The air was chilly and humid, salty with little drops of seawater, but it began to feel a little hot. Eric stood in front of her in his underwear and Amelia couldn't look away. Her eyes eventually dropped to her own shadow on the sand but looked back up when she heard his steps on the sand. Such an odd sound! She's never noticed it before.
"You have to do this, Amelia," he said in a soft voice. "There won't be another full moon before your birthday."
She nodded slowly. He was correct, it was her last chance. Still, a memory she had pushed far into a dark corner of her mind was creeping up on her. An exchange student, one whose name she never heard, but whose face she has been trying to erase from her memory. Eric heard her heart pounding, but instead of lust, he saw panic in her eyes. He stopped in front of her.
"You seemed to trust me until now."
Afraid of how this phrase could escalate, she nodded before she could find her voice. "I do trust you."
"Good. Now, let's go into the water." He was trying to be soft, but his voice wasn't meant for that. It almost sounded like an order.
Amelia took a few deep breaths as they approached the waves. As on command, the sea became a little restless, sending out waves towards them that nearly knocked her off her feet. Every time though, she felt Eric's arm behind her, preventing her fall. Once they were waist-deep, her lungs filled with air one last time. She laid on the water face-down, diving into the next wave and giving into a sense of abandonment.
The vampire remained put, watching a few air bubbles rushing to the surface. The couple was by his side, well aware something was going to happen that will cost them greatly, but completely silent and still, as ordered.
Once her lungs had emptied, Amelia felt a rush like never before. Both humans were more appealing to her than any food or dessert she had ever tasted as a human. Their flavor was unmistakable through the water, like the mouth-watering smoke of a barbeque. Despite the dark, her eyes could see their legs with ease. The woman was trembling, anticipating her end, but neither of the two could move without Eric's permission.
He had to be patient this time. He had to wait for Amelia to resurface, or give him any sign at all, as he couldn't tell where she was at the time. His senses were useless, he had lost her scent and couldn't pick up any unusual movements of the water around him. Just then, a diffuse, but absolutely delicious scent took him by surprise. This one was the same as before, so many centuries ago... He couldn't describe it, but now for the first time he had to resist it. He had to fight the urge of hunting her down and forcing his fangs into her skin.
She tasted her own blood as a row of tiny fangs emerged behind her original teeth, breaking the gums where the doctor had pressed her finger before. Pain followed, but her insides were aching for a human heart too much. Everything else was secondary.
A small distance from where they had initially stopped, Eric finally saw a blonde head poking out of the water. The sea was calm again, and the moon made every little movement sparkle in silver. Instinctively, he was by her side in a second, in neck-deep water, with his arms finding her waist and lifting her up. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and neck, using his frame for support, but the scent of a thousand-year-old vampire was once again distracting her from reality.
"...You shouldn't breathe on my neck like that," he warned her. Eric could still see her bones, and he also noticed large bruises on her back that he had no way of seeing until then, concealed by her clothes and by her long, flowing hair. Now, both were out of the way - her shirt somewhere in the sand, and her hair wet, separated in strands running down her back and floating around them both. From her hips down, her skin was fading into tiny leathery scales in a gradient of turquoise and blue, iridescent in yellow and green.
His body was cold, but she didn't mind that. For the first time, she found comfort in the chills she got from the breeze as it was drying the water from her shoulders and hair.
"Do you still want her, or have you changed your mind?"
"I want them both," she whispered in a low voice, well aware that Eric could understand. "...and you."
The answer caught Eric off-guard. He did expect her to desire human hearts, but was this really Amelia talking, or was it the hunger?
"Don't bite more than you can chew," he answered her with a chuckle. Eric had hoped that one of the two humans would be his to drain, but he could always find another. Moving a bit slower because of the water surrounding him, he began walking back to where the couple was standing.
The woman was crying. "P-please...!" she tried to plead, but Eric looked her in the eyes.
"Shh..." The vampire then turned to the siren. "Do you want to try, or do you need me to show you?"
Amelia saw her victim shaking and gasping for air, sobbing silently with the expression of pure terror on her face. "...Is she going to suffer?"
"Not much, if you're fast." Eric extended his hands towards the woman who swallowed a scream as she felt his hand on her shoulder. He brought her closer before ripping out her heart in a split second. As much as the scent of blood tempted him, he held back and watched Amelia lower herself towards his hand.
