The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

Finally found the missing part. Here you go.





Sony, Emerson, Samsung, Phillips, Magnavox . . . All the stereos were going for about sixty bucks. Great. There was no way she was going to get anywhere near what she needed for the one out in her car. Oh, well. There wasn’t much she could do about that. She eyed the guy behind the counter. He was pretty cute. Nice hair, black with green tips. He looked kind of hung over, and really uncomfortable in the blue polo he had on. She approached the counter.

“How can I help you?” he asked, looking down at the register. She brought her head down, twisting so she could look up and try to meet his eyes. He glanced to the side.

“Hello? There something wrong? Wait. Do you believe I can see into your soul through your eyes, or something. So, whatcha hiding?” She asked.

She has a beautiful voice. Keeping his eyes down, he asked again, “How can I help you?” Shrugging, she looked out toward her car.

“I’ve got an 07’ Sanyo stereo system with four speakers a subwoofer, and a 12 CD changer. I need to sell it, and I really need the money, so could you try not to rip me off too bad? I mean, I assume you don’t run the place, cause you really don’t look like a Sally, plus you tag says Gabriel, but try to go easy on me. Please?”

How could he resist her crooked frown. He nodded, and said, “Lead the way.” As he followed her out to her car, he glanced around at the apartment buildings. None of them topped four stories, and a narrow alley ran between each of them. This part of Third Street was mostly low-income housing and had a reputation comparable to the projects. This was an area of downtown you didn’t want to be alone in. The girl led him to an 04’ Mitsubishi Eclipse GT that had seen better days. Pulling out her keys, she unlocked it and opened the back door, revealing the stereo. It was in good condition, probably worth a couple hundred when she bought it. Now, it was only worth about one-fifty. Sally would give her a hundred, sell it for twice that.

“Why you selling this thing. It looks like a great system. She’s just going to jerk you around until you settle for something ridiculous. That’s what Sally does. How she makes her money.”

He blushed and looked down while he was talking. It was sort of adorable. Weird, as he was easily six foot three and built, but still adorable.

“If I don’t have enough money to pay my rent this month, I’ll have to spread my legs for my landlord, and frankly, he’s disgusting. You dig?”

She laughed when his head jerked up, eyes wide, at her words. His lips parted a bit, and he looked down again, frowning.

“How about I buy it from you. I’ll give you one-twenty for the lot of it. Or, how much you need?”

Her jaw dropped, and she shook her head to clear it.

“Um, two-fifty. I make eight hundred a month, and the rent was only seven, so I could still cover utilities, but he just raised it to ten-fifty. I either need a new job or a new place. I don’t know how to find either.”

“I’ll give you two-fifty then.”

“No. I’m not taking more than one-twenty. I’ll find a way to get the rest. When you want it? And where do you live?”

“I’m right upstairs. Can you come back with it when I get off at . . . seven?”

He frowned, thinking, and she giggled.

“What’s so funny?” he asked, frowning harder.

“You. Tell you what,” She reached into the car and got a pen. Grabbing his hand, she began to write a number on his palm. “Here’s my number. Why don’t you call me when you get off. By the way, I’m Melenie.”

With a wink, she shut the back door, opened the front, and slid in. As the little green car sped away, he stared at the phone number on his hand. Shaking his head, he walked back into the shop. He’d been out there a long time, and with no sale made. Sally was going to be pissed.



* * *



Ring . . . Ring . . . Ring . . .

“Hello?” Melenie’s voice came over the line. “Gabriel?”

He cleared his throat.

“Um, hi.”

“You ready for me?”

As Melenie giggled on the other end, Gabriel flushed and glanced around nervously.

“Yeah. Um, I’ll be out in front of the pawn shop. Alright?”

“Yeah. See you in fifteen.” Click. As the line went dead, he couldn’t help but run around trying to make his place look nicer. God Damn. I’m trying to impress her. He ran around the living area, picking up empty bottles and food garbage. He pulled out a vacuum and ran it over the floor a couple times. He glanced at the bedroom, and then at the clock. Not enough time. Besides, it wasn’t like she was going in there. With one final look around, he dashed down stairs.



* * *



Finally, only two speakers left. They each took one, Melenie locked up the car, and they headed up to his apartment.

“No offense, Gabriel, but this place is a dump. A clean dump, but still.”

“Uh, yeah.”

What was wrong with him? He wouldn’t meet her eyes for anything. In all honesty, she was jealous. The place may have been a piece of shit, but she was willing to bet he wasn’t screwing the landlord to cover the late fees.

