Blood and Guitars

Heather Jensen

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2011 by Heather Jensen

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I needed blood….

That was the only thing on my mind as I
walked the streets in the dark. The hour was fast approaching. I
could feel it in my bones. The moon hung high, her pale silver glow
illuminating the city below, radiating as far as the eye could
see.

It was almost midnight now, and my Brood
would soon be meeting in the top of an abandoned warehouse six
blocks down. This night would most likely be just as all the other
full-moon meets were. If I were late, I would have to suffer
through one of Antonio’s lectures. Admittedly, the thought didn’t
exactly make me want to rush right out the door. It wasn’t that I
didn’t respect Antonio. He was my maker after all, the man who had
given me a new life when my old one was shattered, but as much as
he tried he could never replace what I had lost.

I sighed, wondering just how late I could be
without causing a full blown argument. The night air was crisp but
comfortable as I moved down the street. This month’s meeting place
just so happened to be within walking distance and I was going to
take advantage of it, but first I needed a drink. I took a deep
breath, letting the dark fill my senses, enveloping me as I
walked.

One block.

Two.

I smelled the human male before I caught
sight of him. I followed his scent, capturing the taste of it on my
tongue. It led me around the back of a building and into a parking
lot. The unsuspecting man turned when he saw me approaching. I
could see the relief on his face when he found a harmless-looking
young woman in heels behind him and not some maniac thug. I was
counting on him to make that mistake.

“Excuse me,” I said, calling out to him.

His footsteps paused and he turned around to
face me. “Can I help you?”

“I hope so,” I said innocently. “I parked my
car on this street a few hours ago and now that it’s dark I can’t
tell where I’m at. I seem to have lost my car.” I feigned
embarrassment and reached into his mind, finding almost no
resistance there.

“You really should be more careful,” he said
kindly. “It’s probably not the best idea for a young lady like you
to be wandering about in the dark.”

His guard down, I quickly made my move. I
pulled him toward me so fast that he couldn’t react before I gently
but deliberately sank my teeth into his neck. He tensed only for a
second, and then his muscles relaxed as the venom in my bite numbed
his senses and he enjoyed the relaxing images as I projected them
into his mind. The rich life-giving liquid burned down my throat.
My heart began to race as my already heightened senses shifted into
overdrive, a welcomed effect of ingesting the blood. I sent
soothing images to his mind as I drank my fill, which took less
than a minute. Satiated, I ran my tongue across the two tiny
puncture wounds my teeth had left on the skin of his throat, and
they disappeared almost instantly. I stepped back, licking any
trace of blood from my lips as I straightened my jacket and gazed
at the man expectantly. He shook his head and then his eyes came
back into focus and he gazed at me with questioning eyes.

“I think you’re right,” I said, continuing
with my earlier act. “The next parking lot down does look familiar.
I’m sure that’s where my car is. Thanks a lot for your help.”

“Uh … yeah. No problem.” He rubbed his neck
instinctively, although he had no memory of what had just
happened.

I smiled sweetly before I walked past him.
Wanting to make sure I hadn’t completely befuddled him, I glanced
over my shoulder to see the man shaking his head again before he
unlocked his vehicle and slipped inside, no worse for the wear.

I smiled as I walked, invigorated. The fresh
blood would not only sustain me for the rest of the week, it had
revitalized me, burning life into me from the inside out. My senses
were sharper than they’d been in days, and my spirits lifted as a
direct result. It made the idea of being around some of my Brood a
little more bearable as I set off in the direction of the abandoned
warehouse.

Even a human could have heard Antonio’s groan
as I strolled into the room. He wore a black button-up shirt and
expensive jeans with black boots and his dark hair was absent of
the salt and pepper grey that you would normally find on someone of
his age. He was almost seventy years old, but looked half that.

“Aurora, you’re late. Again.”

I rolled my eyes at him, half-smiling as I
took a seat at the table. Antonio was infamous for stating the
obvious. “Nothing gets by you,” I added. I looked out of the large
window that was directly across the table from me, giving me an
unobstructed view of the full moon in all her glory. I crossed my
legs and glanced around absently at the others sitting around the
table. Ours was a small Brood, but we were nothing if not
diverse.

To my left sat Malena, the first Antonio had
changed. She was blunt and cold with shoulder brown hair. Her black
eyes reminded me of lightning: sharp and penetrating. Even the
sound of her name had a certain malicious quality. I’d learned
early on that Malena’s weapon of choice was intimidation. I met her
gaze without hesitation, determined to remind her that it wouldn’t
work on me.

Mark, the resident nice guy, sat on my right.
He wore black rimmed glasses, though I had never figured out why,
(his vampiric vision was far better than 20/20) and worked at the
county hospital. He spent a lot of energy just trying to be
accepted by other vampires. As strange as it probably seemed, I was
closer to him than anyone. Mark and I had developed a friendship
over the last year or so. We were proof that opposites sometimes
attract, considering we’d bonded over his inability to fit in with
the crowd and my refusal to do the same. We were outsiders, and as
far as I was concerned it was better that way.

I looked up to find Malena eyeing me
curiously.

“How are things with you and that delicious
blond I saw you with a few weeks ago?” she asked.

