Tainted Blood (3 page)

The whole idea of them manipulating his life, and then spying on him...

“What if I hadn't got involved? What if the owner died?”

“You
did
get involved Brian, and he didn't die. You're a hero.”

“I'm not going to do it.” Brian said. He didn't care what it was. He wasn't getting involved. He had too much on his plate, and besides, he really didn't like his used-to-be aunt. The more he learned about her the more he didn't like her.

“Do what, Brian? I'm not here to ask you anything. I'm only here to warn you.”

“Warn me?”

Brian watched as she reached into her large black purse and pulled out a vanilla folder stuffed with papers. Then she stood up and walked across the room to put it before him.

“That is a file of some of the info we've gathered on Garn.”

“Who?” He asked, bewildered, as he picked the folder up and began looking through it. An older man with a large prominent chin, dark striking eyes, and long, flowing salt and pepper hair looked up at him from a picture clipped to the folder.

“Garn, Brian. He is the uncle of the werewolf you killed.”

“And?” Brian asked, afraid to hear the answer.

“Garn is a lycanthrope too, Brian, and he's none-too-happy about his favorite nephew's death. Especially since he turned him.”

“So you're saying he's looking for who killed him?”

Brian watched as she started to head for the door. “Jenn?”

She paused as she put her hand on the door knob, her ebony hand reflecting off its shiny brass surface.

“No Brian. I'm saying he's here already. Somewhere nearby, and you need to watch yourself.”

“Wait a minute...what happened to all that crap about watching out for your investment?” He asked, as he stood up. He couldn't believe that she could just walk into his place and drop this onto him. Wasn’t she going to do anything about it?

“I just did. You've been warned. With that, I think I'll take my leave. It's not too safe around here, what with a pissed off Lycan assassin wandering about.” The door opened as she pulled on it.

“Wait? I'm not getting any help? No intel on where he is? Nothing?”

She turned around and stared at him for a second, a play of indecipherable emotions running across her face. Brian almost thought she turned to leave just as finally spoke up. “Info and help cost, Brian. I was of the understanding that you don't want to pay. I gave you what I could for free. The company's not going to spend resources for nothing.”

She had him, and she knew it. Right where she wanted him. It was really done quite well. This whole thing. It was a set up to get him to do something, he knew it, but what was he going to do?

He could run, or he could even go looking for this Garn. Then again, the whole thing could be a hoax. Yet, that gray werewolf in Heather's dream kept coming to mind. He couldn't shake the feeling that it had more meaning than just a dream.

“Alright.” He took a breath and let it out in a sigh. “What do you need me to do for you, and no, I won't kill that Anunaki. I can't, he's too powerful.”

A smile crept across Jenn's face, as she shut the door. Brian watched as she came back to his old green chair and sat back down on it, this time not hesitating.

“We don't need you to kill him Brian. Just Jason.”

“Who?” Brian asked in confusion.

Brian watched as she pulled out another file and handed it to him. A dashing looking playboy was plastered on the outside of it. He wore a black suit and leaned against a red Maserati, his blonde hair cut business-neat.

“You want me to kill a normal human?” He asked, confused, doubt quickly rising up inside him.

“No, Brian. We want you to stop a dangerous vampire.” She nodded down to the folder in his hands. “And I would suggest doing it quickly, as it's been rumored that he has ears inside the company.”

It was very difficult to relax enough to dream walk. The information that Jenn gave him continued to bounce around in his head long after she left.

He wasn't sure if the problem was the fact that she wanted him to kill someone like he was some sort of assassin, or if it was the information that there was another vampire nearby, and he now had it's location sitting in a folder not far away from where he now rested in a state of trance.

Well, I'm not going to kill anyone for them, no matter what the incentive.
He thought, as a new world began to take shape around him.
This other vampire, though, is very interesting. I have a lot of questions I need to ask him. Will he answer them, though?
That was the question. If he did have ears in Jenn's organization, then it was possible that the vampire might know about them contacting Brian. He had no idea how another vampire would react to that kind of information. He knew how
he
would react, and it wasn't good. Of course, there was nothing saying that he had been contracted to kill the vampire

At least not as far as he knew.

The world around him became a park that he recognized from when he lived back home. He couldn't remember the name of it, as he only passed by it a few times in the past. Life had always been a bit different for him growing up, even when he hadn't shown any of his vampire heritage yet. He supposed now that he knew who his aunt really worked for, it kind of made a weird sort of sense. She likely kept him under scrutiny for most of that time, watching for any glimpse of change that would set him apart from a normal kid. He couldn't help but wonder at the disappointment she and her superiors must have felt at the fact that so many years passed and he showed no such traits. He chuckled to himself over that last little bit.

A cement path materialized ahead of him. He found himself standing just off it as it passed by the trees he stood under.

The nearby lake adjacent to the park had just came into view on the other side of the road. Ducks, gray and white swam across its surface quacking and making all types of noises. He was always surprised at the vividness of Heather's dreams. The detail at times could be astonishing. It had been some time since he had regular dreams himself, but as far as he could remember, they never held so much detail or information in them. He idly wondered if it was because of his interference that her dreams took more of a semi-permanent state. After all, they could never run wild or chaotically change all the time if something stable such as he invaded them.

Sure, they would change somewhat when he was there. There were times that rooms turned to woods, or a plane trip turned to a boat trip. Still, the theme always stayed on track, even if the venue would change. Pausing, he searched the terrain for any sign of his love.

