The Sweetest Kill: A Young Adult Paranormal (15 page)

I slowly make my way to the farthest possible seat from him, which seems to amuse him even more. I try to look confident and unafraid in front of him but, I sure am failing. I’ve just never been much for one-on-one conversations.

“D-Do you like being called Viktor?” I ask, the words just tumbling out.

“Not particularly. My name was chosen specially for me, a symbol of where I came from, my tribe. When my master chose me as his companion, he gave me the name Viktor. It is not a name I cherish or one I relate to.”

“But you still use it.”

He shrugs a little, “Old habits die hard. As I said, I was done hearing people mispronounce it.”

“I would try but I don’t want to say it wrong.”

He smiles with a mocking undertone to it, “Thank you. Enough about me for now, though. I’d rather talk about you, Shoshanna.”

I bite my lower lip and shrug, “There isn’t much to know about me.”

“How about why I was given the pleasure of seeing you today.”

“I… I was running an errand for T-Mr. Van Garrett.” I tell him, quickly correcting myself from calling Tobias by his first name. I don’t know what kind of relationship Viktor and he has. I don’t want Viktor to think he can use me as some sort of revenge.

Viktor runs his thumb across his lower lip thoughtfully, as he watches me. I start to get uncomfortable and start looking around the apartment. It’s very modern, cold, and large. All the floors appear to be either stone or hardwood. All the visible walls are darkly covered with paint or wallpaper. There are a lot of windows, but all are tinted. I also notice the apartment is cold and the light is low. That’s when a question pops out in mind that should have come way earlier.

“How are you awake?” I blurt.

Viktor raises an eyebrow, “What do you mean?”

“It’s day time.”

“I’m aware.”

“But you’re a vampire.”

He tries not to smile, “I am also aware of this.”

I sit back in my seat and sigh, “I don’t get it then.”

He chuckles and runs a large dark hand down his face, “Tobias has been keeping you in his own bubble, hasn’t he? He hasn’t told you anything about us?” At the shake of my head, he clicks his tongue and lets out another low chuckle, “I suppose I’m not surprised.”

“To be honest, Mr. Naidoo, I don’t ask a lot of questions either. I don’t think I really want to know about your… lifestyle.”

“Sure you do.” He scoffs elegantly, “Despite what you may think of yourself Shoshanna, you have an inquisitive mind.”

My scoff is anything but elegant, as I throw my hands up in front of me, “Great, another mind reading vampire to dig in my mind.”

“Read your mind?” Viktor asks curiously, “Who can read your mind?”

I compress my lips. I’m not walking into that one. No, sir.

Viktor’s mercury eyes scan over my face with complete concentration, before he mutters to himself lowly. Running a hand over his cleanly shaved head, he finally zeroes in on me with a stare. It’s not threatening or even angry. If anything, it’s directed at me full of pity. He feels sorry for me. The realization has me locking my jaw in annoyance. I don’t need anyone’s pity.

“When did he bond to you?” He asks gently.

“Four days ago.”

“And how many times have you drunk from him?”

“O-Once.”

“There’s still time then.” He murmurs before getting out of his spot on the couch. I tense in my seat as he begins walking towards me. Sitting himself on the glass square coffee table before me, he looks me right in the eyes, “I could break it for you.”

“T-The bond?” I ask, completely overwhelmed by his proximity.

“Yes, the bond. I could override it without any serious damage to you. If the bond is made stronger over time and depending on the amount of his blood you’ve ingested, you could be a slave to him forever. He could control you completely and without regard for your well-being.”

“How would you do that?” I ask, curiously.

“I would give you my blood to drink.”

I arch a brow, “Wouldn’t that just be replacing one master for another?”

“I am not one to make a slave of anyone, Shoshanna. I am a killer but I am no monster.”

“Says the guy who was trying to influence me at the club.” I mutter.

“I have been known to lure a meal to me, yes. I can admit this, but my power has its limitations. I can only make someone want to do something, if they want to do it. I can plant images and suggestions, but in the end, it is up to the person to decide if they wish to come with me. Only the willing can fall for my charms.”

