Tempted - Chapter Nine

A Chapter by Michelle_H

Sightless eyes stared back at him from frozen pupils, the mouth held open revealing a pair of elongated canines. The face bound in timeless shock. But it was not the face that set the hairs rising on the back of his neck, it was the pierced hole directly above the heart. Blackened skin spread outward from the wound in a crimson jagged arc, the design akin to the ferning pattern of lightning burn victims.

Jason lowered his head to the wound, still keeping a relative distance from the body. The smell of burnt flesh and rot wafted to him on a light breeze and he grimaced at the scent. He flicked his tail in annoyance, the case was thickening as more abnormalities appeared. He turned his head to Alessandra and called out to her in a low roar.

Alessandra approached Jason and the body in a loping jog, not wanting to waste anymore time. She flattened her ears at the sight of the corpse, baring her teeth as the scent cascaded over her senses. She tossed her head to try and clear it of the stench even as she stepped closer. A hole approximately two inches in diameter pierced the pallid skin above the heart and left the surrounding tissue seared. She turned the body over with one paw to see the exit wound. It was a near replica of the wound on its chest.

She glanced at Jason in confusion. She'd never seen anything like it. Still, someone or something had to have done this. Maybe it wasn't lightning, but something had pierced the vampire while simultaneously burning the surrounding flesh. And there were few beings that could survive a vampire attack, let alone kill one.

She stepped away from the vampire and lifted her head to the breeze, trying to catch the scent of anything that had been in the vicinity. The faintest trace of human tainted the crisp air along with something else. She lowered her head in contemplation. Someone had been in this area of the forest. It could simply be a hiker, but they rarely traveled this far out. And there was a hint of something else that floated on the wind. It smelled vaugely familiar, but couldn't put her finger on.

Jason turned his body away from her and she looked at him as he gestured forward with his head. Clearly he was ready to leave. She looked at the body one last time, scenting the air for any other trace that might give a clue as to who had killed the vampire. Finding nothing, she turned to follow Jason as they ran in the direction of the Big House.

Thunder broke overhead and she looked up to see dark clouds rolling in. The smell of heat and static filled the air and it reminded her of the seared flesh on pallid skin. Growing up in an environment where people shifted into panthers and vampires roamed, she'd believe just about anything at this point. Still, lightning striking the heart of a vampire? She shook her head and raced to catch up with Jason as he had bounded past her while she was momentarily lost in thought.

As they came within sight of the Big House, Jason let out a roar, the sound splitting through the trees, reflecting the booming clash of dark clouds overhead. Only a moment later, the echoing roars came from the east and west. The rest of his men were headed home.

They reached the front porch steps just as large rain drops battered the forest floor. They hurried up the steps to get under the enclosed space and Alessandra shifted into human form, reaching for the doorknob as soon as she was able. Jason soon followed suit and walked in behind her.

“I thought you were uncomfortable shifting in front of men?” He said as he watched the movement of her rounded backside shift with each step. Her spiraled red hair hung down to her waist and he longed to feel the silken tresses against his skin.

“You were uncomfortable with me shifting in front of other men,” she tossed over her shoulder as she grabbed her clothes from the bottom of the stairs and began dressing. She turned to him as she pulled up her jeans, her breasts moving with the effort. Jason swallowed and tore his eyes from her body to meet the jade stare that pinned him from beneath a cocked eyebrow. “Enjoying the view?” She said as pulled on the black shirt and sweater. As she reached back to harness the unruly locks in a low pony tail, she held her gaze on him, seemingly waiting for a response.

He ignored the question, choosing to dwell on the former statement. He didn't bother trying to negate the assertion. “I would not have Anthony's daughter display herself in front of a handful of men.” He recognized the hypocrisy in his own statement as he had seen Alessandra naked, twice now, but chose to ignore it.

She rolled her eyes at Jason's response even as she flinched at the mention of her father. It had been years since anyone had referred to her as 'Anthony's daughter'. “Well, don't worry about me. I hadn't planned on streaking through the woods anytime soon,” she said as she grabbed her shoes and headed upstairs to put them away. She preferred to be barefoot whenever possible.

