Disclaimer: I don't mind not owning Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. I would be satisfied only if I owned a real-life version of Henry (sigh).
Note 1: I will be using italics for thoughts and journal-writing, and the rest will be normal speech and narration. Enjoy the show! ;)
Note 2: I had written this story a long time ago, and decided to give it a second opportunity. Some major changes have been done ever since.
Chapter 1: Shifting Creatures
It was dark outside.
In present-day Springfield, a grim vampire stood at the counter of a high-tech store staring at the employee who was working there. He had been patiently waiting his turn in the line. And when all the other customers were gone, he put both his palms on the surface of the counter and grunted angrily at the employee who worked there. God, he was pissed.
Neon lights were shining on his well-built body, badly concealed under a dark brown leather jacket and dark blue faded jeans. In spite of the neon lights' brightness, they could not reveal the sombre look in his eyes because of his dark red sunglasses. His dark, spiky hair was dishevelled and wild.
"I never thought you had such a good company here, Abraham." Henry, the aforesaid vampire, venomously uttered those words with sarcasm to his dear human friend Abraham, the employee standing behind the counter.
"Look man, I'm about to close. Can't you just wait a couple of minutes to tell me off?" Abraham, with his classic good-guy style, replied trying not to sound too hostile to his friend.
It was late in the evening already. The sun had set half an hour ago. The atmosphere was still nice and quite warm, though, because it was May.
Henry was usually grumpy, but his current mood was worse than that. Abraham had always seen him in like a lone wolf ever since they had met: a hard young man, distant, chiselled by nasty experiences, crime-fighting, and premature deaths of beloved ones. Abraham admired him for never being misled by any fleeting feeling of warmth or closeness with anybody. Henry was a renegade, a lonesome cowboy kind of guy, and proud to be one, devoted to a single cause – and he was willing to go for it regardless of the consequences. He was craving for vengeance, very much like him.
Abraham recalled when he had first met Henry.
A few years ago, one night he had been drinking at a bar with a loaded gun hidden in a holster in his black leather jacket. He had been nervous, that was why he was probably drinking too much. He knew the whereabouts of his mother's killer and was determined to hunt him down himself because the police had never made an effort to do anything right. It was true: the police forces seemed to be lax lately, as if they didn't care anymore. All over the country and for years on end, crime rates skyrocketed and nobody knew why. Abraham's mother had been murdered one night, but he had accidentally seen the killer's face – and he would never forget it.
And one day, he managed to find out who he was and where he lived: Barts, in Springfield.
Abraham was ready to go for it, to kill him. But he was too nervous. That was why he had been drinking too much that night at the bar.
Henry saw him and his gun. He was like God, omniscient and omnipotent. He was there next to Abraham, at the bar. It was pure chance. He saw Abraham's trembling fingers round the glass of whiskey because he was too nervous and afraid to do something he longed to do even though it was against the laws of God.
That was when Henry began to talk to him into spilling the beans over what was troubling him, and Abraham told him the specifics of his mother's murder a few years back and confessed his future crime. A nasty revenge: he wanted to murder his mother's murderer, and make him suffer as much as possible.
Far from being appalled, Henry was even willing to help Abraham get revenge for the ruthless killing of his mother at the hands of a highly-skilled criminal who had managed to escape from every single crime he had committed. Henry told Abraham he knew the guy – and what he had done so far to raise the stakes in the crime syndicate.
Abraham was dumbstruck to know the truth about his mother's killer. He started to hate Barts even more.
But that wasn't all he learnt that night at the bar.
Barts was a vampire.
And Henry was one too, a good one who had devoted his life to bringing down other vampires and criminals. He was out to get every last one of them.
A vampire called Adam had been terrorising the country for centuries with his specific and highly elaborated torture and murder methods, kidnapping men, women and children to feed from them with a craving for blood that knew no boundaries. Barts was only one of his closest followers. Nobody could face or defeat any of them. They were extremely powerful vampires, especially Adam.
Henry and Adam had history, a foul one in which Henry's wife had been killed by him a couple of centuries ago. Henry had been forced to witness the whole thing. And then, when Adam was already done with Henry's wife, he had approached him and turned him into a vampire as well, convicting him to a troubled existence over the centuries. Henry hated becoming a vampire like the criminal who had killed his beloved one.
Sharing their personal stories at that bar that night allowed those two young hunks to bond. Their friendship had become an epic one. Henry then had offered Abraham proper training, because a gun would be no use against a vampire, much less one like Adam or Barts. They had fought together side by side over the years, improving their skills and strengths and killing vampires almost every night, keeping Springfield safe for those last few years.
Abraham had learnt a lot from Henry, especially how to fight and kill vampires using silver weapons and burning their corpses. Even though Henry was a vampire himself, he was a good one who only fed on those individuals (both humans and vamps) who devoted their lives to crime and darkness, one who hunted bad vamps and killed them in the blink of an eye. His super speed came in handy. He might have lost his soul by becoming a vampire, but his morals were intact.
And that evening, at the high-tech store where Abraham worked, Henry was facing his dear friend and vampire-hunting colleague with a deep frown over his face. He was pissed off at him – extremely pissed off.
Why?
