Shadow's Light (6 page)

He was feeding from her neck, one hand running up and down the sides of her skimpy top. His other running over the torso of the boy just to her side. I couldn't see where the boy's hands were, but he wasn't fighting the vampire feeding from his girl. He wasn't defending her either. He was watching Avery though, with a look of pure ecstasy gracing his face. All I could see, was Avery drinking from the girl's neck, stroking the boy to keep him quiet and slowly rocking his pelvis erotically. His butt rippled with each thrust of his hips. A slow, rhythmic motion that held me captive, I couldn't for the life of me look away. He was purring, that vampire purr they have when they really are enjoying themselves and the boy was definitely letting it be known he was having fun too. The girl just looked stunned, in a lust-filled kind of way.

Her eyes were closed in pure bliss, her head slightly thrown back elongating her neck for Avery's mouth and tongue to devour. The rhythm and sounds the three of them were making were hypnotic and I realised with a shock of guilt, that I was slightly turned on watching. I actually wanted to feel what they were feeling. I actually missed it so much I found myself wanting to be against that wall. The thought of envisaging anyone else but Michel, feeding from me and making me feel anything - anything other than loss and heartache and despair - like that, was too much. I doubled over in pain and shock trying desperately to inhale oxygen into my lungs.

The sounds began to grow to a peak and I pulled myself back to the present. I had no doubt Avery knew I was there now. Hell, he probably knew the moment I stepped into the alley. He hadn't stopped, he'd continued as though I didn't matter. All that mattered was getting his fill and spilling his seed. I looked up as he rocked one last time against the trapped teenagers, shuddering and gasping in final release. His tongue came out and licked her neck intimately, gently, with such care. And then he turned to look at the boy, holding him in his gaze for several seconds. The boy's mouth opened in a slight O shape and then without any further assistance from Avery he shuddered, groaned and slumped against the vampire that held him by a firm hand around the throat. It was all
so
not what I was used to seeing. I felt a little sick.

Avery turned his attention back to the girl, his hand brushed her long black hair out of her eyes and held her jaw, tipping her face up to him.

“Open your eyes,” he said, huskily. She obeyed. He murmured something else I couldn't quite hear, his eyes casting a jade hue to the dark scene and then he let her step away. She smiled sweetly at me as she skipped past holding the hand of her now recovered boyfriend, both none the worse for wear. Well, not aware of being anything other than none the worse for wear anyway. He'd glazed them both and sent them on their way. They probably wouldn't even remember what had happened. Who knows. Either way, Avery had taken advantage of them, her in particular and she had been so young.

“I hope she wasn't a virgin,” I said with a little too much heat in my voice.

He casually bent down and pulled his jeans up, buttoning them closed and watching me.

“The girl?" He smiled to himself, a small amused smirk that slipped across his lips and then vanished. He looked back up at me. "Why are you angry?” he asked, cocking his head to the side. “You know what I am. I need to feed and I enjoy sex. They were not harmed.”

“You took advantage of them, of her. Did she actually consent or did you make her think she was. Mess with her mind, as you are so prone to do?”

He scowled, his eyebrows furrowed, lips in a thin line, then stalked over to me threateningly. Jade flashed in his eyes. "Consent was given, Ms. Monk. I am not an animal. Participation was voluntary." I didn't take a step back. I even let him grip my throat with his large palm and run a finger from his other hand down the side of my neck, over my pulse point. He leaned in and inhaled my scent and whispered, “She wanted it, as much as you want it right now.” His tongue came out lapping over my pulse and I did take a step back at that, his hand at my throat releasing immediately.

“You can't hunt like that while you are here.” My voice wasn't nearly as strong as I would have liked.

“Or what, Ms. Monk? Give me something better to do and I might make a deal with you.”

“Or I'll stake you.” My stake was against his chest even before the sentence was out. When I mean business, I can move. Even Avery was slightly surprised at the speed.

His hand came up and wrapped around my wrist holding the stake, his thumb stroking across my veins there. He pulled me close against him.

“I say again, what will you give me to make me stop?” His other hand came around the back of my shorts, grabbing my butt cheek and pulling me roughly against his body.

“I will not have sex with you, Avery.” I said with conviction. “But," - I swallowed - "you can feed from my vein if you agree to leave the women and
girls
of this city alone.” I just couldn't handle the idea of Avery being here and feeding off innocents, all because of me.

