Upon my return, I was greeted by an empty room, the opposite of what I had expected. I hadn't been gone long. Or, at least I hope I haven't been. Maybe that would explain their disappearance. The only remnants of the two vampires, traces of their scents hanging heavily in the air in the enclosed space. They must have just left. I sniffed the air. A mix of cologne and perfume, the sweet scent of death…and something else…salt? Whatever it was, smelled vaguely of the ocean.
Their absence granted me time to get dressed, and before I slipped my shirt on, I wiped away some of the blood that had trickled down my chin, and trailed a scarlet line on my pale skin, dipping into my navel before finally dripping down to the floor. I buttoned the shirt most of the way up, only because my body temperature is still fairly high.
Hell Hounds are fire based demons, and during the shift, your body becomes extremely hot. Hot enough to burn and melt through anything. And apparently my shirt, too, I noticed as the sleeve began to smolder. I pat my arm down and willed my body temperature to decrease.
Fully dressed, I sat down on the chair in front of Eric's desk and awaited their return, which should be momentarily; I can hear them walking down the hall.
The doorknob turned sharply, and from behind the door stepped Eric and Pam, both of them giving me a once over. I smiled breezily and waved. Pam rolled her eyes and scoffed. My Keeper stood in front of me, hands stuffed in his pockets, and looked down at me, his lips pressed tightly together.
"Would you mind telling me why you disappeared so abruptly, and why the pharmacy across the road is in flames?"
"Some humans were gathered outside, and had made the decision to burn down the building," I answered.
He raised an eyebrow. "And you know this how?"
"Well, aside from the big gasoline tank they carried and the lighters," I sat up straight, "I can hear their thoughts."
"A mind reader," He mused. "Any other abilities you have hidden up your sleeve?"
I shrugged. "I'm invisible to humans. When I shift, that is. Aside from that…speed, incredible strength, shadow travel…I am fire and heat proof…that's about it," I nodded.
His head cocked to the side. "Weaknesses?"
I chuckled. "I barely know you. I'm not letting you in on my weaknesses just yet."
"Fair enough," He smirked. "Vampires aren't too keen on having their weaknesses known either."
"So you understand."
"Yes, I do," He said. "So, tell me; how did you get here so quickly tonight, or is that just how it works with you Hounds?"
"I was already here before you called for one of us. The pull was the strongest for me because of that."
"She was. I let her in earlier," Pam said. "Say, what's a demon like you doing in a vampire bar anyway?"
I looked over at her. "I like to get out every once and a while. Is that so wrong?"
"Not at all," Eric answered. "I'm glad you came here," He said, his eyes floating down to look at my chest. He licked his thumb and leaned forward, pressing the digit to my throat and rubbing upward toward my jaw. The vampire pulled his hand away and licked the finger once more. "You had a little blood on you."
"Could've just told me that. I'd have wiped it off myself," I said, touching my neck.
He frowned playfully. "Why, you don't like sharing?"
"Not in the slightest," I smirked.
My whole reason for being here, was to get out. For something to do in between bounties, so that I wouldn't be sitting around at home, bored out of my goddamn mind. Being bound to a vampire is something I most certainly did not expect to come out of this night.
But it happened.
And now I have the job of protecting them from some unseen force, one that has been abducting vampires, and possibly killing them. I can't be sure. Eric hasn't told me much about what is going on. Actually, he hasn't told me anything aside from the fact that vamps are disappearing. And who might be behind it all. It is possible the Fellowship could be behind it; they've had dealings with vampires before, and are pretty adamant about extinguishing the vampire race.
The church has a fanatical following as well.
A number of things could have contributed to the disappearances, living or dead. There is one thing though that I really hope doesn't have anything to do with this.
The Collectors.
The Collectors are made up of two packs trained specifically to not only hunt souls, but live vampires. All for the purpose of breeding and creating a stronger race. I am one of the first Hounds to be born into the world, and one of the first successful hybrids. All others were considered unstable, defunct, and were terminated.
There are only three of us left.
And they might be trying to create more.
A few minutes had gone by, and Eric decided there had been enough excitement for one night and promptly closed the bar. The humans and vampires reluctantly shuffled out, leaving the three of us alone and free to talk without being locked within the confines of Eric's work space.
We stood in the middle of the dance floor. "Quiet doesn't seem like it suits you," Eric said, looking at me. He's only an inch or so taller than I am.