Because of a single woman.
A young woman with long, brown hair and blue eyes called Mary Todd.
That was the 'good company' Henry was referring to in his passive-aggressive comment towards Abraham.
Apparently, Abraham had met that local beauty while working there, at the high-tech store, a few weeks ago. He had caught her eye as much as she had caught his. It had been love at first sight – and Henry abhorred it. He had seen Abraham's puppy eyes while looking at her over the counter right when he had entered through the double glass doors of the shop that late evening. He was more than willing to chide Abraham for it.
Then, Abraham was just staring at Henry and the dark red sunglasses over his eyes from behind the counter at the shop, trying not to be heard by this employer, good old Mr Ferguson.
"Abraham," Henry said with a low growling voice. "what did I tell you?"
"Mary's just a friend." Abraham defended himself.
"Didn't I say no friends, specially no women?" Henry insisted whispering with anger, also trying not to be heard by Mr Ferguson.
"I know, I know…" Abraham tried to say apologetically, but both of them knew he didn't really mean it. He had fallen head over heels in love with her and he was not leaving her behind, although he perfectly knew it might mean trouble.
A vampire hunter with a girlfriend was a hunter with a vulnerability.
"Stop bothering me, man." Abraham eventually said.
"Oh, my!" A sexy feminine voice playfully sang with mirth and a smirk right behind Henry. "Do women treat you so meanly that you don't recommend their company to poor dear Abraham, Mr…?"
Having heard this, Henry immediately turned around too rashly, wild and shocked as if he was under attack and had to get ready to fight back with his fangs.
The thing was that Henry really thought there was no one left in the shop. He found himself outraged, appalled due to the sudden realization that he had been careless. He was a well-trained vamp hunter, and he hadn't realized there was a young woman behind him in the line. That was odd, because he would've sworn to himself that he hadn't noticed anyone else in the shop but Mr Ferguson, a creepy old man who was usually reading porn magazines at the far end of the store, Abraham and himself.
But when Henry turned to see who had just uttered those words, he froze. He was seeing the most dazzling beauty on Earth: a gorgeous, slender young woman in her early twenties, long dark hair, green eyes, silky crimson lips, a dark green spandex T-shirt, and low-rider white jeans. Her voice was bewitching and fit for an angel, but it was obvious that she liked showing her defiance and childish naught through her tone of voice. Her smell was rich and sweet, and so unlike everything else he had ever smelled in his whole existence. She was currently smirking at him, raising an eyebrow because she was expecting him to answer back at least. Seeing that he just didn't because he seemed to be thunderstruck, she went on thus:
"Not gonna bite you, luv." She said with a husky voice.
But I definitely would. –Henry thought with lust, but he erased the sinful thought out of his mind immediately.
No, he was not like that, although temptation was always lurking around in the shadows of his mind. He was a vampire after all, but he had trained hard and long to avoid committing a crime he would torture himself for for the rest of his life.
"Henry… Henry Sturges." Henry whispered back to her formally but politely. "And women are shifting creatures. They always do what they will. One day they say they want one thing, the next they say don't. You can never have expectations on them."
"I couldn't agree more!" She replied daringly to that rather sexist comment. "So, don't expect me to, for example, apologize for interrupting your conversation, Mr Sturges." She chuckled then. "Because I won't. So… Anyway, I'm not really in the mood for a fight with a prick. I'll just come back tomorrow to fetch the PS4 game I ordered, Abraham."
"Yes, of course." Abraham swiftly replied. "Your Horizon Zero Dawn will be waiting for you."
"K." She replied dryly.
The glass double doors of the shop silently opened and closed as she made her exit. She left the shop and began to walk down the street. Henry couldn't take his eyes off her the entire time.
"Who the hell is this young woman?" Henry asked Abraham all of a sudden and with exasperation. "Do you know her?"
"She's a friend of Mary's." Abraham answered a bit sheepishly. Mary's name on his mouth made him sound weak.
"Mary is the name of the bitch who's hunt you down, right?"
"Don't talk about her like that!" Abraham answered back with determination and pride.
"I will if you stray from your path!" Henry chid him with mildly menacing eyes. He had lowered his dark red sunglasses to glare at him. "You're a vampire hunter. Not a regular one. You're good, really good, Abraham. Don't lose your mind over a girl!" He added with contempt.
"You shouldn't speak about these things in public!" Abraham replied with anger too. "There's Mr Ferguson over there! By the way, it's incredible! For a second, I thought you didn't know she was there, behind you. She had come into the shop with Mary, right before you had come in yourself. Haven't you seen them? Then, Mary waited her turn in line while she went to check something in the store, looking at some stuff over that isle behind you. Were you so distracted with your hate towards women, especially Mary, that you didn't even notice her?"
"I didn't… I just… Anyway, will you focus?!" Henry was madder at himself, a lot more than at his dear old friend. "What's the name of this female devil anyway?"
"She's not a devil… and she's Miss Mia Damienson."
"I don't trust her." Henry said bitterly. "And neither should you. I've got a weird feeling about her. I don't think she's human." He whispered frowning.
"Nonsense!" Abraham replied.
They fell silent for some seconds.