She repressed the urge to look over the railing at the imposing, naked figure of Jason. She had only glimpsed the tawny skin that stretched over the broad shoulders and chest of her partner, the muscles bunching as they traveled to his waist. She had quickly looked away as her gaze had begun to trail the southward path of dark hair, and she mentally kicked herself for letting her hormones get the best of her, again.

She walked down the hall and entered her room, dropping her boots off at the foot of the bed. She turned at the sound of the front door opening, male voices drifting to her from downstairs. She was hungry again, but the gnawing sense to delve further into the murder case was eating away at her. She needed time alone to sort out what she had seen thus far.

She sat at the foot of the bed, leaning back on her hands as she stared at her feet, her mind racing with the possibilities circling the case. So far there had been five murders, two of them children. The scene hadn't held a trace of evidence and a possible vampiric suspect had been killed with what appeared to be lightning. At the last thought, she frowned. Lightning sounded absurd to her, yet she couldn't think of anything else that would create the flawless puncture while burning the skin in and around the wound. Unless the assailant had burned the skin after stabbing it, but that didn't make sense.

Sighing, she stood up. Her mind was still whirling with possibilities and it was giving her a headache. She walked downstairs and into the large kitchen, eyes turning on her as she neared the entryway. “Hey,” she said as she smiled at the men, locking eyes with Jason briefly as he sat at the table.

“Howdy,” Jack said, the usual contagious smile upon his face. “Are you hungry?”

She laughed and walked in to sit at the bar. “You're always asking me that.”

He smiled at the remark. “That's what happens when you're the designated chef in the house,” he said as he reached into the refrigerator and took out the components to make a sandwich. He turned to her and gestured at the display of meats, cheeses, bread, and condiments. “You want one?”

“Sure,” she replied as she placed her elbows on the bar and leaned forward.

“Everything on it?”

“Yep.”

She looked down at the table where the remainder of the hunting party sat. “Did you guys find anything?” Every man shook his head.

“There wasn't a trace of anything where we went,” Brian said from beside Jason at the large Oak table.

“Same here,” said one of the brothers from the opposite side of Brian.

She frowned at the report as she looked around the kitchen. “Where's Mark?”

“If he's not in here eating, he's usually at the gym,” Jack said from the counter across from her as he crafted a sandwich for her.

“Shouldn't we invite him to the discussion? Jason and I have something to share.” All eyes turned from Jason to Alessandra and back, confusion apparent in every glance.

“What sort of something?” Jack asked, winking in her direction as he handed her the sandwich.

“Thanks.” She still didn't understand where Jack was getting the notion that her and Jason were involved in any way. Mentally shrugging off the odd gesture, she continued on before taking a bite. “We found a vampire corpse in the woods. About three miles from here.” Every man in the room, save Jason, grew taut at the statement. Fear combated with violence as the realization that a vampire had been found on their territory set in.

Jason spoke up from the table. “The heart had been pierced and burned.” He paused as his face twisted in perplexity before adding, “It looked as if the chest had been struck by lightning.” Each man turned to him as a wave of confusion appeared on each of the male faces.

“Lightning?” Mark said from the threshold of the kitchen. All heads turned to him. “You know, the old stories say-”

“Mark, we don't have time for your stories,” Jason said as he cut off Mark's account.

Mark's face screwed up in anger, his lips a rigid line, but said no more as he leaned against the entry way wall. Alessandra watched as Mark fell into grudging silence, his arms folded over his chest.

“What did the burn look like?” Brian said as he refocused his attention on Jason.

“It struck out from the wound in a sawtooth pattern,” he replied as he gestured with his hands on his chest to illustrate the image.

“Hmm.” Brian frowned and said no more, seemingly turning inward in contemplation.

“I need to retrieve the body.” Jason turned to Brian. “I want you to join me as I won't be able to shift and carry it at the same time.” Brian nodded in assent. “Alessandra, I want you to stay here and prepare the lab. We'll need to examine the body further.”

“Already on it,” she replied and turned her head at the movement from the corner of her eye. Mark was already leaving the kitchen. She finished her sandwich and put her dish in the dishwasher before following after him. She headed upstairs, knocking on the door he had come out of earlier in the day. No answer.