“Hey, um, how much you pay for this place?” she asked.

It was the first time she sounded unsure of herself since they’d met.

“Um, seven-fifty.” He swallowed past the lump in his throat. “I, uh, I mean, um, if you wanted to, ah, if you wanted to crash here for a while, we could split the rent. We’d both have some extra cash. You could have the bedroom.”

She brought her knuckle up to her mouth and started giggling.

“I’m sorry. It was a stupid idea. Never mind.”

“That would be great. That would be really great.”

And then she walked up to him, wrapped her arms around his waist, and kissed him. Gasping, he turned his head and shoved her away from him, memories tearing at his mind of another’s arms around him, another’s lips on his. The tortured look on his face and the shudders that wracked his body brought her a step farther away from him. Gabriel. She knew that name.

When she was thirteen, her father had been part of a police investigation of a man who had been caught molesting a small boy in a restaurant bathroom. When the police had searched his home, they had found a hidden door in the cellar that uncovered a five foot by five foot square hole in the ground. Curled up in that hole, they had found a naked fifteen year old boy. He looked emaciated and was covered in bloody wounds. When he had been lifted from the hole, he had looked to the side, opened his mouth, and gone limp. When he was taken to the hospital, all the standard tests were done. His rape kit had come back positive. Her father had been the officer who brought him in.

After a long recovery period in the hospital, he’d been sent to St. John’s

Orphanage. They gave him the name Gabriel Erzengel. The local paper had done a story. No one heard anything again until the man who’d kept him was tried and given a life sentence. She remembered her pity for him when her father had come home steaming because, as if it weren’t bad enough, what had happened to him, they’d made him stand up and testify. There was another story about the trial and sentencing of Roger Matthews for the kidnapping, maltreatment, and rape of Gabriel Erzengel, and then his name had been forgotten. She hadn’t heard anything about him in ten years.

“I’m so sorry. I didn't think you would mind."

He squeezed his eyes shut, swallowed a lump in his throat, and looked down at the floor. He still trembled.

"Sorry. I . . . sorry," he mumbled. "Hey, I, uh, I know this great club not far from here. The Underground. You ever been there?”

She shook her head.

“Let me get dressed.”

He walked into the bedroom and came out a minute later looking totally gorgeous. A leather trench coat billowed out behind him. His black cargo pants, tucked into a pair of worn leather combat boots, made his legs look long and thick. His shredded, gray muscle shirt clung to a muscular chest and stomach. As a finishing touch, he’d gelled his hair up into three inch, green tipped spines.

“You ready to go?” he asked.

“Hell yeah. Lead the way.”

She noticed that he stayed as far from her as possible while passing her on the way to the door.

As they emerged onto Third Street and turned left, she watched him walk, entranced by the predatory grace he moved with. When they reached Park Avenue, she could hear the pulsing bass of the clubs that lined the street. He led her over to a joint called Kryptic.

“I thought we were going to The Underground. I mean, this place is cool, but it’s not where you said we were going.”

“Don’t worry. That’s where we’re headed.”

Contrary to his words, he got in the line for Kryptic. Surrounded by the heavy rap music and ravers, they made steady progress through the line. After about fifteen minutes, they were standing before the bouncer. They both pulled out their Ids, and Gabriel took out a small blue card. The bouncer waved them in.

When Melenie walked toward the bar, Gabriel caught her arm and led her toward the line for the bathrooms. The attendant was sitting on a stool and making small talk with two goth girls at the front, checking his watch every so often. Five minutes later, he got up and walked into a small hallway that was hidden from the rest of the club. As he pulled out a set of keys and unlocked a metal door, her gaze was fixated on the word ‘UNDERGROUND’ scrawled across it in black ink. The door opened, the attendant took his place at the door, and each person flashed a blue card and was waved in. She saw Gabriel take his out, and then they were walking down a dark stairway with a dozen other people. They walked steadily closer to the square of blue light at the bottom. Thumping industrial techno music blasted through the door.

“Welcome to The Underground.” He said, smiling crookedly.



* * *

Sitting at his normal table on the second floor balcony, he couldn’t stop smiling at the look on Melenie’s face. She looked fantastic in the blue lighting, and completely awestruck as she looked around at the club . . . again. He couldn’t blame her for being amazed. He remembered his first time coming here. The initial shock of the immense room, with two wraparound balconies, the pulsing music, the flashing blue lights, the smoke drifting up towards the ceiling. The second floor bar had the best bartender and the cheapest drinks around. Both clubs were owned by the biggest drug lord in the city, and he did most of his business down here. Cheap beer and a great place to party were good persuasion, and the drugs were the real income anyway.