Oh, how I hate small talk. “Nonexistent,” I
said dryly. I’d met the vamp she was referring to at a club and
found out he loved art. Before the night was over he’d talked me
into taking him to The Waking Moon to show him my work. He’d
purchased a painting and I hadn’t heard from him since. There had
never been anything romantic about it.

“That bad, huh?” Malena shook her head in
pity. “So, what did you do with him?” She raised an eyebrow, a
hopeful smile tugging at the edges of her mouth.

I almost laughed. “Do you really want my
leftovers?” Okay, so I hadn’t gone out with the guy, but Malena
didn’t have to know that.

“I think it’s pretty obvious that Aurora
doesn’t want to discuss her personal life with you,” Mark said to
her.

I gave him a grateful smile, and saw that he
looked almost as surprised by his comment to Malena as I was.

“We have a lot to discuss,” Antonio finally
said. “First of all, there have been reports of two new rogue
vampires in the area.”

“Two more?” Mark asked.

Antonio nodded gravely. “The Emissary is
working to investigate why new fledglings are being created so
carelessly.” Last full moon Antonio had informed us that a
fledgling vampire had been found with no memory of who had created
him and no knowledge of what he now was. Vampires are never
careless, and so as crazy as it seemed, it was most likely that
someone was trying to cause trouble and using newly created
fledglings to do it. “The Emissary wants me to pass this
information on to you so you can be on the watch for others,”
Antonio continued. “If you do encounter a rogue fledgling, they
must be reported immediately so the Synod can assign them to a
brood and they can be properly taught our ways. That said, the next
full moon will be a lunar eclipse, so we’ll be celebrating with the
Synod and holding a ritual at an undisclosed location.”

“Is it that time already?” Mark leaned
forward in his seat.

I raised an eyebrow at him and he sat back
again.

“Listen up,” Antonio urged. His expression
was even more stern than usual. “I expect you all to be on your
best behavior at the event. You’ve all attended a ritual like this
before so there’s no excuse for screwing it up. The Elders of the
Synod demand respect. Some of them have reigned as leaders for
almost 400 years, long before Florida ever existed as a state.”

I sighed, completely bored already. We all
knew that the Elders of the Synod had come from Europe a long time
ago. Did it really matter exactly how long ago? If Antonio went on
like this we could be here all night and I definitely had better
things to do. It wasn’t that the Synod didn’t interest me, but
Antonio had an innate ability to make even the end of the world
sound dull.

“Consider this an opportunity to learn from
those who have lived for so long,” he continued mechanically. This
is also another opportunity to impress the Elders of the Synod
before you’ll face them at your ten-year mark. I will be in contact
with each of you before the next full moon so there won’t be any
questions.”

“So, the location is a secret?” Malena
asked.

“That’s the idea,” Antonio said. “I think
that’s all we need to discuss for now. We can move on to the Moon
Rights.”

Mark wasn’t the only one who sat up a little
straighter in his seat now. Antonio rose from his chair and walked
across the room where a small table was set up. A silver cloth made
of silk was covering the table and its contents, which I had
smelled before entering the room. This was the real reason we were
meeting tonight: to ask the moon for the privilege of exercising
control over specific vampire ability until it became full again
and the process would begin anew.

Antonio lifted the silk from the center and
pulled it directly up, revealing the wine glasses underneath. They
were filled with the life-sustaining liquid that resembled red
wine, the one thing all vampires depend on for survival. He called
Malena’s name first. She gave me a haughty smile and rose from her
seat to join Antonio next to the table. He handed her a wine glass
full of blood and she took it in both hands. She gazed out at the
moon through the large window and then closed her eyes. The room
was silent as Malena spent a moment in meditation. Eyes still
closed, she raised the cup to her lips and drank until it was
empty. She looked up at Antonio who nodded his approval and then
she returned to her seat in silence. Antonio called Mark’s name
next and he did just as Malena had.

I came after Mark, walking slowly to the
front of the room and taking the glass from Antonio as he offered
it to me. I could feel the warmth of the liquid through the glass
as I gazed out at the full moon and the silver light that
surrounded her. I burned the image of her into my mind and closed
my eyes, still seeing the circled orb as if it were imprinted on
the insides of my eyelids. I took a deep breath to center myself
and focus my energy before forming a phrase in my mind.

Grant me the ability to read the minds of
those around me. Allow me to effectively block my own thoughts from
others. Silently I repeated the phrase over and over for the space
of one minute until a familiar bliss whisked the words away from
the front of my mind. Without opening my eyes, I raised the glass
to my lips and drank. The blood was not fresh, direct from the
source, and as a result it didn’t burn as intensely as it ran down
my throat, but I relished the taste of it nonetheless. I opened my
eyes and nodded respectfully to Antonio as he took the empty glass
from my hands. I returned to my seat as Antonio covered up the
empty glasses with the silk once again before turning to face all
of us.

“I’ll be in touch with more details about our
meeting with the Synod,” he said in a fatherly tone. “As always,
you know where to find me if you need.” I stood to leave with the
others when Antonio sternly spoke my name. Malena rolled her eyes
at me and left the room. Mark paused in the doorway, his eyes
questioning me. I could only shrug.