If Love Is Not Enough To Put My Enemies To Sleep 04

Having escaped Ember and Eris, I wandered outside for a little. I knew that it was nighttime, but it didn't look nighttime. I guess my new vampire sight made night look like daytime. And I'm pretty sure that meant the myth that vampires sleep during the day was true. This was going to take some getting used to. The same with this thirst. It was like my throat was on fire, a kind of fire that water couldn't put out. I pushed the pain out of my mind. I wasn't ever going to feed again, not after what I did to Adam. I just wasn't that kind of person, I didn't want to be a murderer.

I walked around for a little, thinking about what all this meant and where I could possibly go. As far as I had assumed, everyone I had ever known thought I was dead. If the gravestone was any indication. I sighed. I guess I would either have to leave town and make a new life, or go live with this Ember chick. I really didn't want to do either.

I stopped suddenly when I heard footsteps. I couldn't risk the chance of it being someone I knew so I hid in the shadows. As the person walked by I got a whiff of the spicy smell that I now knew was blood. My fangs automatically grew so they were indenting my bottom lip. The pain in my throat grew even more unbearable, until I could only focus on that, and then it spread to my lungs. It was like I couldn't get a proper breath, my lips were dry and for some odd reason I knew how to stop it. I just had to drink some blood. I didn't want to but I was literally suffocating. I had started coughing and gasping and it felt like my lungs were shriveling up. When my muscles started having spasms is when the survival instincts hardwired into my mind began to take over.

I lifted myself up and ran after the person that had passed only moments ago. I was behind him and was just about to sink my teeth into his neck when he punched me in the chest, knocking me back against a dumpster. The noise rang out into the darkness. He took a couple steps towards me and when he stepped under the patch of light coming from the streetlamp, I was shocked to see that it was Brendon, the guy I had met only a couple days before. He must live around here. I got up and ran towards him again, desperate for a meal, even if it was him. He stepped out of the way just in time and I went running past him and into a wall.

"Ow," I said as I staggered back a little and coughed again. He must think I'm a complete moron, or crazy. I hope it's the second one.

"Are you okay?" he asked in that beautiful voice of his.

"Yeah I think so," I said examining myself for any damage other then the fact that I felt like I was literally dying.

"Hey, you're Mara from the travel agency right?"

I nodded.

"Why'd you try to bite me?" he asked.

"Uh, well, you're going to think I'm crazy but-"

"You're a vampire. I can tell by your eyes." he finished seriously.

I responded by coughing again and trying to get a deep enough breath to answer him.

"It's okay, I'm on too," he said smirking, his fangs flashed in the light from the streetlamp.

We stood there in silence for a few minutes. Brendon broke the silence.

"When's the last time you fed? You're obviously coughing from lack of oxygen."

"Yeah, well I'm new at this. And for the record, I refuse to drink blood."

"You have to drink blood, or you'll die. You have to be very new not to know that. Our blood can't carry oxygen, that's why we have to drink human blood. You're going to die if you don't feed fast; you're already showing signs of suffocation."

"Well maybe that's for the best, I refuse to be a murderer."

"You can feed without murdering people. Come on, I'll tell you what to do rather than showing you considering I have somewhere to be."

We walked across the street into a small bar lit brightly from the outside by a neon sign. We stood near the door while casually surveying the room.

"Okay, here's how it's done. Pick up a guy to feed on, a healthy looking one, and flirt with him. Get him to ask you to go someplace "private" and take him outside. I'm sure you can figure it out from there, just make sure you only drink until you're not thirsty anymore to avoid killing him. After that take him back in here, he won't remember a thing and he'll most likely chalk it up to being drunk. Human are so predictable. Overall, make sure no one suspects anything, that's our number one rule. Good luck." He patted me on the back and then turned and left the bar, letting in a wave if springtime air.