The girl saw the heart still pounding. Hesitant, but pushed forward by instinct, she took the first bite and felt her body changing. The only thing of which she could be sure was that she couldn't go back now. The flesh was melting into her mouth and the blood was fire down her throat, warming up her insides. A sense of vitality took over her, unlike anything she had felt before, and she could swear that her illness was fading away with every bite. She could feel her body healing slowly. In a few moments, she had consumed her first meal and licked Eric's hand clean. She saw a grin when she looked up briefly, before making eye contact with the human to her right.
There was a pungent scent coming from him... Did he just piss himself? Amelia cringed. She couldn't wait for a shower now. She reached one arm around her victim's shoulder, getting on a somewhat even level, and unbuttoned his shirt. She could see his blood pulsing beneath the skin and even saw the small vibration of a few hairs as his heart was pounding. He was so scared he didn't dare to breathe. That didn't matter, though, he was a dead man. Amelia mimicked what she saw Eric do earlier, but found it a bit difficult to get past the man's ribs. For a moment, she held his heart in his chest, amazed by the sensations she felt and the euphoria clouding her mind. She pulled out his heart and ate it, while some blood ran down her forearm and dripped into the ocean. The sight finally woke her up from her little daydream.
"...I just killed a man," she said with the surprise and innocence of a child.
Eric let out a little laugh. "Ah, yes, you'll get used to it in no time, from what I've seen. Just don't go on a killing spree yet."
"I'd never do that," she cringed as she looked at the bodies being carried further into the ocean with each wave. "Oh, God, I actually feel full!"
"So that's it? Two hearts is the limit?" He lifted her in his arms again. "Because a minute ago you were saying something else..."
"Ah, right! You wanted to drain the guy - sorry about that." She remembered the thoughts swirling in her head earlier, but tried to play it cool. It was awkward enough.
Eric noticed her leaning closer to him only to look away as he carried Amelia towards the shore. "I'm still hungry."
"We could find another, right...?" She could smell his blood through his skin. Amelia tried not to think about it.
The vampire brought her all the way to the beach and set her down. "We could... Or we could find another way..."
"...Won't you get high then?" She remembered Longshadow's reaction and the explanation Eric had given her earlier about why vampires hunted down her kind.
"I will. Probably you too." He threw her a half-smile.
"Then I think it'd be better if we had someplace to go that was safe, you know, just in case we don't sober up before dawn..."
Eric sighed heavily. She was right - they will be high as a kite by daybreak. He should have handled this earlier. They couldn't hide underwater either since neither of them knew if the shoreline held any caves or cavities that could shelter them from the rest of the world. The man began to get dressed.
Once she was dry enough, her tail easily split into two legs and Amelia was able to stand and get dressed as well. That's when she met his blue eyes again, but this time, they were sparkling with enthusiasm. Before she could ask anything, he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the car.
"How do you feel about real estate?"
Baffled, Amelia followed so she wouldn't fall on her face. "What do you mean?"
"Do you see yourself owning anything specific? A flat, a house, a villa?"
The girl got into the passenger seat and squeezed some water from her hair outside of the car, as Eric sat behind the wheel.
"I doubt I'll own anything. I will most likely look for a room to rent-" but he interrupted her.
"No, not rent. If you were to choose, hypothetically, what would you like?"
Amelia looked at him completely confused. "I guess... a small house would be nice?" He nodded for her to continue. "Something cozy, maybe close to the sea or in some quiet area, you know... I wouldn't have any use for too much space or busy streets. Why do you ask?"
The vampire tossed her his phone, unlocked, as he turned on the engine and began driving back towards Shreveport. "Find Shawn Bank and call him for me."
Still puzzled about what was going on and why was Eric in such a rush, Amelia looked through the contacts and called the number. It rang and rang, and then rang some more until a male voice finally answered with a sleepy 'Hello...?'
"Put it on speaker, will you?" As soon as the girl did, he heard Shawn yawning. "Mister Bank, sorry to wake you so early. I'm on my way to you, I've remembered your offer."
'What offer...?'
"I'm sure you remember, back when your son mixed himself up with the wrong type of people..."
'Ah! Right, I apologize, Mister Northman, my mind must be getting weaker with time,' the man chuckled nervously. 'Have you already set your sight on something, or should I bring the portfolio? I have several gems these days.'
"Small house by the sea, quiet, with a basement."
Amelia's eyes widened as she began to put two and two together.
'I know exactly what to show you! When will you be able to visit?'
"I'm in front of your house, Mr. Bank," Eric said as he took a turn and stopped on the side of the road. They were in the good part of the city with pretty houses and clean streets, and flowers at most windows.
