He found her in the night when out hunting; nothing could have pleased him more. A young human girl, not damaged in any way and still full of blood. He had lifted her head ever so slightly, resting his fingers against her neck, he found no pulse. Dead, but still useful, he thought. He rested her down again and looked around the damp field; there was no one here to see him. The night shielded him from human eyes and he lifted her to a sitting position, resting her against his knee. His black eyes gazed into the girls face, so still and peaceful. Her long, auburn hair fell in waves down her back, ending with tiny curls. He wondered what colour her eyes were, brown he imagined. He placed his thumb lightly against her eyelid and lifted, green eyes stared blankly out. He nodded in agreement; I suppose green eyes look better.
He let her eyes close again and took a deep breath that he had no real need to take. And then he bit her neck, piercing a vein and sucking blood through the two holes that his fangs had made. Her blood tasted different, it was thicker than usual blood and he struggled to swallow each mouthful that he took. It tasted... Amazing, it had a power to it that shocked him; he could feel his body and mind grow stronger as he drank.
He lifted his face from her neck, had he seen a light flash behind the girl? He stared into the dark corners of the fields but saw nothing, saw no one. He saw another flash, brighter this time and once again coming from behind the human. What is that? What happened next took him completely off guard and he lost all words. Huge, feathered wings exploded from the girls back and batted him away as though he weighed nothing. He landed painfully in the grass and lifted a broken arm to shade his eyes from the blaring, golden light that shone from the wings. They caught the air beneath them and lowered her to the ground gently.
“Interesting...” He muttered, running to her side. She was gasping in air greedily and the wings lay motionless at her sides, pulsating golden light in time with her breaths. She was losing her breath again, clearly fighting to stay conscious. Keep her alive and have her blood forever? Yes please. He bit his wrist and winced, not used to feeling fangs penetrate his flesh. He pressed his bleeding wrist to her mouth and she didn’t try to fight it, she raised pale hands and held his arm as she drank from him.
Colour returned to her cheeks and her olive skin began to glow. Her eyes shone blue and her hair turned to the most perfect shade of gold. Everything about her began to become brighter and she groaned as he took his wrist from her. “Don’t want you turning into anything, now do we?” Her wings beat in one graceful movement and she was sat upright in front of him, her golden hair blowing in some undetectable wind.
She wrapped black feathered wings around him, the feathers like those of a crow. There was a moment of comfortable silence, the two creatures watching each other in the shadow created by the wings that spread out from her shoulders. Rayne, where is she? The voice was strong as it shot from her mind to his; he was almost knocked from his feet. Pain and worry was etched into her face and she moved forward, wrapping her wings tighter around him.
“I don’t know who Rayne is, darling. But my name is Abraxus Aelius.” She shook her head and he smiled knowingly. “You can call me Ab, or Abra...” “Or as my father did, you could just call me αγόρι?” He chuckled lightly, hoping to make the girl more comfortable.
Her blue eyes ran all over his body, studying him and then he saw a look of finality cross her face. She took his face into her hands and, intrigued, he allowed her to pull him forward. Their lips met and Abraxus felt her digging around his mind. She was learning about him, getting to know him. He pulled away; there were some things he didn’t want anyone to know, especially people he wanted to keep for the sole purpose of drinking.
Ένα υπέροχο πλάσμα.
She repeated it in her mind and he knew she had heard him. “It means ‘a fabulous creature.” She blushed and the corner of his mouth lifted into a smile.
“She still isn’t answering,” Rayne whined, throwing her mobile at her boyfriend, Martyn, who caught it neatly and placed it gently on the bed. “Should we go and look for her?”
Martyn shook his head. “You worry too much, I’m sure she will be fine.”
Jessica looked shocked as she stared at the vampire at the end of her bed. “I worry too much?” She pushed at his shoulder but he remained perfectly still. “She finds out about... You! Then disappears from college and doesn’t come back!” Martyn watched the girl brush brown hair out of her blue eyes and take calming breaths.
“What if someone knows she knows because we know and now they know...?” Martyn was watching her with eyes narrowed to slits. “Wait, wait a minute. What I meant is what if someone knows she knows and they don’t like that?”
He stood and walked slowly over to her, wrapping strong arms around her slim waist. She sighed and rested her head on his chest. “What if she is hurt?”
Martyn ran his fingers through her hair and pressed his hand to the back of her neck, holding her to him. If she means that much to you then I wouldn’t let anything hurt her. He sent the voice to the very back of her mind and dragged it forward; showing her how much he meant what he said.
“I know, I know.” She looked up into his piercing brown eyes and whispered. “Just please check that she is okay.”