"Why are you that mad so suddenly?" Abraham asked a bit pissed off and tired already. He wanted to close the shop and called it a day. "Luckily you're wearing your sunglasses. Your anger and distrust would've betrayed your true nature with those weird black and crimson eyes of yours. All this bitterness can't be only because I'm flirting with Mary. Is anything the matter?"
"It's nothing." Henry whispered while staring out the glass double doors as if he was feeling defeated.
"Are you any close to finding a cure to vampirism yet?" Abraham asked him out of the blue.
"No." Henry replied seriously.
He sighed. Henry had been trying to find a cure to his condition ever since he had become a vampire, but it was no use.
"I don't think I ever will." He whispered in a defeated attitude.
oooOoooOoooOoooOoooOooo
Wet, tight, dark leather trousers and jacket and a white shirt. A bun of dark hair. No heels, just muddy boots. And silver sword shining under a hellish rainy sky full of lightnings…
A lone hunter.
A lone vampire.
"Bloody rain!" Mia Damienson complained to herself, whispering to herself under the rain. "Great. Now my hairdo is absolutely ruined!"
True. Her hair was no longer nicely tied in a bun. It was messy. But the young male vampire she had got trapped, wounded and exhausted right beneath her, forced by her to lay flat on the muddy ground beneath her feet, just raised an eyebrow at her comment. Even though she looked wild due to the fight and the rain, she just looked as sensual as ever.
A lock of her beautiful long dark hair fell right beside her cheek as she quietly exhaled. Then, she tightened her grip on the hilt of her silver sword and swiftly chopped off the vampire's head, allowing him to meet his true death. Next, she put that rebel lock behind her ear and sighed. She took the vamp's head with one hand and grabbed the vamp's foot with the other and took him to the graveyard, where she dug a grave and buried him.
Now that was amazing! – Henry thought as he was spying on her. He had been stalking her for some days and nights, trying to figure out who she was and why he hadn't been able to sense her when they met at the high-tech store. He was convinced she wasn't human. – Her strength doesn't match with a human being's. She's daring… FUCK… and hot, too. What the hell am I thinking?! Focus, Henry! She's obviously a hunter. Is she a vampire as well? Like me? That would explain many things, her unusual strength for example. That day, at Abraham's shop I wasn't able to notice her. Maybe she is. She is able to move as swiftly as I do, and she seems to be a lot stronger than a human woman. I must find out for sure who she really is – or what she is.
Henry followed her around town until he lost sight of her near the mayor's house that hellish, rainy night. Henry's lost her sweet peachy scent and had absolutely no idea where she could have gone. It couldn't be far, but he decided to give it up for that night.
Who the hell is she? – Henry thought with amazement. – Could she be a potential ally to me?
oooOoooOoooOoooOoooOooo
Over the course of the next few days, Henry got obsessed with Mia.
During the day, he acted like the polite civilized man he socially claimed himself to be, but he kept a prudent distance. Yes, vampires could hang out during daylight, contrary to popular belief. He had always thought humans were too dumb to notice.
He walked about town and tried to hang around the places she was in, or the places Mary Todd, the mayor's daughter, hanged around. He didn't want to be open about that issue, about getting information about Mia, although he was desperate to know more about her. His eagerness and interest might have been easily misunderstood in such a highly conventional social network. Apparently, she lived in a high-class social environment, like Mary. On top of that, her beauty was beyond striking.
If he went on asking about her, people might start thinking he was after her in a romantic sense, and he knew it. But no matter who he talked to and how much he had insisted: he wasn't able to get much information, or the kind of information he was interested in anyway.
Such impressions were all that he was able to portray in his journal. Little was known about Mia Damienson, except the fact that she was temporarily living with the mayor's family because she was a close friend of Mary's.
At night, he cloaked himself in the shadows and observed how she proceeded with the vampire hunting. He wondered how she got to know about vampires, why she decided to become a hunter and who had trained her (or had she just been training on her own?).
Too many doubts and hypotheses about her roamed freely in his mind.
Mia, you're a mystery to me, – Henry thought unable to figure her out. – but I promise I'll get to the bottom of this. I need to find a way to speak to you about this issue, and show you that, even though I'm a vampire myself, I care about humans and goodness in this world.
Would she take me down if she knew I despise vampires as much as any regular criminal?
Will she try to put me down when I tell her I'm a vampire?
Several hunting nights went on like that: Henry following Mia around town, ignoring Abraham and leaving him to flirt with Mary as much as he pleased, and spying on her with such eagerness and obsession that he even though whether she already knew he had been around all the bloody time.
If she did, she could've easily tried to hunt him down (and yet she hadn't), because she was actually great at hunting vamps. Therefore, Henry decided that it was high time he'd come clean to her. He needed to spill the beans.
The sooner, the better.
A really hot June night, Mia came to the mayor's home and climbed the tall tree that led to her room's window. The sky was clear and the full moon was shining brightly. Everyone was asleep in the house. She easily broke into her own room and closed the window right after she sighed and gently smiled at the moon.
Henry was still spying on her by that time and, when he witnessed that brief scene, he felt as if his heart would skip a beat.
He recognised the feeling. If only his heart had been able to beat like before…
oooOoooOoooOoooOoooOooo
Her voice startled him again.