'I'll be with you in a minute!' The man hung up after that, and Amelia gave Eric his phone back.
"Are..? I mean, is this what I think it is?!"
"Legally, I can't own property because as you know, I'm dead. You, on the other hand, are alive, which gives you the legal right-" Eric turned towards her to see her blue eyes red. "What is it?"
"I just... I've never thought...!"
The vampire smirked. "I'll be using that place too, you know... with your permission," he softened his voice.
Amelia nodded fast before she saw the door open and a small man walk fast with a plastic file under one arm and a poorly tied tie.
"I apologize to have kept you waiting, Mr. Northman. Good evening." He saw the blonde beside him but didn't question it. He was in no position to be asking Eric anything. After all, the vampire did spare his son when he's been caught covering up a gang of V dealers. "Would it be alright if I...?"
"As long as you give me directions." Eric stretched and opened the back seat door for him. "How far is it?"
"Only a few minutes by car, I believe. Only... it's not in the best shape, but the view is glamorous! You will need to turn and go down the boulevard, then turn left - I'll let you know."
Amelia sat quietly, trying to keep her emotions in check as they drove on. She didn't even pay attention to the road, to the point where she'd most likely get lost trying to find the place again, but none of that mattered at the time. When they stopped, she saw a little wooden house at the end of the road, with a backyard flooded by vegetation and a broken window. The agent took off as Eric helped her out and invited them both inside. There was a porch overlooking the shore, a spacious living room, and a small kitchen on the ground floor, and two bedrooms with a bathroom on the first floor.
"The attic is very low, you'd probably need to crawl. There's not much there. It has a cellar underground, Mr. Northman, just like you asked. The previous owner didn't take the wine racks. Would you like to see it?"
"If you leave me the keys, that will be all. You can drop the papers at Fangtasia tomorrow evening before we open." Eric took the keys from the salesman and then ignored him. He had stopped in the doorway to one of the bedrooms. Amelia had been in awe over the place from the beginning, but in that room, she spun a few times in a daze before bending over the window sill and looking outside.
Not daring to say anything else, the old man left the keys. "Of course, Mr. Northman! Have a good rest of the night!" He made his way downstairs, then began the walk back to his house. He would have expected the vampire to ask for a mansion or at least a villa, considering that he owed Eric the life of his son, but this was peanuts!
"Do you like it?" Eric asked as he went closer to Amelia. The house was empty, dusty, but pretty in its own way.
The girl stood up straight. "Of course! Are you really buying it?"
"On paper, yes. I made a deal with that man last year that I will let his son live in exchange for one property. There had been some promises about vampires' right to property thrown around by politicians during that time."
She nodded slowly. "What did the boy do?"
"Associated himself with V dealers. He didn't do anything himself, but I could have had him executed for being there." After a moment of silence, he felt obligated to ask. "Does that change anything?"
With a smile, Amelia shook her head. "So then, it's free, right? Do you think we could renovate it?"
"As soon as you decide how. If you offer to sacrifice a few hours of your day to supervise, we could hire some daytime workers. They're a lot easier to contract than the night shift."
"Of course!" The girl walked into his arms. "But... Why are you doing so much for me? I'm grateful for everything and I appreciate it, I'm just wondering..."
Eric held her and breathed in her scent. It had been so many centuries since he had felt that scent, the sweetness of her blood and the salty water of the ocean, the cold breeze of the night still lingering in her hair, on her skin. He began playing in her hair with one hand, but before he knew it, she had leaned her head into his palm and his fangs couldn't stay put in front of her exposed neck. He was almost certain that whatever fear she had felt at first because of his authority and presence was gone now.
"...It'll be morning soon," she whispered through the silence. Some said it was also an answer sometimes, and Amelia decided it might as well count as one. The fear she felt of fangs ripping her skin open and tearing through her flesh for blood was fading fast, but something else was catching roots inside her at that time - doubt.
Right... Eric found himself holding back again. If he drank from her now, he'd be dazed for hours.
"We should go back before sunrise."
"We should," he agreed. The vampire let her find her balance on her own and backed away. They had to go back to Fangtasia. That's when his phone began to ring. Taking one look at the screen, he answered the call. "We're on our way."
'Splendid. You didn't stay long at all. I think you want to take a look at something before we call it a night. It's not the prettiest sight.'
Curious and slightly annoyed, Eric hung up. What could she possibly mean by that?
Author's notes:
Featured artist: The Pretty Reckless