“Hey, if you’re finished taking it all in, you want a drink? The bartender here is out of this world.”

“Yeah. That’d be nice.”



* * *



Jizelle and Li watched as the target and a goth man walked to the bar.

“That’s the girl? That little goth skank?” El asked, disbelief coloring her tone.

“Yeah, I know. I’m thinking the same thing. But I can smell her. She’s definitely one of us. And it’s understandable why His Majesty would want her brought in. She is his daughter.”

“Those two are close, Li. Too close. The man will be a problem.”

“Nothing we can’t handle.”

“I don’t like killing humans.”

“I know. That’s why we’re not killing him.”

“Hmm? An update I was unaware of.”

“Go back to your drink, El.”



* * *



The lesbians that frequented the bar were there again tonight, but instead of groping and kissing, they were eyeing up Melenie. He’d never looked closely before, but they were actually pretty hot, in a trampy, crackhead kind of way.

“What can I get you tonight?” the bartender drawled.

“I’ll have a Smithwicks and she’ll have – “

“Sex on the Beach.” She cut in, giving him a sexy wink that really turned him on.

“You want that beer twelve, twenty-four, or thirty-two ounce?” the guy asked.

“Um, thirty-two.”

“That’ll be ten and a quarter. Feel free to tip.”

“Thanks.”

He paid and took the drinks, then headed back to their table.

“Was that seriously only ten bucks?”

“Yeah. The drinks are cheap here because the owner makes his money selling dope. That’s why you need an Underground card to get in. It’s proof you’ve been checked and you’re legit. It’s nice because you can get into Kryptic free, and you get a really nice discount at the bar. Not as cheap as down here, but still.”

“So this is a big drug scene?” She thought about her dad, and all the dealers he’d brought down. “You think I’m going to find trouble if someone knows my dad? He’s put a lot of people away for drugs, and people know his name.”

“I don’t think it’ll be a problem, but you should probably keep that to yourself. Dig?”

“Yeah.”

The conversation had died with the mention of her dad, so she took the time to look around the club again. They were in a giant square room filled with ambient blue light, smoke, and loud music. She recognized the song playing as Parasitic by Psyclon Nine. There was an atmosphere of sex and drugs. Two girls over by the bar were getting it on. A guy two tables over was hunched over a straw, and the heat in Gabriel’s stare was tangible. As they locked eyes, he blushed and looked down at his lap.

A throat was cleared behind her. Gabriel’s head jerked up, and then he had his wallet out and pulled out a fifty.

“H.”

“You’re good at this.” A woman’s thick New York accent came over her shoulder. Shortly followed by a long, slender hand. She took the fifty, and as Melenie turned around to see who it was, all she saw was a nicely shaped ass swaggering away.

“What was that?” she asked.

“The real profit here comes from drug sales. If you don’t buy, they get the feeling your either spying on them, or taking advantage. She’s the one that comes around when they check the books and don’t find your name in it. She only comes after me every five or six weeks.”

“So you do heroin?”

The look on her face made him regret taking her here.

“No. Sally deals out of the pawnshop. This shit’s pure, and pretty cheap. I’ll probably make a hundred bucks off her for this.”

“I don’t like it. It’s the way I was raised. My dad would put both of you away in a heartbeat. Funny, you really didn’t come off as the drug dealer type. Bye.”

When she slammed the rest of her drink and started to get her stuff together, he jumped up and grabbed her arm.

“Don’t go. Please. Just . . . listen, I’m not a drug dealer.”

“That’s not what you just said. Selling heroin to your boss counts as dealing. Especially at a two-hundred percent profit. Excuse me, but I have to go. It was nice meeting you. Goodbye.”

“You don’t get it. I like this club, and if I want to keep coming here, I have to buy. What do you want me to do with the stuff? Keep it?”

“Of course not. But you could just throw it away or something. I just can’t overlook selling drugs at a two-hundred percent profit. I’m sorry Gabriel, I really hoped this was going to work out, but it isn’t. Bye”

She pulled her arm out of his grip and walked away, disappearing up the stairs.

“Shit.”

Gabriel glanced behind him at the collector, and then got up to chase Melenie down.



* * *



“Well, would you look at that, El. Our little birdie is in flight. Too bad she doesn’t know she just flew right into our hands.”

“The fuck you talking ‘bout. Birds and shit.” El slurred.

“You’re fucking kidding me. You knew she was here. Why the fuck did you drink that much.”

“Don’t yell at me.”

