peeled his undershirt off. Kagome eyed his pale body before reaching out and spreading her hand along his chest. His flesh was tougher than her own, hard and chilled like a rock. Leaning forward, she pressed her tongue to his chest and pulled back. A quick flick of her wrist and she watched his blood bead to the surface; he could be damaged. She gazed at the drop upon her finger before bringing it to her mouth.

"So, what type are you?"

"My sire was demon from India. He possessed a corpse and traveled for a few centuries until he came upon my country. Before he killed me, he tethered me to my corpse with part of his essence." Kagome circled Edward as she twisted the ribbons around his arms. She trailed a silken blue ribbon down his chest, ensnaring his ankles beneath his pants. "My breed is rare, but we are strong enough to put your Volturi in their place."

Her eyes lifted trailing up his legs, along the contours of his sculpted chest to meet his eyes. Kagome allowed her hands to follow the path laid bare before her eyes. She pressed her cheek to his stomach, feeling it hitch as their flesh connected.

"There are differences between us, but we share a common trait…we must feed."

Her tongue snaked out between her pink lips, teasing the rim of his belly button. Gently, she nipped her way toward his left hip where pants and skin met. Her hands curled around his hips as she exhaled a puff of chilled air upon his flesh. A soft noise escaped him, he was withholding from her. She grinned against him.

"It's hard to make me bleed," Edward said as he gazed down at her.

Kagome smirked as she said, "I like a challenge."

Standing, she inhaled his scent smelling the Quarters and the humid air of the swamp on his skin. It wasn't often his type came to town. They knew better to avoid her state. There were many types of undead, but her breed rubbed other supernatural beings wrong. She ran her tongue upward, tracing the line of his neck before she inhaled. They were all predators, but she was the big fish in the pond.

"You can't harm me."

Kagome shut her eyes, feeling the beast in her rise at his challenge. He owed her a pound of flesh for a safe stay in New Orleans. Calming herself, she figured it was better to show than tell. Opening her eyes, she pulled back to meet his gaze. Her lips peeled back. She allowed all her fangs to drop. His eyes widened and she struck. Her mouth latched onto the side of his neck, her saliva coated his flesh weakening it before she pierced him.

Her hand slithered along his back before she cradled the back of his neck and brought him closer. She wrapped her arm around his body cradling him. A moan escaped his lips as she drew blood from the wound. Pulling back, she ran her tongue along his flesh lapping up his blood.

"How…"

"I secrete venom that's diluted in my saliva, it tenderizes your flesh. By biting you, it was injected into your body." She cradled his face in her hands making sure their gazes met as she assured, "I won't do anything to you, you won't enjoy."

"What are you?"

"I'm Vetala." She trailed her nails along his down his face. "Just relax."

Edward wasn't sure what a Vetala was. He knew there were creatures lurking in the darkness, but Carlisle hadn't explained those details. The Volturi had been explained along with the rules. It was ignorant to think they were the only things out there especially when he knew of shapeshifters.

Kagome wasn't a like him.

Her lips peeled back, he watched the fangs emerge from her gums. They were sharp, curved, and covered her human teeth by a quarter of an inch. They were concealable and long enough to pierce deep. There was no doubt her fangs could render flesh, after all, they were extreme for getting blood When her tongue touched his flesh he withheld his hiss. Warmth seared his skin before it tingled and went numb.

She was poisonous; he found it fitting. Then she bit him, her teeth sunk him into with little resistance, like the sun cutting through clouds. Despite the sharp sting of pain, he melted under her touch. She sucked; the sensation of her pulling something out of him and into herself caused him to freeze.

He could feel the venom working in his system. His body tingled and sensations he hadn't felt in close to a decade ignited. Kagome chuckled, the sound vibrating through him as she trailed her fingers from his shoulders down his arms.

Relax, Edward thought with a smirk.

"I don't think I can do anything else," Edward said.

Her skin was softer than his skin. The palms of her hands chilled, and with a softness he knew only in human flesh. The venom was working in his system slowing his reactions, warming his body from within.

"My venom can kill humans, but it'll only slow you down. I prefer not to kill," Kagome said against the side of his mouth.

She leaned back; his legs didn't catch him causing him to cause fall forward. The ribbons she twisted around his limbs supported him leaving him hanging at an angle to the floor. They bit into his arms with the added pressure causing him to hiss. He opened his eyes, not realizing he'd shut them, and focused on the floor. His body felt alive, his senses were overloaded causing him to chuckle. Her fingers ghosted along his chest causing him to grin.

"It's so powerful," Edward said, his voice husky.

"Vetala are able to prey on anything, so our venom must be potent," Kagome explained.

He lifted his head meeting her eyes before he asked, "Are you going to take my flesh?"

Her smirk unsettled him. He'd never thought of something taking his flesh and wondered if it would work. His skin would crack like glass whenever damaged. It wasn't often something damaged him. When her fangs pierced him, the thrill of being injured stirred a heat within his belly. He turned his face toward her when her lips brushed the corner of his mouth, trying to catch them.

"You'll enjoy what I take," Kagome said, voice low.

And then her lips caught his: cold, soft, teeth hitting teeth, as she swallowed him. Her hand held his chin as she devoured him. He didn't deny her as he allowed her to use him. Open mouth kisses peppered his mouth, the venom slowing him, as he struggled to keep up. Each movement was demanding stirring his inner monster as he pressed back. His hands clenched as he pressed against the ribbons wanting take control and tear into her.

The hand on his chin tightened before her nails dug into his scalp. She gripped his hair and pulled his head back, arching his neck painfully as she hissed. Harshly, she shook his head for left to right as she scowled. Their gazes met, and to her confusion, he smirked. His eyes were dark, the bruises beneath them even darker as he watched her.

He snapped his teeth at her before he laughed.

"Things don't get control," Kagome hissed.

Edward saw a flash of her teeth before she was at his neck and his world went black.

Author's Note:

I do own the songs in the first chapter, and this one. They're a little something I made up. I hope the venom Kagome has made sense, as did much of her explanations.

Questions? Feel free to ask!

I'm so happy this was well received!