His smile broadened. “Your blood, but no sex. Hmm. An interesting bargain. I could refuse and still get what I want from somewhere else.”

“And I could stake you.” I repeated my threat.

“You could try,” he offered, then said, “Still, your blood is a sweetener to the deal, I will confess.” He leaned in again and ran his lips over my neck.

“From my wrist,” I added, belatedly.

“Oh no, little Hunter. If I agree to no hunting on your precious streets and forgo sex, I will pick the blood vessel of choice.”

“Not happening,” I said trying to break free of his grasp. His hands just turned to steel and held me firmer against his rock hard chest.

“Make it worth my while, Ms. Monk. Loosen up a little. Live life on the edge. You know you want to. Just let yourself be free and I promise you, you wont feel anything else but joy. No more sadness. No more heartache. No more loss. Let me help you through this time. Let me help you
live
.”

I felt hot tears streaming down my cheeks at his words. Spoken so carelessly, with such shameless intent. He knew how I felt. How I had been feeling. How lost and alone and full of grief my days had been. Avery was not a friend. Not even a trusted acquaintance. But, he understood what I was going through. Even if he didn't have a compassionate bone in his entire buffed body, he knew what I had suffered. I didn't have to justify my behaviour to him.

“Do we have a deal, Ms. Monk?”

What the hell was I thinking? I should just let him have free rein of the city. But, it was my city now and he was here because of me. A little of my blood to protect the innocents wasn't much to pay. If it kept his cock in his pants and his hands off the teenagers and his fangs off human flesh, then I could deal.

“OK,” I said, blowing out a breath. “Deal.”

In a split second he had me against the wall, his hand fisted in my hair and my head tipped back. His growl was loud in the still misted air of the alley as his fangs pierced my skin and sunk deep in my flesh.

“Hey!” I protested through the sting of the bite. “You've fed already tonight.”

The sting was slowly being replaced with lust and hunger, my body fighting the response he was trying to make me feel. I threw up shields and pulled on my Light to protect me.

I suddenly find myself ravenous, Ms. Monk. I think this may take a while, please bear with me. And for God's sake, just let go!

I closed my eyes and most definitely did not let go and waited him out.

Damn. This was not going to be good. What the bloody hell had I been thinking?

He fed for more than 30 seconds. More than Michel would have. I realised that everything he did, I compared to my kindred. I had to stop it. It was too painful to be reminded constantly of what I had lost. Avery was not Michel and I couldn't afford to see him as such. What I had with Avery was practical. He may have ulterior motives for everything he does, but so did I. I wanted to be able to sense the Fey, so I was not running, but letting him stay. I wanted to protect the innocents of Rio from my guest, so he was feeding from me and not them.

It was practical and essential. Nothing more. A business transaction. The fact that I was selling my blood to a vampire to achieve my goals had not escaped me. But, desperate times called for desperate measures. If the portals were opening and fey were about to cross in numbers, our world would no longer be the same ever again.

I could stop it. I could just join with a vampire and let the
Iunctio
do what they will with the power I give them in order to close
Álfheimr
off from this world, once and for all. It didn't need to be Avery. I could contact Samson and see if he would make a suitable kindred. At least I know Samson, trust him. I also know it wouldn't need to lead to anything else, other than a joining. But, part of me already knew that Samson would not be a suitable match. He is only a level four
Sanguis
Vitam
master. I was guessing that to be compatible with me, the vampire needed to be powerful too.

Avery had licked his puncture marks closed at my neck, but he hadn't stepped away. In fact, he was leaning into me slightly. His body pressed against mine, his hands holding my shoulders rigidly still and his face resting in the curve of my neck. He was breathing deeply too. I guess he'd not had Nosferatin blood for a while. Or maybe not at all. He seemed a little affected by it.

“Avery?” I asked after a few minutes had passed. “You can let me go now.”

“When I'm ready,” he replied. His voice level and seemingly unaffected.

I waited. There was no point turning this into a fight. I had said he could feed from me, it would be hypocritical to cause a scene now. But, I did wish he'd move away. I bit down on my lower lip and forced myself to remain still.

His hand came up and cupped my cheek before his face pulled back to look at me. I thought he'd say something, but he just stared at me for a few seconds and then abruptly turned away.

“I gather you usually hunt now, Ms. Monk?” he asked over his shoulder.

“Yeah. I wander the streets until I feel the pull.” I'd walked a lot of Rio over the past couple of months.