“Whatever.”

Li looked around, trying to find someone to baby-sit. That goth hunk was headed their way.

“Hey. Could you do me a favor and watch her for a minute. I need to do something, and she’s too smashed to move.”

“Can’t. Sorry.”

What a fucking bastard.

“Ok, now don’t move until I get back. You understand me?”

“Go fuck yourself.”

Alright. She wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon, and the girl was getting away. Even with her enhanced eyesight, she could barely make out the shape on her target weaving through the crowd on the stairs.







Also, I just noticed that anything I wrote in italics shows up in regular type. Anything that sounds like it's in the first person, or doesn't fit for some reason was probably a thought from the character that originally appeared in italics. Sorry. Hope everyone likes it.

They trudged through the sewers for half an hour before finally coming to the First Street sewer access ladder, and the concealed door next to it.

“Crap. How do we open this thing?”

“Open what?”

“The door. How do we open the door?

“I don’t know.”

Ok. She took out her cell phone and dialed. Her father picked up on the third ring.

“Daddy?”

“Yes, sweetheart?”

“El and I are down in the sewers, and I can’t remember how to open the door.”

“Oh. Ah, you should be able to get it open by pressing your talons into the finger holes in the lock. Why did you take the sewers? You hate it down there.”

“Because El’s piss-drunk and wouldn’t get in a cab.”

“Ah. Um, how have you two been?”

She could hear in his voice how awkward it was for him to talk about her relationship with El. He always had been old fashioned.

“We’re good. Everything’s good. I could strangle her right now, but we’re good. How’s mom?”

“She hasn’t moved. Should I expect you for dinner?”

“Probably not. Thanks, though. I’ll call ahead if I can come. I love you, dad.”

“I love you too, sweetheart. Bye.”

As the line went dead, she stared at the slime-covered wall. She could barely make out the five holes through the filth, and she really did not want to touch that wall. Why didn’t they have a retina scanner with protective, germ-proof covering? She looked at El. Grabbing her to position her in front of the door would be almost as bad as touching the wall. Sucking up her courage, she changed form, and dug the claws of her left hand into the holes in the wall. A section of stone slid back, revealing a spiral staircase going down nearly one thousand feet at a gentle slope. Getting a better hold on El, Li’s powerful legs pushed them up into the air, and she dove down the hole in the middle, wings flaring out to break their fall as she neared the bottom. Once she resituated El, she walked through the dark hole in the wall, emerging into the hallway that led to the main part of the city. Lord Tomas’ private quarters were up somewhere on the left, the first room any invading party would come upon if they made it through the door. Lord Tomas was a fantastic diplomat, and had ordered the unorthodox layout in the hopes that any enemies could be reasoned with before any fighting happened. The door was open.

“My Lord Tomas? You in there?”

“Come in.” His solemn voice called from within,

“El, I swear to God, you move so much as one inch, and I’m leaving you. We clear?”

“Yeah.”

She entered the room. Tomas was sprawled forlornly across his bed, the servant girl, Syclin, curled up in his arms like a kitten, comforting him.

“I should have come later. I have bad news.”

“Nonsense. Why wait until I am cheerful, and then bring me down? You may as well deal the blow while I am still on the ground, rather than give me a futile chance to get back up. Besides, I have found that bad news is best dealt with quickly.”

“I fear El has gotten us into a spot of trouble.”

“How so?”

“Frankly, she transformed in front of a human.”

“What?” He said, sitting up quickly, fear and surprise evident in his face, Syclin clutched tightly to his chest. “What was she thinking?”

“She wasn’t. Had a few too many drinks.”

“Why were you out drinking?”

“We followed the girl to – “

“Melenie. Her name is Melenie.”

“We followed Melenie to a club, and we both drank a little while we waited for a chance to get her alone.”

“There are punishments for incompetency. Fortunately, you brought my beloved daughter to me. I can forgive her intoxication if she promises it will not happen again. Revealing her nature to a human… there must be consequences.”

“I understand, sire.”

“Call her in here, please.”

“Um, perhaps later would be better.”

“Right. When she has sobered up, bring her to me.”

“Very well, Sire.”

“You are dismissed. Good morning. And Li, thank you for all you have done for me.”

“You’re welcome, sire. Good morning.”