"Henry, I was sure I would find you here. I'm told you were inquiring after me." Mia gently, but proudly, informed Henry when she crossed the threshold of Abraham's shop one afternoon.
Well, it was Mr Ferguson's shop, but he hardly ever worked. He spent all day and night watching lightly dressed women in magazines or on TV.
Then, she went on thus:
"Am I to understand that you wish to speak to me," She said with a smirk on her beautiful face. "or will you just keep pushing people around and boring them to death speaking about me all the time, Mr Sturges?"
The gentle light of that June afternoon enhanced her beauty – or that's what Henry believed right then. He decided not to be so hostile to her. Time and patience had softened his opinion of her.
"You are clearly exaggerating, Miss Damienson." Henry replied with serenity and seriousness, although seeing her so suddenly had startled him, just like the first time. He had not noticed her presence until she had spoken to him. "Boring people to death? I've done no such thing. I'm sure I don't bore people to death."
"Are you sure?" She asked boldly, raising an eyebrow. "Mary can confirm this. I think you've been quite careless, but that's just my opinion anyway. Our neighbours are mad about you. And Mary gets all the bullets for me as regards this issue, poor girl." She and Abraham chuckled a bit. "She obviously feels responsible for it, somehow. That's why she's organised a party, and…"
She took an invitation out of her bag and handed it to Henry in a perfectly polite way, smiling broadly. The paper was thick, well designed, and therefore expensive.
"She wishes you to attend." Mia went on. "I'm in a hurry right now. Can't stay. You may just have the perfect opportunity to speak to me then, before you make the entire town go mad."
Once she had said this, Henry took the invitation from her hand while he stared deeply into her eyes. She answered his gaze in the same way, intensely, daringly, although she could not see his eyes due to his dark red sunglasses. Then, silence set in but it didn't really feel uncomfortable as it was usually expected to be.
The chance to speak to her that I was hoping for is finally here. – Henry thought. – I hope I can find a moment to speak to her alone. Nobody should hear us talking about vampires.
Henry swallowed once, and then she turned around and left the shop.
"What was that, Henry?" Abraham finally whispered to his dear old friend.
"What was what?" Henry asked back a bit naively, not knowing what he was talking about.
"Do you really fancy her?" Abraham asked with naught.
"No!" Henry replied aggressively.
"And yet every single word she's uttered is pregnant by this meaning." Abraham smirked at him. "After all that lecturing about girls and flirting you gave me that day! I don't know about you, but I don't want to end like Mr Ferguson, becoming a pervert, obsessed with boobs and tight asses I won't have for myself! I want to get laid sometime! And I bet that so do you. And yet you came in all pissed off at me that day. You went out and became her stalker for days! Aren't you ashamed of yourself?"
"Stop it this instant!" Henry threatened him. His eyes were glowing with red and black hues behind his dark glasses.
He wasn't able to control the beast in him when he was too angry. Abraham was incredibly lucky that that shield made of dark-coloured glass was set right before Henry's eyes. If not, he'd definitely fear the look in them.
"And erase this bloody smirk from your face!" Henry added angrily. "Abraham, I swear to God that if you don't stop, I'll…"
"You'll what? Bore me to death as you speak about Mia?" Abraham smiled and made a crucial pause while Henry clenched his teeth. His fangs were beginning to show. "Anyway, why were you asking about her in town? What do you want to know about her anyway? You've never told me."
oooOoooOoooOoooOoooOooo
Dear journal,
As I'm writing, I feel the burden of conventions. Society is a ruthless network of ill-intentioned people.
My fear has eventually become true: now everyone takes for granted that I am deeply 'interested' in Mia Damienson in a romantic sense of the word. I shouldn't have inquired so much about her around town. I'm an idiot. I should've let it go. Or maybe hit the road, as I usually do when I get bothered.
She is obviously going to mean trouble for me – and not because of social conventions, of course. The fact that she is a vampire hunter and that I keep spying on her may lead me straight to the grave, and yet I have to know her. There's something pulling me. I have to tell her the truth. And I fear I need to know her truth as well.
I need to find a way to tell her that, even though I'm a soulless vampire, I still care for my humanity. I'm good and I want to help her to defeat and erase all the evil from the surface of the Earth. I hope she doesn't hate me for feeding on human blood, only from criminals and loathsome people, of course.
I hope she'll understand.
oooOoooOoooOoooOoooOooo
The Todds' mansion was otherworldly.
Mary's father was loaded. He could afford boasting of having practically anything. Golden lights and switches. Thick marble pillars, and endless marble floors. The largest glass windows Henry had ever seen in his lifetime. His wife was dressed in the best Dolce & Gabbana dress she could ever pick. And so was Mary. She was a dream come true to any bachelor in Springfield.
"I'm glad you came, Henry!" Mary greeted with joy Henry when he arrived at the party at her home. She had always called him 'Henry' even though he always called her 'Miss Todd'. "You look amazing in this dark grey suit!"
He was. He was a good-looking hunk in a formal, expensive suit – the perfect combination.
