FicWad

Chapter 1
"Jonathan, I've got news," Candice said, barely able to look at him, "this is a kid. Seven or eight. Her throat was torn out." Jonathan felt the breath catch in his throat, thinking of his own little girl who had died mysteriously only a year ago, her own throat torn to pieces. He ran ahead of Candice, shoving through reporters and what not, until he skidded to a stop.
Her body was frail, he could see that right off. She had been sick, he could see that too, judging by the dark circles under her dead eyes, and by how much she looked to weigh. Candice caught up with him, closing his form in her arms.
Chance Woodrow approached them, and bit his lip. He gave Jonathan a moment of silence, knowing the story of his child. Jonathan pushed Candice away gently and faced Woodrow, holding back the rage of tears that threatened to push past his gentle brown eyes. "What the hell happened, Woodrow? Tell me this is the same guy that...that took my girl, and tell me that we know where he is, and that we know how to catch the bastard."
"Jonathan, " Woodrow said gently, his own eyes stinging with hot tears, for the fact that he loved children, "I could very well tell you those things, but I would have to lie to you. Besides, the person that killed your daughter was male. This is from a female. We found saliva on the wound , but no matches were found in the files. Absolutely none. All we discovered is female DNA"
"Woodrow, how old was she? What was her sickness? And why was this done? Get on it pronto, I want to have the body brought to the lab so I can examine it myself."
"Sure, Jonathan, anything you need. This is, after all, your case."


Chapter 2



Jonathan ran his trembling fingers over the child's hair line, remembering how that used to tickle his daughter. His head was bowed and tears forced their way to the surface, and spilt down his cheeks in hot streaks. He couldn't understand how someone could do this to an innocent person. A child of all people!
Just as he was about to go into a flying rage, a young man walked into the room, his dark hair falling into his eyes, looking as if he'd run his fingers through it more than his hair could stand. Jonathan collected himself, and looked at the young man. "What do you have for me, Jason?" Jason , a certified Medical Examiner, was thirty-two, with dark brown hair that appeared black, and a hell of a person to have around when the right time came.
"Well," Jason smirked, "I've got quite a bit of wonderful news for your royal self. First off, she had Diabetes. Which leads me into an odd subject. All of her blood wasn't taken. There was an odd spatter of blood a few yards away, far enough to where the torn artery wouldn't have been able to project blood. Mixed with the blood was saliva, the very same saliva, in fact, that is on the wound you see before you.
"In ancient times and even today, it was believed that vampires chose healthy blood over infected types, such as AIDS or, yes, Diabetes. Also, it was believed that they preferred children's blood for the simple fact that it's pure, and they could taste their victims' sins. I have a sneaking suspicion that this could have been done by a psycho masquerading as a wannabe vamp."
"Jason...you're telling me that a-uh-vampire did this? Jason..." Jonathan sighed in disgust at Jason's immaturity about such a serious case.
"Jonathan, listen here, Mr. Close-Minded, there's a local blood bar just a few blocks away from the scene. The girl was killed about six hours before she was found, which lands time of death around eleven o'clock last night. There's this guy that guards the door, and he has a wonderful memory from what I've heard. Makes note of who showed when and when they left on the dot. Can you at least give me a chance to send some people out there to check some things out?"
"Jason, you listen here. First off, I'm not close-minded, you're just wrong. Second of all, I'm not basing this case on some freak's memory. Third of all, vampires aren't real, so in conclusion, no, I will not allow you to send people out there."
"Jonathan...have you ever wondered why your little girl's throat was torn wide open? We ruled out animal possibilities because there was no animal DNA, so it wasn't a case of mauling. And you want to know something else that's never been told to you? The DNA found on your 'baby' was male, but it wasn't entirely human. I found that out myself, and I've not whispered it to a soul. You look back at the evidence and tell me that what murdered your daughter wasn't a monster!"
"Shut up, Jason! This is an autopsy, not freak-out-theater. You watch whatever the hell you wish in your own home, but bring that line of crap back into the office, and I'll have you fired."
"Look, I'm trying to help you, so if you don't want to face the fact that something might be out of the norm, I'll do that for you, but I will find out what happened to this little girl. Fire me, beat me to a flippin' pulp if you want, but I won't stop looking on the darker side of things just because you don't have the balls to do it yourself. Got me?" Jason snapped back as calmly as he could, even as the wheels in his mind spun with suspicion over the odd case and how he'd aid in solving it. He gave a final "stay away from me and let me figure this out" look to Jonathan, and walked out of the autopsy room, already thinking of the outfit he'd wear to the blood bar that night.