“Perhaps a coffee instead of the walking?" he suggested. "I feel the need to relax.” Not looking at me, he started stalking towards the bars and restaurants on the main drag.

“My blood too much for you, vampire?” I couldn't help it, he'd definitely walked straight into that one.

“As delightful as your blood is, Ms. Monk, sex makes me mellow. I'm in a post coital bliss I don't wish to walk off just yet.”

Bullshit
, I thought and hoped he'd plucked that out of my head.

We ended up in an all night café. Sitting at a table on the footpath, watching the night life of Copacabana waltzing by. Colourful and under dressed and way too intoxicated. It was just one big party atmosphere and I loved it. The humans seemed so alive. Despite them having an uncontrolled infestation of creatures of the night prowling their streets, they all seemed high on life. I envied them, of course. How could I not? So carefree and happy, not a worry in the world.

I purposely pushed those thoughts aside and took a deep drink of my coffee.

“How do you sense vampires, Ms. Monk?” Avery asked, sipping on his espresso.

“Do you mean my
Sanguis
Vitam
Cupitor
powers or natural Nosferatin talent?”

“Let's start with the natural Nosferatin talent and see where that takes us,” he replied.

“OK. It's the
Sanguis
Vitam
. It hums in our heads. We can feel it in the air too, but mainly it's the internal noise.”

“So,” he said, contemplatively, “you sense their power and know instinctively that it is Nosferatu?”

“Yes.”

“Then what?” he prompted.

“Then I guess I use my Blood Life Seeking powers, the
Sanguis
Vitam
Cupitor
ones. I let my mind sink into a blank nothingness and then
seek
out their Dark. That way I can tell how bad they are and also where exactly they are too.”

“Out of curiosity, how do you see me?” He'd asked it with the utmost casual ease, but I could tell there was an undercurrent of tension there. Was he nervous of what it was I saw when I looked at him?

I let myself sink into that black void and
sought
his signature out. I'd got used to how Dark Avery was, so it wasn't a surprise. I doubted he'd be surprised either.

“You're Dark,” I said with a shrug of my shoulders. “It's a wonder you don't go around draining every single throat you suck on. You have way more Dark than Light.”

“You don't sound alarmed?”

“I saw your Dark the moment I first laid eyes on you. I've got used to it. And as yet, I haven't caught you in the act of draining a human dry, so my stake has remained out of your chest.”

“But, you wanted to stake me tonight. For the girl.” His eyes flashed a little amber and ochre in amongst the hazel. I couldn't tell if he wanted me to rise to the bait, to actually threaten to stake him again. Why was he pushing this?

“Yes.” I settled on simplicity.

“Why didn't you?”

“She seemed unharmed. She was at least alive. And you said the rest was consensual.” The
rest
, of course, being everything other than the feeding. Vampires don't normally seek consent when feeding from strangers.

He studied me for a moment, then said quietly, “I think your boundaries have shifted, little Hunter. They are no longer so black and white.”

My boundaries had shifted a long time ago. They had nothing to do with Avery Rousseau.

I didn't say anything though, just waited for him to proceed. When he realised I wasn't going to play the game he took a sip of his coffee again and then said, “To sense fey magic it will be a similar experience as your current
Sanguis
Vitam
detection powers allow. A combination of both natural instinct and concerted effort.”

“I can tell they aren't human. That they have power, but I can't get a handle on what it is. Whether they are shifter or just a human
Mage
who has become less human and more magical.”

“That is a start,” he said, “but you will need to tell whether they are
Ljósálfar
or
Dökkálfa
.”

Telling the difference would be handy. I assumed both would want to get in my pants, once they realised I was a
mœðr
, and from what I have been told the
Dökkálfa
would not make it nice. I had a feeling, that despite the
Ljósálfar
using magic to influence, they would at least make sure I enjoyed it.

“So, how do I do that?” I asked, finishing up with my coffee and feeling much better for it.

“We need to confront some fey. It is only through experimentation that you will hone your skills.”

I wasn't sure if any fey had made it to South America yet, but Avery seemed to think it was only a matter of time. Like only a matter of hours, not days. He had sensed a portal nearby. Not fully activated, but pulsing with anticipated magic. If not tonight, he was sure tomorrow would elicit a confrontation. I just hoped it would be the Light Fey and not the Dark.

