Chapter 6: "Something Rotten"
The half-vampire Gillian stood on the railing of the bridge on which she once had met Larten Crepsley for the first time.
She was barefoot, and held firmly with one hand on a thick steel cable, while the wind tugged at her.
While she waited, she pulled the darkness closer around her, so that she wasn`t visible for one or the other random car passing by.
She closed her eyes and listened to the wind, the roar of the water somewhere deep under her and her own pounding heartbeat. She dreamed of Larten, and longed for him to come.
What would he do if she jumped?
She had asked this herself many times.
What would he have done if she had jumped past then?
Would he have saved her?
Gillian often dreamed of this past moment on the bridge.
In her imagination Larten did not just suddenly appear to hand her over a ticket, in her dream she had jumped and the vampire had jumped too, after her, to save her. She did not simply climb down on her own, no, she lied in the strong arms of the vampire and looked up to her rescuer, looked into his eyes for the very first time ...
That would have been romantic.
Gillian could feel a warm tingling sensation in her stomach as she gave away to her favorite fantasy.
Perhaps her favorite fantasy could come true after all?
This time, she would jump.
And the vampire would have to jump after her, because he loves her.
Or he would not jump and let her die, because he doesn`t love her, had never loved her, but just kept her, because it was so comfortable.
That was what troubled Gillian deep inside, what always tortured her.
She wanted to know, needed to know.
Does Larten Crepsley love her?
She will find out now once and for all.
The small figure of the halfvampiress fluttered in the wind, like a piece of cloth that had become entangled in the steel construction; for human eyes hardly more than a scrap of a dress and dark night. The crescent-shaped moon appeared behind a cloud, when Gillian heard heavy boot steps on the metal catwalk.
Finally.
Her heart began to pound more excitedly.
Larten, he had come.
Gillian took a deep breath, but the smile that began to widen on her face, froze. With the breath, the smell of the man came to her.
That was not Larten.
Gillian reacted half a second too late.
When her senses perceived the foul smell, she wanted to turn around, flit back on the bridge.
But the man was already at her before she had completed only half the movement.
Everything was slowed down, as if someone switched a DVD at half-speed on, only she ran at normal speed.
And unfortunately, the man too.
He was in a split of a second next to her.
And pushed her off the bridge.
Gillian held her breath as she felt her feet slipping off the railing.
Her stomach made a delicious leap.
Her arms were rowing in the air and her hands were desperately looking for something to hold on.
With wide eyes she stared into the face of the man.
Murlough.
Her fingers scraped along on his arm, with which the vampaneze had just pushed her, and she managed to claw the fabric of his jacket.
Her body fell, and her hand slid down his arm down to his wrist.
But she did not let go.
A jolt went through her body, as the time snapped back into its normal speed, and Gillian's cry yelled through the night.
She dangled with one arm to the hand of the vampaneze over a black abyss ... and the jolt as the weight of her body suddenly pulled her down, had just dislocated her arm.
"Hi, sweetness."
From watery eyes Gillian looked up at the man.
Murlough grinned nastily down at her and cocked his head.
"Did I come at a bad time?".
He laughed a hoarse laugh, which sounded more like a bark.
Little flashes danced in front of Gillian's eyes. She had difficulties not to faint. The pain in her arm was unbearable and one part of her begged, he should let go, so pain stopped.
The other part was trying desperately to find a way out.
He will not let go, this voice said deep inside her. He could have done already.
"Murlough ...", Gillian squeezed between clenched teeth.
"Yesss?" Murlough asked sarcastically. "Do you want to say something?" And he leaned further over the railing, as if he wanted to come closer to her so that he could understand her better.
But that was just a game.
He put his free hand behind the ear and asked, "What? You want me to let go? You do not want to live any longer? Ok. "
And he let go.
Gillian's mind stopped.
He had actually released her hand.
She fell and there was nothing between her and death.
Something hit her hard from the side and grabbed her under the arms.
Gillian felt like she was thrown up and to the side.
Her stomach leaped in her mouth as she banged with a hard blow to the metal bars on the bridge.
Someone was swinging on a long rope under the bridge, who had caught and thrown her with inhuman force back on the bridge.
Everything was spinning around Gillian, but she tried to get on her feet.
Her body refused to serve and she fell to her knees.
She gasped and saw a black shadow swung over the railing with one hand on a steel cable and landed on all fours next to her.
Her savior was not a red-orange hair, but a boy with dark hair, whom she had never seen before.
The vampaneze Murlough came up to them, and Gillian gasped a "Caution!" to her rescuer, and tried to get on her feet.
The sickening feeling grew stronger and Gillian had a strong urge to vomit, but she pressed her still aching arm against her body and concentrated.
She looked at the unknown boy beside her, and tried to estimate what an chance he would have in a fight against the vampaneze.
Confused, she stared at him.
He was no older than sixteen and had irritating violet eyes.
And he was clearly a vampire.
The boy grinned unabashedly, and Gillian froze the blood in the veins, as Murlough spoke to him in confidence.
"Well, you were lucky that Steve hang out right here. Right, Steve? "
The boy grinned impudently and Gillians courage sank.
The two knew each other.
They were in cahoots.
Murlough was now so close that Gillian took hastily a few steps more back, until she hit her back against a steel pillar. "I heard you left old Crepsley?"
"How ...", she swallowed and had to bite her teeth together. "How do you know?"
"Ts... I have my sources."
The headlights of a car appeared at the end of the bridge, and Gillian wondered what the two wanted to do to avoid being seen. She hoped for a chance to escape.
But they did nothing until the car stopped next to them.
Murlough opened the door to the back seat and with a gesture meant Gillian to enter.
Gillian shook her head.
"As you wish. Then I'll probably just throw you back off the bridge. "
Gillian swallowed.
She had no choice.
She climbed into the car.