When Li walked out into the hall, the shit-covered El was passed out on the ground. She did not want to pick that up again. Damn. Hefting her stinking girlfriend onto her shoulder, she marched determinedly out into the stone street. Walking down the broad avenue, the soaring stone columns that supported the cavern ceiling stretching up above her, surrounded by her own kind, her drunken, shit-coated, smelly lover over her shoulder, she felt more at home than most humans ever would. She was glad Melenie was finally here, finally a part of their world. There was no doubt that she would be happy here. The poor girl had looked miserable in that club, and everyone here would welcome her with open arms. But, if Melenie was here, then why had the king looked so upset? Looking around, Li realized she had gone past her street, so she turned around and headed down Bastille. Arriving at her familiar worn wooden door, she looked at the sewer sludge coating the claws on her left hand then at her right hand, which was keeping El from falling off of her shoulder. As El fell unceremoniously to the ground, landing with a meaty thud, Li’s right talons worked the lock and flipped the bolt. Opening the door into her house, she looked at El and walked inside, headed for the sink.

She took a long time washing her hands. Walked to the bathroom and used the rest of her water to clean her wings. A lot of vampires owned human residencies and worked human jobs because the living conditions in the city honestly sucked. They didn’t have running water. They didn’t have electricity. It was difficult to keep food for the children. But it was home. So what if she wouldn’t be able to wash her clothes until the next water day? At least they were in Washington, where it rained a lot, so they had a good supply of the stuff. She also wouldn’t be able to wash El, though. Oh, well. She walked outside again and dragged her unconscious girlfriend inside, left her by the door, and went to her room to get some sleep.



* * *



“My Lord?” Syclin called softly.

Tomas had always loved the girl, using her to fill the hole in his heart left by Rowan. Now, though, even she was not enough.

“My Lord Tomas? Please, let me do something to help you.”

“There is nothing to help me. Melenie hates me. She fears me. How can I ever have a relationship with my daughter?”

“I think she’ll come around. She wasn’t as mad when she left. I think she liked me.”

“That’s good.”

“Please, My Lord. Let me comfort you.”

“Just let me hold you. That will suffice.”

Tomas wrapped his arms around Syclin, held her close, and imagined that someday he would hold his daughter in his arms, and that she would returns his love. Alas, perhaps it was destined not to be. Curled up, the small girl tucked in his arms, a single tear fell from his eye, and then sleep took him.



* * *



Melenie woke up curled up in a ball with strong arms wrapped around her. Before she had time to think, her body jerked out of the arms and she landed on the floor ready to strike. Gabriel’s voice, gravelly with sleep, came from the sleep-blurred figure on the couch, asking if she was okay.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I thought… I don’t really know what I thought. I guess I thought I was being kidnapped again.”

“I would never hurt you.” He said.

“I know.”

God, she had never been so glad to have someone in her life. As soon as Syclin had told her which way her apartment was, which was really weird because it was further proof that that psychopath was having her stalked, she had headed over there, grabbed her suitcase, packed everything she owned into it, and left, a note on the table telling her landlord that she wasn’t coming back. She’d immediately set a course for the apartment above Sally’s Pawn. The first person she’d thought of was Gabriel. Not he father, who was the police chief, but the man she’d just left because he sold heroin to his boss. Damn was she glad she’d gone to him instead of her dad. You’re falling in love with him. She thought. And you’re going insane. Made perfect sense. Vampire stalkers kidnapped her to tell her that her dad wasn’t her dad. She was cuddling with a drug dealer who she happened to be falling for. Why not be crazy too?

to be continued.

Unfortunately, thanks to a stolen flash drive, all of chapter 2 is MIA. I should be able to find it pretty soon, but until then, basically, Melenie sold a sterio system to Gabriel, which innitiated their relationship. After discussing financial problems, they agree to live together. They go to the Underground (which is really pretty kick ass. Personally, i would give an arm and a leg to go there. Whatever.) where Melenie learns that Gabriel buys heroin on a regular basis to sell it to his landlady/employer Sally. She promptly leaves the club, and is followed out not only by Gabriel, but by the lesbian couple mentioned in the previous chapter. They go by El and Li. It starts up here. Sorry for the missing chapter.





“Melenie! Please wait!”

Shit. He’d followed her.

“Gabriel, please. I told you, this isn’t going to work out.”

“Where are you going to live?”

He’d reached her now, and bent over, panting, with his hands on his knees.

“Please. Give me a chance.”

“I can’t. I – “

“At least agree to move in with me. You need that as much as I do.”

“I’ll think about it, okay? Please, just leave me alone.”

An expression of pure horror suddenly spread across his face

“Melenie…” He whispered.

Then something sold and rock hard wrapped around her waist in a vice grip and everything went black.