The thought that it would happen so soon, that fey would pour through a doorway from their world right into the neighbourhood I was hiding in, was alarming. I felt my heart rate increase and a small sheen of sweat coat my skin. Sure, Avery had talked of it taking just a week for me to come to the conclusion, that joining with him would be the only course of action. That there would be so many fey in our world that I would be desperate to help the
Iunctio
close the portals. But, I hadn't really let that sink in. Now with his words of the Fey appearing in Copacabana by tomorrow so final, so sure, I was starting to feel trapped.

Trapped in the notion that I could stop this from happening, simply by joining with a vampire. Trapped in the feeling of being hunted and the predator already had me in his sights.

Avery had me in his sights now, his eyes taking in the increased beat of my pulse on my neck. He could probably hear my heartbeat as well. I knew what he was thinking. It was natural, it was what he was. He wanted me frightened and he wanted me to run. Even though he had fed twice tonight, once from me already, he wanted to chase me down, pin me to the ground and drink from me again. I willed myself to lower my heart rate and settle my breathing. And watched, as I got my internal physiology back under control, his eyes settled from jade, back to amber, then finally hazel.

He flicked his gaze up to mine and smiled a toothy grin. Fangs were peeking out from behind his lips.

“Almost,” he said rather huskily. I was thinking the rest of that sentence went something like this: Almost made you run. Almost tasted you again.

I shook my head at him. “You couldn't handle it.” One drink from me and he'd been compromised, I was thinking another sip from the Nosferatin fountain in the same night would incapacitate him completely.

He chuckled. “I'd be willing to give it a go, Ms. Monk.”

Luckily we were both distracted by the pull. I gladly fell into the role of hunter. Allowing Avery to tag along and watch from the sidelines, as I dealt with the wayward threat. Another rogue, feasting on a local this time. A guy that had stupidly taken a short cut through a small, dark alley. The vampire had fang to throat by the time I arrived, so I didn't waste a second.

I spun through the air before he even sensed me and staked him through the back. Somehow, putting on a show for Avery felt ill advised. I could just imagine him getting all hot under the collar watching me tangle with a vamp. When I finished checking the dazed human and turned to look back at Avery, my suspicions were confirmed.

“That was too easy, Ms. Monk.” He was leaning against a wall casually, legs crossed at his ankles, arms crossed over his chest. “You could have at least played with him a little, like you did the one last night.”

“I'm not here for your entertainment, Avery.” I was holding a small cloth to the human's throat. Staking the vampire had meant he hadn't had a chance to seal the wounds and asking Avery to do it was not only rude, but would have admitted I could use his help. Which I didn't. I'd been doing this on my own for some time now. I didn't need a vampire to lend a hand.

The human came around and automatically moved his hand to his neck. I said, “
Porão
estreitamente
.” Then proceeded to tell him that some guy on crack had tried to slice his throat. Whether he believed it or not, I don't know. But, he did keep pressure on the wound and said he was OK to make it home on his own.

When he left, I dusted myself down and headed past Avery towards the lights of
Avenida
Atlântica
. He thrust his hands in his pockets, but kept his eyes firmly on me as he followed.

Finally, I couldn't stand the scrutiny any longer. “What?” I demanded, turning back towards him and making him stop within a foot of me.

“You are remarkable when you spin,” he said, comfortably. A statement of fact, barely an emotion present at all.

I just looked at him for a moment. “It's my job. It's what I do.”

His hand came up and rested behind my neck, stroking slightly there. A small amount of jade began to bleed into his eyes and I could tell his fangs had elongated.

“I want you to be mine,” he said in a low growl.

Great. In my speed to dispatch the bad guy and avoid getting Avery all excited, I'd managed to impress him to such a point that he still got turned on anyway. Could I do nothing right?

“Well, I'm not available, so chill.” My voice was steady, but the look of hunger in his eyes made my heart rate increase. Damn those natural bodily responses. I kept repeating in my mind: show no fear, show no fear, show no fear.

“Avery,” I said, sighing dramatically. “If you're going to tag along on each of my hunts for the rest of the week, you're going to have to deal with this libido of yours.”

He looked at me with surprise for a minute and then he slowly started to smile. That amused smile he seemed to wear whenever I breached the topic of sexual urges. As though he knew the answer to some joke I just seemed to keep missing. “My, my, my, Ms. Monk. You have grown some since we last met.” His hand dropped away and he shifted his shoulders to loosen up. “By the end of the week, you'll be begging me to claim you,” he added and then walked right past me and out onto the main street.