Scarlet Lore

Not to Harm or be Harmed Chapter 3

The driver didn't respond, instead just inching us through traffic. It would have been a lot quicker to just ask to catch up. I could make me way through the backstreets in just a few seconds yet Kare was relying on some stupid little pet to take me around the city at the pace of a snail. It wasn't as if I expected anything else from Kare. Anything else and he wouldn't have been in control. What a pity it had to be leaving like that, resorting to kidnapping instead of just arranging to meet up with people.

I leant forward, wedging my upper body between the front two seats. The leather was soft but the driver was wearing a scratchy cotton shirt that rubbed against my arm. The man ignored me as I watched, acutely aware of the pulse thumping in his throat. "What? You aren't gonna talk to me anymore? Don't you worry about Kare, I can deal with him. Well, I mean, do worry because you'll die anyway but...just not right now, yeah?"

"Milady, I'm not permitted to discuss this with you." I slumped back in my seat and rolled my eyes. Neither Victoria nor Kare could choose an interesting person so them both choosing the man should have been enough to know what a bore he would be. Besides that he had the nerve to say no. That alone was enough to make me reconsider my previous statement.

"I'm not asking," I hissed out, my fangs digging into my lip and the hunger urging me forwards so he could see me. A small flash of horror touched his eyes before the compulsion set in, I took a small amount of pride in the trance like state he fell into before continuing. "Now, honey, you are gonna pull this car over in a little backstreet, okay? You are going to give me a way to contact Kare and then you're going to run. I want you to actually try to get away-it isn't fun otherwise."

Falling back into my seat, I yawned slicing my tongue on my fangs as I did so. The blood that bubbled up was mostly venom, acidic and sour in my mouth. I could barely wait for a feed, the venom kept rushing around my body, notifying me of every pain. The man didn't smell too good, by normal measures but it my state the scent was the thing of legends. I swallowed as he pulled the car into a small alleyway.

"A number then love?" I sat up straight, one hand slowly inching the door open as he rushed through his phone to find the number. It would take a little longer then I first expected then. Wedging the toe of my boot in the now open crack, I quickly reached forward and locked his door while he searched for the glove box for a pen. There. That would cause panic. Panic was fun. As he scribbled down the number-along with a short piece of writing-I snatched it, retreating from the car into the shadows. I needed him to get down the alleyway a bit, it was no good murdering in broad daylight.

He slowly got out of the car, whatever compulsion Kare had done on him apparently overriding mine, he struggled for only a moment at the door before flicking the lock with a frown. He looked confused, more than anything, glancing around the alleyway and scratching absentmindedly. If I weren't so hungry I might've let him go. There was something endearing about the impeccably dull creature. Still, I was hungry, and his heartbeat echoed in my ears, only intensifying the headache.

My fingers grazed along the exposed stone as I waited. Patience may have been a virtue but it was one that I did not possess. Humans could be ridiculous when they were scared. This man, in particular, wasn't scared consciously. There was nothing physical, or mental I'd wager, giving him away but his entire body reeked of fear and weakness. When they were consciously scared, at least, some of them had the courtesy to run. It wouldn't do anything but the chase was fun.

"Love, I thought I told you to run?" I stepped forward a little, moving towards him and hoping it would be enough to herd him back into the alley. Smiling wide, I let my fangs extend and felt the venom bubble up in my veins, darkening them against my skin. The fear was clear in his eyes at that point but once I started seeing red I knew he would run soon. I personally had been terrified when I'd seen the iris of a vampires eyes turn red the first time and I'd felt sick in the gut when the bloody venom glazed over everything.