It's a pity that little Saint Judson declined my invitation to immortality, he would've been able to explore the entire world without fear of death, pain or suffering. He must be consumed with guilt by now; what a great taste that I'll never be able to savor! Maybe I'll visit him again soon to see if he's changed his mind, or if that delicious young woman is still traveling with him. Maybe I'll just leave him be. He maybe a challenge, but I'm not sure that he's really worth the effort. But the young man, he's worth it for the money if nothing else.

Hmmm, yes the young man with his devilish good looks and slightly unruly brown curls. He was a very sweet treat indeed. I can still almost taste his sweet untainted blood as it flowed over my lips. He tasted better than I had imagined. How he must be going stir crazy sitting in hospital room right now? The thought puts a devilish smile on my face.

Oh how he must be itching to find me by now! He is sure to be more than hungry by now. If one of his friends is helping him, how long can he keep himself from attacking them, I wonder? Though what he's going through since I bit him is far from a real blood lust, but it's so very close that he won't be able to tell the difference. Attacking his friend would be skipping a step, but Gabriel strikes me as that kind of boy. Impulsive . . .

Oh, he is smart. It took him less time than it did others to figure out that they can feel where I am. Wonder if he knows that it goes both ways? . . .

"Captain!" he shouts into the darkness that surrounds me. Does he have any idea how tense he is? I ponder as I move closer to the edge of the dark to watch him and his foolish bravery. "I know that you're here!"

"And I you," I say, coolly from my perch just above him. "I must say, my little avenging angel, that you are the first person in almost two centuries to find me so soon. Most denied what was happening and died ignoring the pains they felt. But you . . ."

"What did you do to me?" he shouts, interrupting me. Me! Of the all the people in the world to interrupt! Such bravado! I should find a way to bottle it and sell it, I could make a fortune.

What did I do to him, indeed? Calculating my answer I deftly drop from my perch above my latest acquisition to behind him. Some explorer, doesn't even know enough to watch his back. I'll have to teach him how . "I gave you a gift," I say softly into his ear, the soft skin brushing against my lips. A smile creeps across my lips as the hair on the back of his neck stands on end. His fear gives off the best fragrance of the fear that I've breathed in over the centuries. I should bottle that as well. "A gift that needs to be finished," I tell him softly, as I gently ran my hand down the soft skin of his face, "or you'll die."

"How long would I have if I walked out that door right now?" he asked, gathering his bravado and turning to face me.

"A week. Maybe," I say with a shrug.

"Why?" he asked almost sounding like a lost child.

"I don't know. Just the way that this works." I say with yet another shrug. Why so many questions? There's only one thing to be done, and he wants to know the how's and why's? Typical human! Too bad that he doesn't know, there aren't always how's and why's.

"You want my father's money." There was no question to it. I have to smile at him. He figured out part of the why. He must know that he wasn't my first choice. Of course he would know that, he was there the first time that I offered little saint Judson a chance at immortality. After our first encounter I did my homework and learned that the child of the Adventure Inc group was loaded. More correctly he would be loaded one day. And once we're done here, we'll make that one day sooner instead of later. So he knew. I never wanted to hide what I wanted from him.

"I told you, you were smart, did I not?" I smile at him. "Now that we know why we're all here, shall we finish what we started last night?"

"I won't get you my father's money."

"My dear boy, you are assuming that you have choice," I say, quickly seizing him by the throat. A shudder runs through his thin weakened body, and my smile widens. The perfume of his fear comes to me in big beautiful waves. Not even, Waynewright had the mixture of fear and bravado that I was seeing in this young man's eyes as he stared down what he was sure was his death.

Ignoring his weak struggles, I pull him to me exposing the marks that I left last night. Hovering over the wound, I can't help but take in the sweet smell of the clotted blood. Running my tongue over my drying lips and anxious teeth, I savored the memory of the boy's taste. Closing my eyes, I lower my teeth to the tender flesh of captive's neck.

"Let him go." A voice commands me from the dark.

Damn it! His little girl friend! How could I have forgotten about her? Tossing my prey at the nearest wall, I turned to face her. The look of horror on her face when her friend grunts as his body makes contact with the wall, brings a smile to my face. How touching! "I suppose that you're here to save the boy?"

"You got a problem with that?" She asked raising her weapon to aim at my chest.