The place had a perfect selection of men to choose from. I chatted up a couple of guys then finally selected a cute surfer guy out with his friends for the night. I flirted with him and he flirted back. Finally he offered to take me someplace more private just like Brendon had said. I gladly accepted then followed him to the same alleyway where me and Brendon had just talked. Surfer guy kissed me hard on the lips and we started making out. When he started kissing my neck, I took it as my chance to go for it. I plunged my fangs into his neck and he moaned in pleasure and continued kissing my neck and rubbing his hands along my back. I gladly swallowed as the first trickles of blood reached my mouth and kept drinking until I was full. I told surfer dude that I had to go to the bathroom, and then led him back to the bar where he woozily sat back down on the stool. I even ordered a drink after to make myself look nonchalant. When I had finished it, I kissed him on the cheek and left.

*Brendon's POV*

After I sent her into the bar, I stuck around to see how she would do for her first time. When she came out of the bar with a surfer guy I felt a stab of jealousy. She was different. There was no doubt she was different. Just her eyes told me that, anyone could see it. They were the brightest ice blue. I wonder what her power is, I thought while I walked back home. Ember said we were going to get a new roommate. Whoop-de-doo.

*Mara's POV*

I went back down to the cemetery to look at my gravestone again. I sat on the grass in front of it and tried to sort out the rainbow of emotions bouncing through my head. It was no mystery there was nothing here for me anymore. I don't have any place to go, my family's dead. I laid back on the grass then pounded my head on the ground trying to wake up from this awful nightmare.

"Mara, you have to come back to my house before the sun come up, you'll die...again," said a voice behind me. I sat up and turned around. Ugh, it was that chick Ember giggling at her own joke.

"Why should I go anywhere with you? You hang out with that Eris chick."

She rolled her eyes in disgust. "Eris would be the last person I hang out with. She's my younger sister. Now seriously, it's close to dawn and it's making me nervous. Just come back to my house at least to spend the night—er—day. You can leave right after the sun goes down, I promise, it's just not safe out here. Of course you only have to leave if you want to, I have plenty of room. You even have your own room and my friends that also live there already know you're coming."

What harm could it do? She said I only had to stay a day and I could leave if I didn't like it. I got up from the dewy grass and followed her.

"No offense, but why would you have a room for me, know where to find me, and that I was even a vampire?"

"No offense taken, you can ask me anything. I knew you were a vampire because I have connections with the person that did it, I knew where to find you because it's where most new vampires turn up, thank god they didn't cremate you. That would have been bad. And I have a room for you because I know more about you then I think and I knew you needed a place to live and I happened to have a room available." She explained.

"So you know who turned me?"

"More or less" she said in that mysterious way she explained everything.

"Can you tell me?"

"I could, but it's not my business. I'm sure they would want to tell you when they're ready." I was still puzzled at how knowledgeable she was and how she possibly knew more about me then I did.

We got to her house, which wasn't anything like I expected. It was well kept up, and fairly big, although a little historical. I was suddenly nervous for some reason. It was like going to a friend's birthday party where you didn't know anyone else. I didn't know how the other vampires were going to react to me and even though Ember said they knew I was coming, I still felt like I was intruding on their private lives. Ember turned to say something to me but stopped mid-word. Her expression changed, like she had lost something, and she ran her hand through her hair anxiously.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

She jumped. "Holy shit, you scared me, where are you?" she said looking around.

"You're looking right at me, is this a joke/"

"No not at al—"A look of comprehension went across her face, "Your eyes, that's right!" she said excitedly, her own bright green eyes shining with enthusiasm.

"What about my eyes?" I asked. I was getting annoyed.

"Oh good, I can see you again. The thing with your eyes is that they're bright like mine, and colored, in your case blue. That's not normal in the vampire world. It means you have some kind of ability that normal vampires don't have. Yours is invisibility, yours is the coolest one I've ever seen too, it's like you pull shadows around you, and I've never seen anything like it."

"What? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. I know you're just joking with me," I said angrily as I started to back away. She grabbed my arm.

"No, come on, just come inside with me. I know people that can help. They helped me," she said sincerely. I believed her.

I turned to face the door and accept everything she told me.