* * *



That thing took Melenie. He’d stood there and watched as that muster grabbed her and carried her away. Over and over the scene played out in his mind. Melenie shouting, oblivious, as a shadow floated out of the alley behind her. Then the thing had stepped into the light, revealing a beautifully shaped mouth, snarling and brimming with rows of fangs. Huge membranous wings unfolded behind the thing, showing an emaciated, naked female body draped with supple alabaster skin. To complete the monster standing behind Melenie, pointed ears knifed upwards through radiant black hair. The completed picture was both beautiful, and yet terrifying. It had been all he could do to whisper Melenie’s name as the creature stalked forward. Then it had wrapped its arms around her waist and breathed into her face, and she had passed out. The last sight he had of her was of a slumped form shrinking into the distance as her captor flew off into the night.

“Oh, shit. Shit. What am I going to do? Her dad’s – “

“The one who sent us, dumb fuck.” A woman slurred from behind him.

Spinning around, he saw the drunken lesbian from the bar.

“What do you mean, us?”

And then the air around them sucked into the woman as she imploded. Another monster stood before him.

“Holy fuck!”

“Come here, doll face. Your girlfriend’s going to miss you.”

How could he resist that sweet, keening voice? Without hesitating, he walked over to that thing, and found himself wrapped up in cold, rock hard arms, with grotesque, taloned hands holding him close. Then his fear kicked in. As he struggled, the thing lost its grip on him and he managed to fall away from it. Looking towards the sky, he ran home.



* * *



Melenie came to slowly, and with a hard-core headache. As she slowly regained feeling in her body, she became aware of a knife running back and forth across her forehead. She opened her eyes and jerked away from the think standing over her so hard she fell off of the… whatever she’d been on, and landed on the floor.

“My child, do not fear me.” The thing said.

She was looking at an outstretched hand, each finger tipped with knife-edged claws, and the emaciated form of a man. He had startling red eyes, smooth, pale skin, and a mouth like a piranha, bristling with needle-like teeth. He sighed sadly and glanced away from her, towards a portrait of a woman hanging on a wall. As she focused on the painting, she recognized the woman. Her mother.

“Yes.” A soft, wispy voice came out of the monster. “Yes, your mother. I thought she would have told you. Apparently not.”

“T-told me what?” Melenie stuttered.

“About me. About our race. About everything.”

“What are you talking about?”

“My child, I am not gifted with words. I know not how to tell this to you.”

“Just say it.”

“You are my child. You – “

“No! No, I know who my dad is, and you’re not him.”

“True, I did not raise you. The opportunity to know of you and love you was stolen from me. It was my act that conceived you, though. You are blood of my blood, my only child. My daughter.

“My mom was married to my dad for four years before I was born, and she loved him. She was never unfaithful.”

“She was unfaithful to me. She was mine before she was any other’s. She went behind my back and married the police officer. But you are my child. I never knew she carried a baby. She left and never told me. When she died, one of my men brought me the obituary. When I learned of you, I tracked you down and have watched over you since. I assigned two of my finest warriors to find you and bring you to me.”

“What are you?”

The thing stopped, taken aback.

“What are you?” She asked again, more forcefully.

“I… we… are vampires, my dear.”

“We? As in more than one?”

“Well, yes, there are many of us, but by we, I meant you and I.”

“I am completely human, and you are not my father. Now, may I please leave? I’m scared and I want to go home.”

“You may. I will deny you nothing. But please, take this with you.”

He took a small scrap of paper out of his pocket and handed it to her.

“If you ever need anything from me, anything at all, please call me here. I cannot leave the walls of our shelter while the sun is up, but there are those under my command who can. I love you.”

“That’s great. How do I get out of here?”

With an expression of great pain, the thing turned and opened a cleverly concealed door. Leaning out, it called, “Syclin. Please lead my daughter out of the compound.”

“With pleasure, my lord.” A seraphic voice replied.

“Melenie – “

“Don’t call me that.”

Again, that expression of anguish flashed across the things face.

“What, then, would you have me call you?”

“Nothing. Don’t call me at all.”

“Very well. Syclin, will you take her home. If you do need me, call that number and ask for Tomas. Live well, my dear.”

“Bye.”

She walked out the door to find a small female… vampire. How would she get used to that? And yet, here was irrefutable evidence that they were real. The petite vampire smiled, displaying a fearsome set of teeth, and waved Melenie forward.

“This way.”

She was led through winding corridor after winding corridor, all of them, apparently, underground.

“Where is this place?”

“Under the city. May I ask you a question?”

“Um… I guess.”

“How does it feel to finally know who your real father is?”