Mary was wearing a mischievous smile. Naturally, she was overexcited about the fact that she had organised the party only because she believed Henry fancied Mia and needed help, poor child. The tone of voice she was using betrayed her Cupid-like intentions. She was like an open book.
"Abraham," She said then with desire when Abraham came into the hall. "hello… handsome. Nice suit. You look… perfect." She bit softly her lower lip while she examined his suit too. "Please come in and have a drink. I'll be with you in a minute."
She was obviously nervous, because she was obsessed by becoming the perfect host. So many expectations on her! She could be the perfect Barbie Girl when she wanted to. And, of course, she was nervous because there was Abraham present. It was quite obvious that Mary and Abraham really liked each other but they hadn't told each other about it yet.
Mia was looking at the scene from the top of the stairs and smiled tenderly as she thought of poor Mary and her sheepish attempts at bringing two young people together, namely Henry and herself.
Mia was up to no good, actually. She loved being naughty. She hadn't denied anything her dear friend Mary had accused her of, mostly, leading Henry on.
You're so kind-hearted, Mary! If only you knew the truth! – Mia thought with melancholy from the top of the stairs as she was looking down at the three of them, down the hall. – But I really welcome your naïve attempts at making me feel absolutely normal. They feel so good! You want to give Henry a chance to speak to me, alone, to admit feelings I'm actually sure he hasn't got for me. If he does, I'm gonna play with them for sure.
I'm not into long-term relationships. Can't afford one, actually.
You can't play on broken strings, dear Mary. The song that comes out of me is corrupted, lacking basic notes, and it chills my own bones sometimes. I'd rather be alone, but I guess I can have some fun first.
Mia's half smile didn't fade away, not even when Henry chanced to look up the stairs and accidentally spotted her.
He became instantly thunderstruck by the sight of her: she was wearing a skin-tight, golden Versace dress with diamonds on her shoulders and neckline, with long sleeves and a short skirt, which displayed her graceful neck and almost fully exposed legs. She had barely done her hair: basically, she had just ironed her long, dark hair, and it was hanging gracefully over her shoulders and back. He was amazed and frozen, mesmerized by her beauty.
When their eyes met, she decided it was time to come down the stairs to meet him face to face. Thus, she made her way down the stairs in an imposing, mighty and self-conscious way as if she were a luxurious ship making its glorious entrance at a port.
Soft jazz music was currently being played by a string quartet and a piano, the air smelt like gin tonics and exotic fruits, and the soft but warm night breeze came in through the door so gently that it made you think you were already in paradise.
Mary and Abraham had gone to the living room, where the rest of the guests were, making merry.
"I'm glad you could make it." That was how Mia welcomed Henry: with a classic sentence, literally fit for the occasion but uttered with irony and displaying half a naughty smirk on her face.
She was obviously trying to veil it, because she didn't mean any harm but she was not completely successful at it. She was too amused by the situation. She went on thus:
"Now, I'm sure the entire city can go on gossiping about us. Poor things!" She said with a smirk on her lush lips. "What would they do without you, Mr Sturges? You've provided a rather amusing gossip in their boring high-class social environment."
"I'm sure they enjoy you and your smiles a lot more than me, Miss Damienson." Henry replied quite formally.
"And I'm sure they couldn't possibly pick on any other social weakling like you, Mr Sturges." She answered back and left the spot to attend some other guests in the house.
She had left him alone in the hall when he had expected her to stay. That had left him speechless and appalled.
Henry couldn't help but wondering where the hell that sharp tongue and mind of hers came from. No other girl or woman had ever talked to him like that. But Henry had bigger issues to attend to right then: he needed to speak with her and make sure no one could overhear their conversation, but if she was socially active, she might not be as available as he had expected her to be.
Mia was talking to a gentle old lady when suddenly a blond, tall, young man with even darker glasses than Henry's approached her and they started talking quite amiably.
Well, more than that actually.
His smile towards her was bewitching, as much as his pose and his white suit and tie and his black shirt. He was slender, but well-built. Henry felt as if they already knew each other all their lives since they spoke really amiably to each other. As they talked, her smile broadened in a manner Henry never thought possible, so warmly and heavenly that it felt like a black hole in Henry: absorbing everything around it, even all light. Henry froze on the spot.
Out of the blue, that young well-built man got her hand, gently kissed it like a good old gentleman, she chuckled, and then he led her to the dance floor, right at the centre of that huge room.
Henry made his way past some other guests and stared at the scene developing right before his glass-veiled eyes as if he just couldn't believe it. They danced an exquisite tango wonderfully, flawlessly, too sensually. It left all the guests thunderstruck and blushing.
Oh-oh… What's this? – Henry thought while frowning. – Why should I care if someone else enjoys her smiles, dances with her, and makes her happy? Why am I suddenly feeling jealous? Why do I feel the need to hate this young man, who I have obviously never met and who could perfectly be a good man? Why do I clench my teeth so badly as if I couldn't stop myself? Why should I care? And why does he wear dark glasses like me? Hummm…
"So, aren't you going to introduce me to this splendid young man, Mia?" Mary's father, Mr Todd, gently and happily asked Mia when the tango finished and they had stopped dancing.
Henry was overhearing the conversation. He was barely standing at a few feet's distance, but vampire hearing skills were much more accurate than any human's.