I absorb his words and stare at my hands in my lap. My left one has a six inch burn scar on the back of it, induce by the coffee machine at the café. I run my fingers across the smooth distorted patch of skin, and feel tears prick my eyes. There’s an irony in his gift, I notice. He can control yet, for most of his life, he had none. It makes me think kindly towards him. That maybe he understands me a little.

“He doesn’t want me for forever.” I tell him in a whisper, “It’s just for two months and when my time is done, it’s done.”

He frowns, “Done, in what way?”

“I’ll be dead.”

Viktor leans back from me and looks me over again, “Are you ill?”

I let out a humorless laugh, “Not in the way you would think, no.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I can’t explain it to you,” I tell him regretfully, though I’m anything but, “This is a business arrangement between Tobias and I.”

“One that could get you killed.”

I huff out a laugh, “That’s what I’m hoping.”

Getting to my feet, I push some hair behind my ear and look down at Viktor in front of me. He’s frowning because he doesn’t understand. How could he understand? He is a creature doomed to live forever and I am a creature doomed to crave death. We are polar opposites and may never see the truth in each other’s arguments. So, what’s the point of going through the motions of it? Moving to the elevator I press the down button, feeling his eyes on my back.

“Shoshanna?” He calls from behind me.

I turn and face him impassively. I don’t think he’ll talk me out of anything. He doesn’t know enough details to do so. Still, he wants to say something, though I can’t imagine what it could be. Either way, I wait patiently as Viktor does something I’m guessing is natural to his nature, he fights for words.

“Yes, Mr. Naidoo?”

“When the time comes and you change your mind, you’ll call me, won’t you?”

I give him a small reassuring smile, “I’ll certainly keep it in mind, sir.”

He nods just as the elevator doors slide open. I give him one last smile and step into the elevator. I turn to face him, and he looks at me with a pained look on his face. I find that it doesn’t suit him. I give him a small wave just before the elevator doors closed. Once they do, I start chewing on my lip again and secretly hope that my next errand doesn’t have to do with Josette. I’m not sure I’d leave in one piece.

When the elevator doors open again, I plan on speeding out of the building. But instead, I’m met with the blonde woman from the reception desk. She’s breathing really hard and her gray eyes are practically glowing as she stares at me. The hair on the back of my neck and arms stands on end as her eyes are locked with mine. Something isn’t right. Something about her is off.

I eye her up, trying to figure out if I can make a run for it. Figuring it’s worth a shot, I try to push past her, but just as I’m out of the elevator, she grabs me. One arm wraps around my waist and the other covers my mouth, as she drags me towards a back door. She throws me against the stairs and my back hits the edge of one, making me gasp in pain. Suddenly, she grabs my hair and forces my head to the side so she can expose my neck. That’s when it occurs to me, that she too, is a vampire.

The thought is cut off when her fangs descend into my neck. I open my mouth to scream at the pain of it, but she covers my mouth with her cold pale hand.  I start pushing, kicking, and punching at her stone-like form, but it does nothing. It’s almost like she doesn’t feel it at all. She grabs both my hands in one of hers, and pins them over my head while tightening her hold on my neck. I let out another muffled scream.

This feels nothing like when Tobias bit me. Nothing at all. No warmth, no gentle care. Only a pain so intense that I can’t even think through it. My body feels like its laying on a table full of knifes, repeatedly puncturing the skin. But it’s not killing me, I just feel the pain of it, over and over again. Abruptly, she removes her fangs from my neck and her weight is removed from me. This time, my scream isn’t muffled as she nearly takes a chunk out of my neck with her extraction.

“Bullets can’t harm me, fool!” She hisses.

I manage to keep my eyes open, through the waves of pain and spot Anthony with a gun in his hand. He has it pointed right at her forehead and he doesn’t look like he’s playing any games. He clicks back the hammer and lowers the muzzle to the right side of her body.

“It all depends on where you put it.” He tells her simply, before pulling the trigger. I expect a loud bang but it’s only a small sound. It’s then that I realize that he must have had a silencer on it.

Warm blood trickles down from my neck and slides down the fabric of my shirt, staining the skin underneath. I’m losing a lot of blood, more than I probably should. My body is still wracked with pain, and I keep feeling strange, strong convulsions moving through my body. I feel someone put pressure on my neck and I crack open my eyes to see a pair of blue eyes looking down at me.