“That… he’s not my father. He’s insane. And, obviously, he’s a stalker.”

At the small gasp she heard, Melenie looked down at Syclin.

“How can you speak of the king in such a way? Especially as he is your father. Do you know how much I wish he was my father? How many others of our race wish the same?”

“He’s not my father. My father is Police Chief Jack Harper. Not this guy.” Oh, shit. She’s crying. I can’t handle crying.

“Please, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

“Not mine. My Lord Tomas. He must be heartbroken. He’s wanted to meet you since you were sixteen. He – “

“Maybe he should have gone about it in a different way. I may have responded better if, say, he’d called me and told me he wanted to meet up. Not sure why, but I didn’t particularly take to being kidnapped.”

“I’m sure my Lord thought this the best way. Please, he loves you so much. You must at least give him a chance.”

“Maybe after I have some time to cool off, I’ll give him a call. Now can you please take me out of here?”

“Very well, my Lady.”

As she started down the hallway again, there was a definite droop to her shoulders. Melenie honestly felt bad. She liked the girl… thing. But the monster back there was not her father.

They were approaching a door now. As Syclin grabbed the door handle, there was a small explosion, and then… a girl in her late teens was standing before her.

“Come on.” She said.

“What the hell just happened?”

“Did you really think I was going to go outside looking like that?”

She laughed, and then the door opened.



* * *



What the fuck. He needed a plan. He needed to find out where that thing took Melenie, and then he needed a plan to get her back. Gabriel paced around the living room, wearing a track in the carpet. Fell on to the couch. Got up and paced some more. Sat down again. Nothing. He had no idea how to find her. He probably should have let that thing take him. At least he would know where she was and if she was okay. There was a knock on the door.

“Who’s there?”

“Gabriel? It’s Melenie. Can I come in?”

Melenie. He ran to the door, threw it open, and wrapped his arms around her in a huge hug.

“Oh, my God. Are you okay? What happened? Did they hurt you?”

“No. I’m fine.” She hugged him back. “That’s a lie. I’m not fine. I’m so not fine.”

As Melenie fell apart in his arms, he held her. He stroked her back. He whispered things in her ear, told her everything would be all right.

“I’m so sorry,” she sobbed. “Please, I’m sorry I got mad at you, I’m sorry I ran away.”

“It’s all right. You were right to walk out. I shouldn’t be making money on drugs. It’s all right.”

He walked her over to the couch and sat down, pulling her down into his lap. She curled her arms around his neck and cried herself to sleep. She felt good in his arms. Like she belonged there. He thought again about how beautiful she was. About the first time he’d seen her. Gabriel drifted to sleep with his head filled with thoughts of the woman in his arms.



* * *



“You did what?” El whispered harshly over the music.

She’d returned to her table at the club to find her drunken companion waiting for her. In her natural form. Getting a lot of weird looks.

“I tried to get that guy for you, but he got away. So I came and got another drink.”

“How many have you had since I left?”

“I dunno. Four?”

“Come on, we’ve got to get home. Sunrise is in an hour and you’re drawing a lot of attention. Did you transform in front of him?”

“’Course I did. How else is he s’posed to find out?”

“You moron! He’s not supposed to know. He was supposed to be left out of this completely.”

“I thought you wanted to eat him.”

“No I didn’t… I did not want to eat him. And who told you that I did?”

“You?”

“No. I said I wasn’t going to kill him. Now we have to. You realize we’re going get to demoted for this? Not only did you get wasted on the job, you revealed yourself to a shitload of humans, and transformed in front of one of them. Plus, now we have to kill the guy. You know Tomas hates killing innocent bystanders.”

“I’m pretty sure he saw you.”

“I know he did, but it would have been a simple matter to block the memory. He only got a glimpse, and he didn’t know that I had a human form. You transformed in front of him. That won’t be simply blocking a memory. That would require us to remove the memory… which is impossible. Goddamnit, El. Come on.”

As she dragged El out of the club and into an alley, she felt the stares of humans on her back until the moment the darkness of the alley concealed her. They needed to fly to the compound, but El wasn’t really in good shape to do that. They could taxi, but unless she could get her to transform back to her human body, that wasn’t going to work. Plan B. Plan B would be the sewers. They were standing on a grate. Sewers were gross.

“El, I’m going to need you to change back to your human form.”

“It’s itchy.”

Sewers it is, then. Ew. Bending down, she lifted the grate and pushed El in. She heard an echoey splash and grimaced.

“I hate the sewers.”