"Mr Todd," She politely said. "this is my good friend, Michael." She made a slight pause as she glanced his way. "Michael Mendelssohn. Michael, this is Mary's father, Mr Todd, the mayor of Springfield."
"Mr Mendelssohn, like the composer, isn't it?" Mr Todd pointed out joyfully, speaking quite fast. "I haven't ever heard it before in our town. I assume you don't live here, then. Where are you from? Oh, well. Never mind me! I can be too nosy sometimes, but I don't care at all! I like being nosey. May I invite you to have a whiskey with me, Mr Mendelssohn? I want you to tell me how you met this little angel, dear Miss Damienson."
"I'll be delighted, Mr Todd." Michael answered in a perfect polite way which made Mia smile tenderly. "I see you're the perfect host: generous, amiable and cheerful. Springfield is lucky to have you as mayor."
"Oh, Lord! What a glorious depiction you make of me! If I was a young lady, I'd be dying to get your attention, Mr Mendelssohn!" Mr Todd cheerfully said, and he swiftly took Michael away to get the aforesaid whiskey. "You're a highly interesting specimen amongst men, believe me. Look at you: I'm sure you're second to no other bachelor in the city!"
Mia stared at them as they left her alone. She was smirking to herself wondering whether Mary's father, with all his comments and gossiping, could actually erode Michael's patience and formality. Then, Henry approached her from behind and said:
"I see you enjoy his company very much, Miss Damienson." He said with no undertone, no subtle second meaning.
"Are you suddenly jealous, Mr Sturges?" She said still smiling.
"No, I just comment on a perfectly clear fact. Is he your fiancé?" He asked quite normally, although he was irrationally expecting her to answer no.
Mia just chuckled and shook her head amused by the comment.
"What? Have I just made a fool of myself?" Henry suddenly smiled at her.
"Yes, you have." She said as she smirked back at him.
"Then, why… Forgive me for my straightforwardness, but" Henry swiftly added clumsily. "why is he here? I mean… Why are you so close? And… why do Mary and the entire town believe that you and I…?" He asked blushing.
"They can say whatever they want, Mr Sturges. I wouldn't pay any heed if I were you." She sweetly told him. That attitude struck him as odd, since she had always treated him daringly and defiantly until then. "Michael used to work for my father in New York. That's how we met years ago. That's why we're quite close. We're good friends. And yes, Mary invited him because I specifically told her." Then her eyes got naughty again, set on his.
Henry then stared at her, and he just couldn't see where that conversation was going. He was wondering why she had stressed that last sentence.
"What now, Mr Sturges? Look, let me come just clean to you." She whispered using a hot husky voice that, in combination to her sexy attire and slender body, made the hairs at the back of his neck stand on end with anticipation.
He swallowed as she got a bit closer, fearing that she would make the first step and admitting that she was a vampire hunter right on the spot, in the middle of that crowded room full of perfectly human guests.
"I have a wicked plan…" Oh-oh, here she went. "… to end all this nonsensical gossip about you and me: that's why I brought Michael over, to make them fall head over heels in love with him. No offense, but he's a better suitor than you." She said playfully and naughtily. "You can't stand a chance against him. He's perfectly lovely and nice. Not grumpy and dark, like you, Mr Sturges."
When she finished talking, he sighed, relieved that she hadn't spoken about vampires in the middle of that crowded party. For a second, he had thought she would.
"You look relieved, Mr Sturges. I knew you don't really fancy me." She said with pride and a smirk.
Even though that was not the true reason behind his sigh, he didn't correct her.
"Miss Damienson, does he know your purpose at least?" He inquired.
"Sure. I know I can be quite cruel and straightforward sometimes (I should control my temperament better, I know)," She said using a soft voice, which strangely cracked at the end of the sentence as if she was having second thoughts, and she finished it off as if it were a mere whisper. "but I'd never be that bad."
"May I just ask you why you have such a sharp-edged tongue only when you talk to me, Miss Damienson?" Henry was pushing it, but he couldn't help it. It was a true fact.
"That's how I am." She just chuckled and left him alone because the pianist required her immediate attention on the other side of the room.
Apparently, Michael had managed to get rid of Mary's father and had convinced the pianist to play for Mia and himself. He wanted to sing along with her while the musicians played Broken Strings, by Nelly Furtado and James Morrison.
They sang beautifully and, although the song was about broken hearts, the audience was beyond delighted to listen to their powerful voices and lyrics. Then, at the end of the song, she gave Michael a peck on his right cheek and smiled like a Barbie Girl like Mary would.
Henry wondered how far Mia was willing to go tonight to make the people in Springfield believe that Michael was pursuing her and her affection – and that she was gladly accepting it. It was more than obvious that she had planned all this to make Henry uncomfortable. Michael had been called to attend that party so that his charming attitude would call everybody's attention, her blinding smiles for him too. And all the dancing and singing with him was the icing on the cake.
Suddenly, Henry found himself wishing he could sing along with her, enjoy her smiles, and dance with her.
"She will be greatly missed around here, don't you think, Henry?" Laura Todd, Mary's mother, whispered to Henry, standing by his side, when he was in de midst of deep thinking and pondering.