Putting a handkerchief against my wound, he keeps his hand on it as he starts pulling on my arm. I moan as I get to my feet, my legs convulsing with pain as I do. Anthony steadies me and starts leading me towards a back exit in the stairwell. I must have passed out for a few minutes because the next thing I know I’m back in the car.

I lift my hand to my neck and find a bandage where the bite marks are. Lowering my hand, I see that it’s stained with my own blood. I’m overcome with dizziness again and am dragged back into unconsciousness. This isn’t how I wanted to go. Without pain was the goal, after all, if this is how it has to be, I guess I’m okay with it. As they say, beggars can’t be choosers.

Solicitude

I feel like hell.

That’s the first thought I have when I wake up. Anthony must have carried me in, used my key, and stripped me of my jacket before leaving me in my apartment. I find some optimism in the fact that he thought I was healthy enough to just ditch here. Or maybe Tobias just ordered him to get rid of the body.

Tobias had to have known something about this. How else would Anthony know which apartment was mine? Either way, I have mixed feeling about waking up alone in my apartment. Florence purrs and rubs her face against my leg, as I stand at my bathroom sink. Well, maybe not completely alone.

I glance up at my reflection in the mirror and grimace. I’m covered in dried blood. My shirt is ruined and I look incredibly pale, especially against the bright red coloring of my own blood smeared on my skin. I gingerly pull my shirt off over my head but suck in a sharp breath at the pain I feel. My whole body feels sore.

Everything hurts actually, even breathing comes with a fair amount of pain. How come I never felt that after Tobias bit me the first time? He bit me in the same place and took even more than what that woman took, but I didn’t feel like this afterwards, or during it. Turning on the faucets, I let the water warm up before quickly washing the blood off my hands.

“Out, damned spot,” I murmur, “Out, I say.”

I think I may be losing my mind.

I reach for a towel to dry my hands, but I find I don’t have one. I should probably do laundry. With a sigh, I dry my hands on the legs of my jeans before looking at the bandage on my neck again. With nimble fingers, I start peeling the bandage tape from my skin with a wince. The bandage is pulling at the partially healed skin and is taking some of the scabbing with it. It’s not a pleasant feeling.

I hiss between my teeth as the last of it starts to come off. A few tears fall from my eyes and I let them stay as I stare at the reflection of my injury. Dear god, it looks horrible. It’s not a clean bite like Tobias’. It’s a mess and it looks like she bit me a few times.

There’s some overlap on some of the teeth marks, and she really got into the skin there. Grabbing a wash cloth from under my sink, I put it under the water and wince as I bring it up to the wound. I cry out when the warm water hits the tender flesh. It really burns, but I have to clean it. I contemplate grabbing the bottle of vodka I’ve saved. It’s sitting in my mini fridge but I don’t want to waste it. It’s the good imported stuff and a housewarming gift from my dad.

Continuing to dab the cloth against the wound, my hand is suddenly grabbed. I let out a short scream, before I slap my hand over my mouth when I meet a pair of furious red eyes. I let out a sigh and try to take my hand back from Tobias’s but he only tightens his grip. Grabbing me by the other side of my neck, he pulls me closer to him as he inspects the wound.

“This is deep.”

“No shit,” I snap and try again to pull away from him but he quickly stops me by tightening his hand on my neck, “Don’t you think I’ve had enough vampire handling for the day?”

Tobias’s eyes flicker to mine before letting me go. Once I’ve put some space between us, it takes a few minutes but I gradually start to relax. My neck is tingling from having his hand on it and I rub the feeling away with one of my hands. He watches me do this with narrow eyes but doesn’t say anything.

“Some chauffer you have there.” I comment mildly.

“Anthony is the best,” Tobias allows before glancing at my wound again, “I can heal that you know.”

“By giving me more of your blood.” It’s not a question.

“Yes.”

“I don’t think that’d be a good idea. I slept for three days last time.”

“This is different. You don’t have as much damage this time.”

I arch an eyebrow, “Now that, I find doubtful.”

