“Stay here. Don’t move.” Amaia left Michael in an alley that opened at the edge of town and crept to a man she had been watching. He’d been behind them, but she had felt his aura and had tossed some glances over her shoulder to confirm her suspicions. The dark energy came from him, and it was easy to guess his intent from the way he leered at a young woman a few paces ahead of him. It was past time for Amaia to eat, and he would do. She had hoped to wait until she could do it without Michael nearby, but she wasn’t quite ready to separate from him for any length of time.
In a movement so quick it would go unnoticed by the nearby humans, Amaia put a hand over his mouth and pulled him into the alley. A twist of her hands, and the man’s neck broke. That made it quick and easy, not to mention more palatable for Michael. After the man went limp, Amaia shoved him against the wall and descended on an artery. It was a sustenance kill without the level of pleasure she normally experienced. There hadn’t been time for him to express fear. She hadn’t been able to play with him. She was simply trying to get the blood she needed to keep going.
When the body was drained, she let it slump to the ground. Not a drop of blood remained on her lips. From a pocket in her dress, she withdrew some matches and a length of cloth. Kneeling next to the body, she wrapped the cloth around his neck and lit it. It wasn’t her intention to burn the body, but she wanted to at least burn the site of the bite to dispose of the venomous scent. Standing, she watched to make sure the fire did its work. When she was satisfied that it would keep burning, she turned to Michael who leaned heavily against the opposite wall.
“What, you don’t like what you see?” Amaia knew he had never truly wrapped his mind around the fact that she was a vampire.
“How can you ask that?” His face was the same pale shade as the corpse at his feet.
“Would it help you to know that he planned to rape the woman he was following?”
“How can you know that?”
Amaia cocked her head. “It doesn’t take a genius, Michael. Between the way he was looking at her and the tone of his energy, I’m certain.”
“But you’re not certain. Who made you this man’s judge?”
Amaia bristled at Michael’s tone. “Oh, I suppose I should leave the judging to God? And how has that worked out, Michael? Is the world just one peaceful orb?”
“Stop, Amaia.”
“I’m sorry. That wasn’t fair of me. I’m trying my best, Michael. I broke his neck, didn’t I? That takes all the fun out of it. I promise I’ll only kill people who have an evil aura.”
“Why do you have to kill at all?”
“Because they must die so that I can live. That’s what I am, Michael, a vampire. A parasite. I steal life. Normally, I could get by with simply feeding. My victims wouldn’t feel a thing. I would be so subtle, but I can’t do that now. If I feed, other vampires will be able to smell me on my victims. They’ll use it to track me. I have to dispose of the bodies.”
The sadness in Michael’s eyes cut to her core. She had vowed to protect him. She couldn’t live with herself if she forced him into a life he found distasteful. She would have to make sacrifices for him. He was worth it.
“Fine. I won’t kill or feed at all.”
“But how will you survive? I don’t want to lose you.” The struggle was clear in Michael’s eyes. He didn’t want her to commit such evils, but he had his selfish desire to be with her as well.
“I can feed off auras. I’ve never tried it long term. I’ve mainly just used it to give me a little burst of energy when I’ve needed it. There’s no reason to believe it won’t work to sustain me.”
“Are you sure?”
“What, now you’re worried about my comfort? Yes, I’m sure. You can either have people dead or me doing without blood. There are no other choices. And this one isn’t yours to make. I’m doing it voluntarily. You don’t have to worry about it. It won’t be as good as killing, and it’s more difficult, but it will keep me alive and moving. I’ll just have to do it much more often to avoid losing energy. My veins are full of blood, and as long as I leech the energy I need from humans to keep it circulating, I won’t burn off any. It will mean having to spend more time around humans.” Her nose wrinkled in disgust. She still had a hard time reconciling the fact that she was in love with one. Just because she preferred his company, didn’t mean she was eager to tolerate the presence of other humans. Without wealth and power, it just wasn’t worth it.
“Are we really that distasteful to you?”
“Yes. The fact that I can tolerate being around you is evidence of my love. Why do you think most vampires keep to themselves outside the cities? We’ll be fine. I’ve spent most of my existence surrounded by humans, pretending to be one. It was just one of the things I liked about being on the run: not having to submerge myself in them any longer.”