They had known each other for some time, since Henry had become a close acquaintance of the mayor over the course of some months then. Henry had thought it convenient to know the mayor to inquire him as regards the high crime rates in town. If Henry could influence the mayor into taking severe measures against criminals, maybe vampires wouldn't hang around as much. But nothing a human could legally do seemed to have any effect on a vampire's life. It had been useless. But he had come to know Laura, his wife, a great deal in the meantime.
"What do you mean, Mrs Todd?" Henry asked point blank.
"Well, isn't it obvious, Henry? Mia was telling everyone a few minutes ago that her intention is to go back to New York…" She pointed out. "… where Mr Mendelssohn lives and works."
Having said that, she shut up and left Henry alone.
Then, Michael insisted Mia to dance a paso doble with him. It is pointless to say that all the guests were thrilled to witness such a lovely unwed couple flirt like that in such an open, chaste and charming way.
Mia agreed and got hold by him tightly with a slight blushing on her cheeks. Henry even felt as if the vibration from her feet as she danced could rise from the floor to his legs and torso, softly trembling due to her might and numbing splendour.
Is she really going to New York? – Henry thought frowning. – Or is it just part of her naughty performance? Why does this sudden news blast feel like a heavy toll on my chest? Why do I have the feeling that I'm just a little puppet for her tonight? She's playing with me! She's definitely smart, a lot smarter than any other young lady in this country. I've never witnessed such a thing in my entire life. If she left, I'd never have the chance to listen to her wonderful voice again… Or see her killing vamps at night.
Once she was done dancing with Michael, the audience clapped their hands enthusiastically, and Mia blushed a bit. She briefly bit her lower lip. Then, she turned around to tell the piano player to proceed with other songs. When she left him, she was looking for Michael, but he was busy attending a huge multitude of female fans who had madly fallen in love with him already. Far from jealous, she just chuckled and shook her head lightly.
"Is the plan going as you expected, Miss Damienson?" Henry suddenly startled her.
"Sure. You don't need to worry, Mr Sturges." She said matter-of-factly.
The piano music overwhelmingly filled the room, but her voice was second to no other sound around her.
"May I have this dance, Miss Damienson?" He gently offered his hand to her as he had said that.
She stared at his dark red sunglasses, and she swore she had caught a glimpse of his eyes behind the glass. Then, she politely and silently accepted his offer. She had nothing better to do.
Once she had put her hand in his, he led her to the centre of the dance floor. Henry made sure that Michael saw them. He put his other hand right behind the small of her back and swung her through the air while they were dancing a waltz. Her dress slightly rustled as they spinned on the dancefloor. Henry liked the sound of it, and he didn't know why but he felt like dancing more daringly with her as time went by.
It was obvious that she had seen his intentions, but she didn't take it badly. It was like a challenge for her. She just raised an eyebrow at him and giggled as he led her while dancing.
Henry was a better dancing partner than Michael, that was clear by then. He was a pro. He had something that Michael didn't have… something she couldn't put her finger on. Something addictive. Henry's style was a lot more sensual and daring, obsessive even. She really enjoyed dancing with him, quite as much as the guests who were staring at them and gossiping with naughty whispers and smiles.
"Your smile is wonderful, wider than before. Are you feeling happy right now, Miss Damienson?" Henry asked whispering as he locked his eyes into hers, not paying attention to the other guests.
"Absolutely." She used that husky voice he adored. "I really enjoy your jealousy." She said raising an eyebrow and smirking freely.
"You're a Machiavellian mind, dear Miss Damienson. You enjoy playing with men." He said as if words were daggers.
"Oh, yes, and you let me do it. And now what?" She said with naught, leaving Henry thunderstruck while dancing. "You're ruining my show! Look at all the gossipers around town making small talk about us right now. How should I disentangle this mess you're creating by dancing like this with me?"
She made as if she was thinking about a great master plan.
He made her spin once (her hair floating around them freely), and then she suddenly gasped and said thrilled as if she had just had a brilliant idea:
"I know!"
Henry was startled because she made her body almost collide with his, her face was suddenly right in front of his, barely at a couple of inches' distance. Her hands were resting on his shoulders, and he was holding her by her waist. Her smell was amazingly powerful at that short distance. She made sure he was staring directly at her eyes, and said:
"I should make sure that someone sees me steal a kiss from him!"
Then, she just smirked at Henry and left him alone, growing roots in the centre of the dancefloor on his own, frozen by her straightforwardness.
She made her way through the crowd with the intention to snatch Michael and take him to a private area, maybe the back garden or the kitchen, no matter what, and kiss him while someone 'accidentally' saw them.
Nevertheless, she didn't notice that Henry was rushing to get her before she performed the dirty deed: he grabbed her right wrist and forced her to follow him to the back garden without saying a word.
She couldn't believe it! She was appalled by Henry's sudden reaction and let her jaw fall slightly. Michael had seen it all, like a bunch of other people.
Once Henry and Mia were outside in the back garden, he closed the door with vehemence and crushed her back forcefully against it.
He put his hands on either side of her body, not allowing her to escape anywhere. His arms, legs and neck were tense with anger. The moonlight beautifully shone on them, giving Henry a halo all around his body from behind. He looked stunning like an avenging angel.