His lips fall into a flat line as he takes a step towards me, “You’re forgetting the condition you added to our deal Shoshanna. I keep my fangs between us and you do what I want without complaint. Remember?”

“Yes.” I mutter petulantly.

“Then I suggest you come closer so I can help you.”

The undercurrent of an order is very audible in his tone as he speaks. I scowl but I don’t argue as I inch closer to him, very aware of how exposed I am. I’m only dressed in jeans and a blood stained white tank top. My destroyed long sleeve and dark gray V-neck is discarded in the hallway, so my shame is just there, in the open.

He doesn’t seem concerned about it though. His eyes are all about the wound on my neck and only on that. It makes me frown at him, trying to understand how his mind works. Most people would be horrified, disgusted even, to see me in my natural state. An unwelcomed thought comes slithering into my mind at that point. He’s not affected because he’s seen and done way worse.

A crunching sound gets me out of my thoughts and my attention back on him. To my dismay, he’s biting into his own wrist. Blood seeps from his wrist down to the broken tile of my bathroom. I now notice how small it is, especially with him in it. Then again, he seems to fill every room with his presence. I absently wonder if that’s another vampire thing or just a Tobias thing.

He cups his draining blood in his other hand before sucking and licking the wound clean. When he goes to grab the wet washcloth from the edge of the sink, I notice the bite mark is almost completely healed. Dipping the edge of the washcloth into the blood in his hand, he glances into my eyes in warning, before pressing it against my wound. I don’t expect the stinging pain and cry out. Shit, it burns!

I grip the side of my sink and bite my lip, hard enough to probably draw more blood, while squeezing my eyes shut. I don’t know how long we continue this routine, but eventually the stinging heat fades into a manageable burn. Uncomfortable but not overwhelmingly so. I feel cool fingers under my chin, pushing my face up, and slowly, I raise my gaze to meet his.

“The pain will pass.” Tobias tells me solemnly, but I get the hint we may be talking about something else.

I frown a little and search his gaze for more information about what he could mean, but his face is impassive. Slowly, his hand moves from under my chin and his thumb caresses my lower lip. I see some blood on the tip of the pale pad and suck my bottom lip into my mouth. Tobias lifts his thumb to his mouth and sucks the blood off it before winking at me. I immediately scowl at him.

“This is all your fault. I hope you know that.”

“Why else do you think I healed you?” He asks with a slight smirk, “I have to keep my servants happy or they’d never do the job right.”

Tobias turns and leaves the bathroom with me trailing after him. I’m sick of being in the dark with everything going on, I realize. That’s why I’m so mad. I tell myself I didn’t want to know because he doesn’t seem keen on telling me. I don’t want to expect anything from him though. It seems like it’s too much to put trust on someone who you can barely stand.

“I’m not your servant!” I hiss at him.

He gives me a puzzled look, “Did we not cover this previously? You belong to me, Shoshanna. That’s how this deal works.”

“Why can you be out during the day?”

Tobias looks even more confused at my blurted question, “What?”

“When I saw Viktor, thanks for the heads up about that by the way. He was up during the day, so were those receptionists and I’m pretty sure they were all blood suckers like you. How is that possible?”

“Reading a lot of Anne Rice and Bram Stoker lately?”

I ignore his joke and glare at him, “You said you couldn’t walk out in the day.”

“No, I said it was difficult, not that I couldn’t.”

“Oh my god…” I trail off in horror, “Do you…?”

“What?”

“Do you sparkle?”

He scoffs and looks downright offended, “No. I don’t ‘sparkle’. I burn in the sun, but it’s not for the reason you’re thinking. I’m not some unholy thing forced to suffer in darkness. My skin is sensitive to heat. Direct sunlight causes my skin to melt-off to the bones.”

“Can you die that way?”

“With prolonged exposure, yes. It also works with fire. It’s one of two ways to kill my kind.”

“What’s the other one?”

Tobias smirks at me, “Like I’d tell you.”

“Anthony shot that woman in the heart.” I tell him quietly, “Is she dead?”

His face goes hard, “Not by Anthony’s hand, I can tell you that much.”

“By yours?”

He debates a minute before throwing the curveball question of, “Have you eaten?”

“Uh, yes.”