He was hoping tonight would be different than the last few. He was tiring of having to find Heather hidden somewhere. He missed the simple roleplaying dreams he would participate in. Usually, he could just take the place of whoever was her lover or friend. Lately, however, Heather had been dreaming of Chuck.

As if that wasn't bad enough, the dream role seemed to be impervious to being replaced. If that wasn't frustrating enough, he also found that he couldn’t create a new persona to go along with whatever storyline she was creating.

It was as if she or it was personally finding ways to exclude him, which was something he really couldn’t bear to think about. He had enough on his plate, and right then all he wanted to do was have some quality time with Heather, and hopefully avoid having to share it with Chuck's phantom, or worse be completely replaced by him.

“I wonder where she could be in here?” He said to himself.

Almost in response, two figures appeared in the distance walking arm in arm. The two of them seemed to be in no rush, pausing at times to throw what Brian guessed were pieces of bread to the waiting ducks, and now swans as well. His only hope was that whoever walked at her side was not the infamous Chuck. If it were, he wondered if he should even bother trying to insert himself into her dream any further. Another failure like the last two nights would just be a horrible end to yet another miserable day.

His only hope would be that it wasn't his nemesis.

That hope shattered almost immediately.

“
Damn
it.” He swore under his breath. “Why does he have to haunt my dreams?”

Isn't it bad enough I had to give her up to him for all those years before, and even now he steals her from my waking days, as nothing more than a memory? What do I have to live for? The hope that one day soon I'll find her dreams back to normal? I'm beginning to think that's never going to happen. What am I doing this for?

He paused in his mental tirade as he watched her pass. The setting sun shined off her perfectly shaped legs, and the bronze of them were highlighted like some ancient Greek goddess. Her profile was just as unworldly. Her breasts stood up full and proud under her almost transparent halter top, the sunlight clearly outlining her more than perfect figure.

The entire scene was almost to much for him to handle. At least he had thought it was, until the two of them had stopped right in front of his hiding place and turned towards each other. Brian watched as the two of them paused, and he imagined their eyes locking onto each other as he could clearly see them staring into each other’s faces.

“Don’t do it.” He started to mumble to himself.

In response, their faces began to move slowly towards each other, Brian could hear what sounded like a low moan coming from the distance. It's pitch and volume began to increase as the couples faces closed upon each other. The sound was really annoying to listen to, and a part of him hoped that the two would pause to investigate the strange sound. Instead, almost as if on cue or in urgency their face's closed at an even faster pace until they met in what he imagined was a powerful and passionate kiss. The sound itself had become a roar that to his shock and surprise erupted somewhere inside himself.

The couple seemed oblivious to his shout or pain as Brian felt himself run across the space that separated him from the couple. He had no idea what he was doing, he only knew that he couldn't go on this way, and this shade from her past had to be dealt with now. He had lived far too long in Chuck's shadow, and it was about to end. The two of them were still locked in an embrace as Brian pulled Chuck from her arms. The stunned couple looked at him in surprise and confusion as Brian began to poke his finger into the phantoms chest and scream his anger at him.

“It was
your
dumb fault that Heather's family was taken in the night! Your fault that men in black were hunting her like a wanted fugitive! You did this! You and your moronic friends!” He screamed at the still stunned Chuck.

“Brian?” he could hear Heather saying behind him. But he wasn't through yet, he had to release the anger and disappointment that had been bottled up inside him for years at this man.

“What have you ever done for her? Huh?” He poked Chuck again in the chest as the boy man took a step back and lifted his hands up in front of himself trying to stay the wild attack of Brian’s poking finger.

“Nothing! You parade her around like she's some kind of prize or possession that you won,” he continued.

“Brian? What are you doing?” He could hear her voice squeak.

“Well she's not! She's much more than that. You ruined her life, and you most likely got yourself killed, along with all your stupid friends!”

“
Brian
!” He heard her shout, but he couldn’t stop. Not yet.

It felt good to let out what he had been thinking for all this time. He knew it was most likely rude, speaking of the possible dead as he did, but he couldn't help himself. It was liberating, and after all the crap he had to go through the last couple of days he deserved the chance to finally let off some steam.

For Chuck's part, the phantom had stopped trying to fend off Brian’s finger and now stood there, face down and arms hanging at his side. The perfect picture of dejection.

“You're an imbecile and you never deserved her!” He got out, just as Heather somehow managed to wiggle herself between the two men, her hands held up wide in an attempt to shield her old boyfriend. Anger and shock seemed to frame her face.

The look on her face sent chills through him and quickly dissipated the anger and resentment he had just been feeling for the imaginary jock.

“Brian, what do you think you're doing?” She said, as soon as Brian stopped his tirade. He could see her stance change as soon as she understood she had control of the situation. Her hands went to her hips as she took a more aggressive posture before him, and her pink halter top changing into dark leather with shiny silver spikes protruding from assorted places in it. Yet, somehow the thick leather seemed to hug every curve of her body revealing even more of it than the thin material it replaced.

A quick check revealed that whatever colored shorts she'd been wearing had been replaced by skin tight spiked leather pants as well, ending in impossibly high flaming red high heels. She was definably someone to die for.

“Who I am with is
none
of your business.” She started as she now began to wave her finger under his chin. He wasn't sure how she could do that, as the heels she wore surely should have made her tower above him, and yet she was still her normal height. The absurdity of dreams were always a wonder, he couldn't help but think