But Jack had said that he was usually in the gym.

She descended the steps as Jason was walking out of the kitchen and she turned to walk towards the back of the house. She could feel Jason watching her as she headed for the gym. Luckily is was next to the lab so he wouldn't have reason to throw a fit for her seeking out Mark. She heard the front door click shut moments later as she made her way to the far corner of the house.

She passed by a sitting room decorated in the ambient warmth of reds and golds, walls the softest shade of buttercream yellow. A door stood beside the mahogany piano and she opened it to reveal a set of stairs leading into the basement. She entered the cool, dark space as the loud clink of metal on metal sounded through the cement room.

“Hey,” she said as she sat on a bench opposite Mark. He was curling a dumbbell the size of his abdomen in strained silence, his brows furrowed as sweat broke out on his temples. After one more curl, he set the weight at his feet and placed his elbows on jean-clad knees.

“Hey.” He was breathing heavily even as his face relaxed. The corners of his gray eyes wrinkled slightly as he smiled briefly before falling into a stoic expression.

Alessandra frowned inwardly at the man who had seemed so outgoing earlier in the day, but pushed the thought aside as she turned to her current concern. “I wanted to ask you about the stories you mentioned in the kitchen.”

He let out a short laugh, though the sound was far from amused. “They're just kid stories. Something my mom used to tell me.”

“But you brought it up in the kitchen. You must think-”

“It's nothing,” he said brusquely as he picked up the weight with his other arm and set to work.

She leaned forward, catching his eye as he looked up to meet her gaze. “Please tell me.”

He sighed and continued to raise and lower the dumbbell in rhythmic fashion. “Why do you wanna know so bad?”

“Any piece of information can help solve this case. I'm not willing to overlook anything.”

He stared at her for a moment, the skin between his brows wrinkling before he set the weight beside his feet and looked at her. “Fine.” He paused and looked around the room, seemingly in search of something beyond the cement walls. Finally, he let out a breath and began. “When I was a kid, my mom used to tell me these stories of a race of people that lived about five hundred years ago. They were half human and half...” He paused and quirked his mouth before saying, “something else. Anyway, apparently these people had been tainted by their other half. They were messed up in the head, twisted by whatever darkness was in 'em. But they could control the elements: Fire, water, lightning, and a few other things.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “I can't exactly remember, but it was somethin' like that.”

He rolled over on his back, then, and began to bench press. “So I guess this race, or whatever you wanna call 'em, tried to get our people to join with them to rid New York of humans. They said they shouldn't have to live in secrecy for an inferior race.” He put down the barbell and laid there staring at the ceiling as he continued on. “When we refused, they tried to kill our people also. Of course they didn't and we ended up kickin' their asses.” He laughed and sat up. He shrugged and said, “Supposedly they ended up goin' mad and killin' one another in their hunger for power, but we haven't seen any of 'em since so it must be true.” He sighed. “So that's it. Pretty stupid huh?”

She looked at him for a long moment, mulling the story over. “No, I don't think so. There's usually some truth to every story.”

He let out another short laugh. “Tell that to Jason.”

She frowned at the man before her. Something was going on between the two men, but she hadn't figured it out yet. Weighing the pros and cons of questioning Mark, she decided to wait and speak to Jason when he came back.

“Well, thanks for telling me,” she said as she stood up and headed for the door that led into the other half of the basement.

“Wait.” She put her hand on the doorknob and turned her head to see Mark walking towards her. “I'm goin' to town tomorrow mornin'. You wanna come?”

She couldn't think of anything she would have to do in the morning and she was in dire need of some decent coffee. She looked up at soft gray eyes even as the corners wrinkled at the appearance of one dimple. She laughed at the crooked smile. “Sure, why not?”

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© 2012 Michelle_H

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I like it, I cannot wait to read more.I noticed a few grammatical errors but no biggy. You did a wonderful job and your words are vivid. "He stared at her for a moment, the skin between his brows wrinkling before he set the weight beside his feet and looked at her." It is simple stuff like that line that makes this great. The way you describe every detail. Nice work.