“Since last night, I mean.”

“Oh.” I mutter and twist my mouth ruefully, “No.”

Tobias removes his jacket and tosses it on my desk. He’s dressed in a black t-shirt and dark washed jeans. On his feet are black boots and once they hit the linoleum of my hidden kitchen, his strides become louder with each step. He crouches down, peering inside my mini fridge, his back facing me. I sit down on my bed, wondering what it is he’s doing.

“You don’t have much here.” He mutters disapprovingly over his shoulder.

I shrug, “I don’t have much time to shop for groceries.”

“Your feral beast has plenty of food.”

“Florence is different.” I tell him, not liking his terminology at all.

He looks unimpressed but doesn’t press the issue. Turning his back to me again, I take the opportunity to watch him. When he’s done inspecting my fridge, he rises to his feet again. I take note on how graceful his movements are. It kind of reminds me of Florence. The fluidity of her moves, seem to be similar to how he moves.

“I’m not hungry.” I tell him.

“You’ll eat.”

“But I’m not hungry.” I insist, getting an irritated glance in return, “Honestly.”

“Will you eat later?”

“Yes.”

“Do you promise?”

I tilt my head and smile a little, “Would you trust my word if I did?”

“Good point.”

“Tobias?” I ask, my voice very quiet and hesitant, “Why did you send me to Viktor?”

His eyes widen subtly before they go flat, “To deliver something.”

“A piece of paper in an envelope?”

“An important piece of paper in an envelope.”

Chewing on my lower lip, I consider my next statement before saying, “He offered to break our bond for me.”

Tobias’s voice is deceivingly smooth, “Did he?”

“Yes, he said that if the bond was strong enough, you could make me do anything, even against my will. It made me wonder why you didn’t just do that, once the deal was struck. You only want me for a few months and if you made me your slave like, you would have a non-complaining servant. No hassle.”       

With a sigh, Tobias roughly runs a hand through his slick, straight dark hair. When he does that, a shiny patch of skin catches my eye on his exposed forearm. It looks like a bite mark, long healed over. Red eyes come into view and I see them narrow at me, making me drop my gaze. When he clicks his tongue and drops his hand, I peek at him, only to see him looking aggravated.

“Are you trying to convince me?”

I pull my legs into my chest and shake my head, “No. Just thinking out loud, I guess.”

“I don’t want a slave.” He snaps after a few minutes of silence, “I sent you there to play with your mind and make you force yourself to do things. You being a slave would put a damper on that, wouldn’t it?”

I frown, “I don’t understand.”

“You had to force yourself to go in that building, go sixty floors up and then converse with a vampire you were scared of. I figured you’d run like hell once you got in the building” He tells me before giving me a bewildered look, “You surprised me.”

I give him a dirty look, “I’m known to do that on occasion. So glad I could amuse you.”

“Amuse me you do.”

“Oh goodie.” I mumble dryly.

He laughs at that. His laugh is interesting. He has two laughs. One is an obviously practiced one, which is meant to be fascinating and alluring. It sounds smooth and dark like velvet. I could see how it could send a shiver down a woman’s spine. The other laugh, the one he just used, is different. It comes from his stomach and has a low rumble that sounds more organic. I discover I prefer the latter of the two. Pretenses are aggravating enough as it is, without them being Tobias’ pretenses.

“What?” He asks with a raised brow.

I realize I’m just staring at him like an idiot and quickly scowl, “Why do you even ask questions when you can just dig in my brain, like the creepy undead hacker you are, and find out yourself?”

He smirks at me, “I like watching you squirm.”

“Well, good luck finding another circus monkey, when another one of your friends takes a chunk out of me.”

Tobias’ face is immediately severe with anger, “Would it kill you to be thankful?”

“Thankful?” I laugh, unable to help myself, as I get to my feet to meet his eyes, “Are you kidding me? I asked you, no, pleaded you to kill me. You didn’t. Instead, you made me linger here. Then, when I took your advice and just did it myself, you saved me yet again. Then, you send me to your hypnotist of a drinking buddy and my neck is nearly chewed through! So, don’t tell me to be thankful, when all you’ve done is continuously fuck up the one thing I’ve asked of you!”