A few days later I awake again to the smell of blood. Only, something is wrong. The scent is stagnant, not fresh. There is no warmth to it. No heartbeat. And it smells the same as that boy. I fix my gaze in the direction it’s coming from. The source appears to be a small travel mug. But why? Why is it there? I want to get a closer look. I even start to edge forward, but something stops me.
My ears pick up a heartbeat, maybe two yards away. I look in that direction and take a deep breath through my nose. My suspicions are then confirmed. It’s him. The boy has come back, offering his blood, and waiting for me to take it. What could his motive possibly be? Perhaps he wants to ambush me, kill me. That must be it. His mind has changed, and he wants me dead.
I won’t fall for it. I’ll stay hidden as long as I need to for him to go away. After all, it is not in a beast’s nature to stay in one place. It is not in a human’s nature either. Staying still makes them vulnerable, easily captured and killed. And…Oh no.
I smell it. The rotted smell of my kind. Three of them, not far away. And they’re approaching fast. That kid is dead meat if he doesn’t move, but he doesn’t know that. I don’t want to reveal myself to him, but what else is there to do? They’ll be at the alley in seconds, and then he’s just a few steps away. I don’t have all day to decide.
With a huff of air I dash out, grabbing him around the waist and dragging him in the alley with me. He looks startled by my sudden appearance. I clamp a hand over his mouth and pray that the others will pass quickly. No such luck, their stench stops right in the entrance to the alley. One of them snarls, “We know you’re here, human. Make this easy on yourself and come out.”
I shove him behind me and step into the moonlight, “Back off. He’s spoken for.” My voice is raspy from misuse.
The guy in front chuckles, “Nah. I recognize you. You’re that failure everyone talks about. All you do is hide in this alleyway because of a pledge you made to some human a long time ago. You don’t even kill. Pathetic. How can you call yourself a vampire?”
Vampire. I hate that word. It so downplays what we are. What our kind stands for. I want to rip this guy’s head off, but that would leave the boy unguarded. The others would get him. I think I have a plan, but it’s not a very good one. After all, the boy lost blood already. But if this saves his life in the end, can he blame me?
I try for a menacing grin, “Who doesn’t kill?”
I reach behind me and pull the boy forward. I quickly dive into his neck and drink. Just a little, not much. But this has to be believable. The creeps in front of me hiss, and I look up at them, “You still here? I told you, he’s mine.” They begin to back away as I attach my lips to the supple neck once more. The boy whimpers, and I feel terrible. But this is for his own good.
I wait until the steps have retreated to a safe distance and detach myself. The boy is still conscious this time, so that’s a good thing. But he’s still bleeding pretty badly. I wonder if that weird healing thing will work again. There’s only one way to find out. I gently drag my tongue along the puncture marks and sure enough, they close up.
I drop the boy after that and back up a bit. He’s becoming a danger to my health. To my surprise, he walks to the mouth of the alley. I think he’s about to leave when he bends down and picks something up. Right. The travel mug. He turns around and walks back, holding it out to me.
“You probably don’t want it now, but…I brought this as a thank you…I can tell you’re different, so,” he shrugs, “I want to help you.”
I take it, surprised. This boy is offering his blood to me…In gratitude? That’s ridiculous. I can’t let him do that. I force a growl deep in my throat, “If you know what’s good for you, kid, you’ll leave this place and you won’t come back. I don’t need your charity, got it?” I gnash my teeth at him and he gets a frightened look. Before I know it, he’s run out of the alley and down the street. Hopefully back home. Hopefully he’ll stay there.