"What do you think you're doing?!" She asked him enraged.
"I was just about to ask you the same thing!" He answered also in anger.
"You're mad! Now let me go!" She put her hands on his chest and tried to push him from her. She didn't use her real strength, although she was really angry at him.
"OK, go and kiss him if you want! For all I care!" He clenched his teeth angrily, but then he asked her point-blank. "But do you even love him?!"
"No, of course not!" She said matter-of-factly.
"Then, why are you pushing this whole thing onto him?" He demanded to know with fury, showing he was willing to care about that issue.
"He agreed to help me. He'll gladly do it!" She replied defensively. "And yes, for all you care, you should leave me alone."
His body got tenser as a response to her angry words.
Henry knew that that private conversation was not what he was precisely looking for before he had come here. He locked his eyes into hers and hesitated. He clenched his teeth, trying to regain control of himself. He could feel his fangs starting to come out due to his anger.
"Henry," She whispered with a husky voice, that time with a deadly twinge. Both their faces were quite close to one another right then, barely at a two inches' distance. "I know who you truly are. Or should I say what you are?"
Henry froze on the spot for a couple of seconds.
"You're a vampire." She decisively added, with pride.
Then, he swallowed and spoke his mind as seriously and deadly as her.
"And I know who you really are, Mia Damienson."
She laughed wholeheartedly then, a bit malevolently.
"I doubt it, luv." She said smirking at him. "Who am I?"
"I know you're a vampire hunter." He said seriously.
"I am." She admitted as if she was having fun right then. "But I'm so much more than that… Some women are real shifting creatures, you said. You don't know who I really am. But you are the nosey guy that hangs around every night I go vampire hunting. Spying on me. Stalking me. Like a pervert."
"You noticed me, didn't you?" He said slightly amazed to know the truth about it and ignoring her last few words. "I knew it!" Then, he smiled a bit before he proceeded thus: "At the beginning I thought you were a vampire like me. Your strength is beyond human, so it doesn't make sense to ask you whether you're human or not. You're not human, are you? But when I touched your hand tonight while dancing, I realised that your skin is not ice-cold like mine. What are you, then?"
"Why should I tell you, pray?" She said defiantly.
"Right. It's not my business really…" He whispered back. "Does Michael know? I bet he does."
Mia crossed her arms and stared at him with a proud and angry expression on her face, as if telling him that he was asking too many questions.
"Oh, come on! I know that those dark glasses he's wearing are not normal. Like mine." Henry added pushing her to tell him the truth. "They're not meant to be fashionable. They serve a purpose, right? What is it?"
"You have no right to ask about it." She said angrily.
"Well, in fact I do." Henry pushed her whole body with his as he leaned a bit closer to her. She could feel all his flawless abs on her stomach. "You come to this city, where I was peacefully living by the way, you unexpectedly hunt vampires down and kill them although I was doing quite fine until you arrived here. Yes, I hunt vampires too. Surprised?"
"Nope." She replied with joy. "I already know that. And some other stuff about you."
"OK. You know a few things about me, probably more than I'd love to admit, but then you refuse to tell me anything about you when I ask. A bit unfair, isn't it?"
"Mr Sturges, if someone told you that life should be fair, this person blatantly lied to you." She said bitterly.
They fell silent.
That sentence could be related to too many bad memories from the past, both Henry's and Mia's. Henry could see how she bit her lower lip and didn't look straight at him right then, as if she was already regretting having said that. He could sense how those same words had hurt her as much as they had hurt him.
"Michael wears those glasses because he's got no eyes. Well, not regular eyes." Mia suddenly whispered back, with a twinge of sadness in her voice. "He's… Anyway… Don't even think of defying him. I wouldn't mess up with someone who's a lot older and more powerful than you." She said deadly seriously.
"What do you mean 'older than me'?" Now he was keenly interested. "How do you know whether he's older than me? Who is he?"
"Ask this very same question to your darkest nightmares, Mr Sturges." She used that sexy husky voice again that spurred his animal instincts within him. "I bet they can answer this question better than me."
They fell silent again.
Henry feared to ask any further. He was truly afraid, like never before. If that apparently young man was older and more powerful than him, he must be an extremely fearful thing to behold. The mere knowledge of his condition might mean dementia for Henry – or that was the feeling he got right then.
So, he just stared blankly at her inviting, half-parted lips under the moonlight of that warm summer night.
"And now tell me, Mr Know It All:" She said using the same deadly husky voice as before. "you know that I'm a vampire slayer, so… why do you think I haven't beaten you and hunted you down yet?"
They fell silent as they stared at each another for some seconds. Henry did not dare to say a word.
"Because…" She suddenly used a softer and gentler tone of voice, so unlike before.
Any words would sound lovely and charming with that heavenly voice of hers. She was staring right into his eyes as if she could reach his soul (if he had any, of course), which left Henry dumbstruck.
"I know that, even though you're a vampire," She said sweetly. "and a pain in the ass by the way, I know that deep within you're good, Henry. So, unlike your kind. May I call you Henry? That's why I haven't touched a single hair of yours. Otherwise, you'd be dead right now."