She took a deep breath, held the grate in one hand, and started to climb down, putting the grate back where it belonged. When she finally reached the bottom of the ladder, El was lying in a puddle of raw sewage.

“El, please get up.”

The only answer she got was a groan. Beautiful. She walked to the edge of the puddle and leaned over, trying to reach El’s prone form. Yeah. Not going to happen. With a grimace, she gritted her teeth and walked through the disgusting mess and picked up her friend.

“You smell like shit and beer.”

“Huh?”

“Come on. Let’s walk.”

“Why didn’t we just call a taxi?”

“Because you didn’t want to change back into your human form.”

“If I change now, can we take a taxi?”

“Are you kidding me? You’re covered in shit. No, we can’t take a taxi. You made me go into the sewers, we’re taking the sewers.”







more later. thanks.

He remembered the sting of the whip. The humiliation of being what he was, a servant of the flesh. A whore. When he dreamed at night, he saw the face of his master, his eyes bright with lust, his pants tenting at the thought of taking the boy before him. Gabriel remembered being rolled onto his stomach, a golden cross bouncing across his naked back as . . . no.

He stirred himself from his memories, focusing instead on the scene before him. Yade’s Hunter blared loudly from all corners of The Underground, black-clad bodies danced under a strobe light, dancers writhed in cages suspended above the ceiling.

He fit in perfectly with the goth club-goers. A leather trench coat shrouded him in darkness, black patent leather straps crisscrossed over his torn mesh tee, black cargo pants covered his legs, and Demonia black patent leather boots covered his feet. Black hair gelled into green-tipped spines completed the ensemble. No one noticed him in the darkest corner of the balcony. As was his intention. He watched as two women near the bar kissed and fondled each other. He came to the goth paradise every night, as he had since he’d discovered the place half a year ago. He enjoyed the heady atmosphere of sex, drugs, and music. The anonymity of being merely one among hundreds, never seen, never remembered. Here, he could usually forget his past. Apparently, not tonight. Standing up from his table, he walked down stairs, worked his way through the crowd of gyrating bodies, and walked out the door. He turned north, towards Third Street, and paused. Raising his eyes to the moon, he admired her beauty, thought about the peace she had brought him throughout the years. He walked the two blocks to Third and turned left, towards home, where he could drown his memories in a bottle in the quiet of his apartment. He needed to sleep, anyways. He had to work tomorrow. Drinking probably wasn’t the best idea, but what the hell. He was only three blocks to the filthy pawn shop he lived above. Three blocks to oblivion.



* * *



Gabriel woke up, not to his alarm clock, as he had expected, but to a ringing phone. He glanced at the clock. 11:00 a.m. Fuck. I’m two hours late. The caller ID ont the phone told him it was his boss calling.

“Hey.” He grumbled into the phone.

“You’re damned lucky you live upstairs. If this wasn’t the third time you’ve been late in the last year, I would fire your ass. I’m warning you, though. One more time you come in two or three hours late, that’s it. And if you’re not down here in ten minutes, you’re gone anyways.”

With a harsh sigh and a click, the line went dead. God, he hated that woman’s voice. He thought a parrot might sound like that if it smoked a carton a day. The woman behind the voice was almost worse. She had the personality of a brick, and found pleasure in life by exploiting employees and customers. Not that he wasn’t used to being used. Damn, but he was going to get it when she saw the shape he was in. Unfortunately, janitor and part-time cashier at Sally’s Pawn was the only job he could get.

Today, he was working the register, so he was going to have to wear the cobalt blue ‘Sally’s’ polo and jeans. There were always a few funny looks when people took in his hair and piercings, and then compared them with the polo and blue jeans. Something else to look forward to. He threw on the uniform, popped a piece of gum in his mouth, shoved his feet into size twelve Demonias, and tromped down the stairs. Walking in the front door of the pawn shop, he caught sight of a woman looking through the stereo systems. She belonged in The Underground with her black and white cyber goth get-up. She was honestly pretty hot, at least in profile. Thin, cynical mouth, harsh grey eyes, high cheekbones, straight nose. Yeah, she had to be hot. Then he noticed Sally glaring at him from behind the counter and walked over, following when she turned and motioned him into the office.

“You owe me two hours of overtime. Kay? Unpaid. Now get to work.”

With that, she sat down and started scrolling through some file on her computer. Probably his record. Damn. Walking out to the register, he saw that girl head on. He was wrong about her being hot. She was, honest to God, the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Too bad women like that didn’t notice guys like him. Not that he even deserved to look at her. Not that he deserved anything. But damn, she was beautiful.