THE SHADE OF BLOOD

A vampire protects her territory.

    The vampire perched on the roof top of her favorite building and gazed out over the nighttime city. A cold fall wind blew, tugging at her long dark hair. The scent of human blood was thick on the chilly night air. She sniffed at the wind, taking it into her mouth to taste, seeking the flavor of her enemy. The vampire hunter she would kill this night.

    She’d had enough of this human male stalking her throughout the city. This was her city, her hunting ground and she refused to exist here in fear, never knowing when he would appear unexpectedly on the city street where she was with a stake in hand.

    The vampire’s eyes flashed red and she pulled her lips back in an angry snarl, exposing her upper and lower fangs. Yes, she’d gotten his taste, she knew where he was this night, knew he was out on the city’s nighttime streets hunting her.

    She stood up and dropped from the top of the building to land on the sidewalk below in a crouch. Dried autumn leaves scuttled by, blown like tumbleweeds by the wind. The sound of a police siren cut into the quiet night air, jarring and violent, like an open wound. She stood up.

     Yes, she knew where her enemy was. And she knew he carried holy water, a silver crucifix and several stakes made out of ash wood. She laughed, like any of that would do him any good.

     The vampire took off at a rapid run in the direction of the hunter. She moved quickly, to any human eyes she’d only be a blur. She covered the several city blocks quickly, passing office buildings, apartments, a grocery store and several fast food places that were still open. None of this concerned her, only taking out the human male that had become much more than a nuisance. He had become a threat.

    She rounded the corner of a high rise condo and saw him walking along the sidewalk, pausing beneath the luminous halo of a street light. A car went by and she ignored it. It moved on into the next block. The vampire hunter paused a moment, tilted his head as if listening to something, then started walking again.

    Smiling a cold lethal smile the vampire glided forward, completely silent. Her lips were pulled back, hands held like claws, the curved grey talons at the end of each finger ready to tear into his flesh.

     The human male came to a halt at the corner to wait for a car to pass then he stepped out into the street. The vampire was behind him, her eyes an unearthly red. She was eager to end this now.

    When the vampire hunter stepped up onto the opposite curb she rushed him, hitting him with her shoulder so hard he stumbled forward a couple steps then fell to the sidewalk.

    “F*****g s**t!” he muttered almost giving into the impulse to yell it out loud. He rolled to his feet in a quick fluid motion, pulling a stake out from inside his open waist length jacket. He looked around. The sidewalk was empty. All he saw was a car, then another, moving along the street in the distance. “Come on out you blood sucking b***h!” he called.

    The vampire laughed, a pretty sound. She watched the human looking for her from her perch above him in an ancient tree that grew from the curb. She laughed again as the man spun in a circle, unable to tell where her laughter was coming from.

    With an angry snarl she dropped from the limb she was perched on and landed on top of him, taking him down to the sidewalk again. A quick kick from her sent the stake in his hand spinning beyond his reach. She flipped him over onto his back and hissed into his face, “I’ve had enough of you! I warned you to leave this city. You obviously ignored my warning.”

    “Like I’d listen to you, you unholy b***h. I’m here to end your reign in this city.” He tried to reach inside his jacket for another stake.

    She grabbed him by his wrist and easily snapped it. She chuckled at the awful sound of the bone breaking and laughed at his high pitched scream of pain. “I think I’m killing you this night not you killing me.”

     She pushed his head to the side and struck, serpent fast, sinking her fangs into his throat and ripping out the flesh. He shrieked, his body quivering in pain. She rose up and raked her talons across his chest and stomach, shredding his flesh into bloody ribbons.

    “I curse you! In God’s name I curse you!” He cried, horrified at hearing his blood dripping onto the sidewalk.

    The vampire laughed and took the silver crucifix from an inside pocket of his jacket and dropped it on his face. Then she took out the bottle of holy water from another inside pocket, unscrewed the lid and poured the blessed water onto his face as well. “I think God has cursed you, you’re the one dying here.”

    The man had gone pale, blue appearing around his eyes and the edges of his lips. His body jerked and convulsed a few times. He stared up at her with hate in his eyes. He made a gurgling sound and a blood bubble burst in his mouth and spilled out of the corners. He tried to say something to her but he couldn’t. His eyes burned with hate as he continued to stare up at her.

     The vampire straddled his lower abdomen and watched him as he slowly died, enjoying the feel of his body going still. Then, not wanting to wait for it to happen, she reached forward and using both hands, snapped his neck. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and a rattling sound issued forth from his mouth. The vampire sat there for a moment longer, smiling at the success of a job well done. Then she pulled a small ivory blade she carried inside her short jacket and used it on the now dead human, making it look like he died from a knife attack.

    Once that was done she stood and licked the blade clean and slipped it back into her jacket and raced from the scene, a very satisfied smile on her pale face.

    Back on the top of the building that was her favorite lookout she gazed across her city. The nighttime view was beautiful to her. She felt safe in her city once again. She tilted back her head and cried out her triumph. She killed her enemy once more! She had succeeded! Long live her reign in this, her chosen hunting ground.

   

Reviews

[Horizon K.]

Wow that was a brutal dark story! And yeah, I totally enjoyed it. I kept expecting her to have an ironic death at the end! The only thing is I wasn't sure, with her so obvious dominance, why she would ever fear him in the first place. Otherwise, very fun read!

[Tina Kline]

Thanks very much!

[Coyote Song]

Wow, love this vampire story. You created a cool vampire character, I was hoping she'd come out alive all the way though. The atmosphere in this is very effective, dark, sinister and gloomy. Amazing story!

[Tina Kline]

Thank you!

[Kestrova]

I almost feared the ending, convinced that all vampire stories had become cliched beyond salvation but you proved me wrong. This was a great story, rich with details but not overwhelmingly so. I really enjoyed reading this!

[Black Cat Fever]

Cold blooded and vicious in dealing with her enemies, I sure like her. She is the proper vampire, how one should be.

[Marie Harrison]

I'm not messing with that vampire lady. I like the details on how she killed him and then using a blade to make it look like a stabbing. I like how she took matters into her own hands. Very empowering.

[Star Wolf]

This is a vampire that won't be messed with. I always like reading stories where the vampire hunter becomes the hunted and the vampire wins. Awesome story!