"I'm not normally this quiet, no. But my mind is running a million miles an hour at the moment," I sighed. "Have you checked the homes of any of the missing vampires?"
"No, we haven't," Eric crossed his arms over his chest, his forearms tugging down the fabric of his shirt slightly, revealing more of his strong chest. "Not thoroughly, anyway."
"Let's go for a ride then," I suggested. "Where's the nearest home of one of the vamps? Maybe I can help figure out who's behind this. So I know what I'm protecting you from."
And either confirm or put to rest my own fears, I thought.
"If you think it will help, then let's go," He agreed, and motioned for the door. "Lock up for the night, Pam. We'll be back later."
"I don't get to join you two on your little road trip? What a pity," She said sarcastically.
Eric laughed. "You can come next time."
. . .
We pulled off of the highway and into a residential area. A suburb lying on the outskirts of a densely populated business district. Eric fed me directions and led me down the quiet streets of whatever bumfuck town we're in, and there aren't many of them I might add, until we reached a dirt road that stretched deep into the woods. I slowed the car down before even attempting traversing the unpaved path to the vampire's residence.
"I'm not sure my car is going to make it," I groaned," it's a piece of shit. I'm lucky it even drives on the asphalt."
"The road isn't that bad," He grinned. "But, if you're worried about the condition of your car, we can always walk the rest of the way. Should only take a minute," He unbuckled his seatbelt.
I turned away from him for a moment to look ahead of the car at the path lit by the head lights. If we traveled the path at our speed, it really would only take a minute, or less than that depending upon the length of the trail. I undid my own belt and killed the engine.
. . .
Eric and I climbed up the stairs leading to the front door of the missing vampire's home. It is a very large house, devoid of windows, perfect for keeping light out, and for making yourself oblivious to whatever may be roaming around the edge of your property. In this case, the vamp's captor.
My Keeper stepped ahead of me to nudge the door open, which had been left ajar presumably since the date he or she had gone missing. He waved me over, and placed a hand on my shoulder, pushing me gently through the doorway and into the house. I looked around at the ornate fixtures, all the lavish decorations and paintings lining the high walls of the interior. It seemed no inch of wall space was left untouched; there are mirrors, shelves, pictures, just about everything you can tack onto a wall.
The space is unbelievably cluttered, but somehow manages to still look nice, in some odd way. I began my journey up the staircase placed in the middle of the foyer, and trekked down the hall toward what looks to be like the master bedroom. The vampire's quarters. Opening the door with my foot, I flicked on the light switch. The dim fluorescent light revealed a completely destroyed bedroom; the closet door hand been kicked in, shards of wood jutting out from the panel. The bed was stripped of its sheets and spotted with what looked to be like blood. I approached the mattress and bent my body down over the edge to sniff the stain.
"Nice ass," Eric's voice called from the doorway.
I turned my head around to look at him. He leaned against the door frame, leering at me. Eric had removed his jacket, thus revealing massive biceps that glowed in the low light. My eyes snaked up the pale skin of his arms to see that the smile had yet to leave his lips. One slowly formed on mine, and I swallowed hard, murmuring a soft "Thanks" and continued checking the dark blotches on the bed.
I breathed in the bitter smell. Human blood, and vampire blood, don't smell like this. Something else was here. And if it bled, there was a struggle.
Sulfur, I concluded, recognizing the smell. One of them was here.
"Shit," I cursed through gritted teeth. "Shit, shit, shit."
He appeared next to me in a flash and lowered his body to look at the stain I focused on so intently. "What's shit?"
"It's only human blood," I lied. "They could have been silvered and kidnapped by a human. I don't smell anything else."
"Nothing abnormal?"
"No," I said, frustrated. "Nothing out of the ordinary."
"You seem bothered by that," He remarked. "If it's only humans behind this, we can take care of them easily."
"True," I said, my eyes still locked on the blood stain. "We'd better go. Are you sure you want me staying with you?"
Eric nodded. "Yes. Especially after tonight. It would be foolish of me not to keep you around."
"You're probably right about that," I looked him in the eye. "You'd be dead if I hadn't been there."
His expression changed, a grim look darkening his features. He hesitated. "I'm glad you were, then."
"You're welcome," I said, a small smile on my face. "For saving your ass."
"Just this once," He smirked.
"And please let it be the last," I grabbed his wrist and led him out of the room. "Let's get outta here."