Chapter 3

"Pleeeeease, Candice! Please, please, please, pleeeease!!!!!" Jason begged. Candice, having always liked Jason, sighed in defeat.
"Fine, I'll go. But I'm not staying long. I've got better things to do than go and socialize at a blood bar."
"But look at you! You've got the perfect look for the whole scene! You've got raven hair, dark eyes, pale skin, and black is the best color in the whole world on you, this should be the one place in the world that you should feel comfortable. These are your people," Jason explained. Candice just rolled her eyes.
"Jason...I'll go long enough to flirt around and get some info, which by the way, is the only reason I'll be flirting, but then I've got to get back home and finish some paperwork! My life doesn't revolve around Sci-Fi adventures. Sorry."
"Fine, tonight at ten." Jason confirmed and closed the door to Candice's office. Candice smiled to herself and shook her head.
"Yeah...I wonder what Jonathan would say if he had the slightest idea."
"Well, first I'd tell you that I gave you credit for more brains than Jason-" Candice nearly jumped out of her pale skin, having not noticed Jonathan himself catching the door before it could close all the way and allowing himself entrance-"then I'd ask what you think you're doing."
"For Pete's sake, Jonathan, all this is to help you! And the last thing you'd do is thank us. Honestly," Candice turned around in her rolling chair and faced the computer and accessing the Internet. She didn't say a word as Jonathan came over and read over her shoulder. She heard him heave out a heavy sigh.
"So now you're a Goth, going to Goth sites, and looking up-what is this- vampire history?"
"Jonathan, when we first started here, we made a pact to always help each other, even if the one in need is to stubborn and pig-headed to ask for it. Guess what-this is one of those times.
What else would you recommend we do?"
"Let me figure this out! How's that for an option?"
"It's not an option. You can't do this case on your own, and you really shouldn't have been assigned to it at all because you're running on pure rage here. It's not safe to become that emotional in a case. It's not healthy," she spat, not even glancing at him.
"Look!" He raged, grabbing her by the shoulders and spinning her to face him. Her body stiffened, but her full attention was now focused on him, and only him. "My daughter is dead. There's no way to bring her back, and she didn't even make it to ten! She was stolen from me two weeks before her seventh birthday and left on my doorstep! My doorstep, Candice. Her throat was torn to shreds. Red everywhere. Even on the door. Whoever did it wanted me to be the first to find her.
"Now, another girl is dead a year later, and thrown out onto the street for everyone to see. And, you and Jason are frolicking off to some stupid blood bar? Tell me how that makes more sense than me working on my own!"
Candice sat still, absorbing every word, almost afraid to say anything contradicting to what Jonathan was laying out for her. Jonathan let her go with such force that she rolled back in her chair and crashed a little more hard than she would have liked, into her desk. He looked at her for a moment and the glistening in his now sad eyes gave her an apology, but he turned away before she could comment.
He hustled his muscular frame down the hallways, that now seemed to close in on him, trying to engulf him in his pain and terror and never let him free. He crumpled against the wall for a moment as he felt the harsh environment almost seem to suffocate him. He moved on, bursting through the front doors and almost falling down the steps. He watched people watching him like he deserved to be in a mental hospital.
He was clotheslined suddenly and painfully by an arm wrapping around his shoulders and slamming into his Adams apple, causing him to drop to his knees and wheeze just to breath. He looked up at his attacker to find Chance sinking down with him. "Jonathan, breath."
"I would if you hadn't tried to punch through my neck!" Jonathan wheezed. Chance covered Jonathan's mouth with his hand and shushed him urgently.
"Will you shut up! These people think you're crazy!" He mumbled into Jonathan's ear, gently raising him to his feet. Jonathan shoved Chance away from him and stalked off into the fast-moving crowd of New York City. Chance quickly lost sight of him, but he could sense his trail. People turned and stared as Jonathan ran into or shouldered them without so much as a backward glance. That, Chance could see.



Chapter 4



Jason smiled slowly at seeing Candice in her dark attire. Candice hadn't noticed him yet, as he'd let himself in with her emergency key that she kept hidden in the vent outside her apartment. She spun in front of the mirror and chuckled to herself as the chains on her pants jingled. Jason took to absently wandering around her apartment, looking at the books strewn around the rooms.
It wasn't long until Candice discovered him sitting on her bed, his nose buried in her latest Anne Rice book. She rolled her eyes, a little less than scared to find him there. "You know, I'm going to start hiding that key. Give her here," she said. Jason dug in his pocket and tossed the key at her without looking from the book once. "Why do you insist on reading my stuff before I even finish it?"
He looked up at her and shook the copy of The Vampire Lestat. "I've already read this one. Actually, I've read it a couple times. When did you get it?" Candice scratched her head.
"Let's see...oh, about two weeks ago. " Jason slumped his shoulders and gently lay the book on the comforter.
"This first time I read it, I finished it in less than a week," he said. Candice rolled her eyes again and plopped down on the bed by him. He glanced at the clock then back to her. "Well, it's only nine-thirty and we're all alone...on your big bed..." Candice chuckled and looked at him, taking his hand.
"I would Jason...you know it...I know it...but I'm waiting for that right guy to come along, you know?" Jason smiled and flopped back on the pillow.
"But look at me! I'm gorgeous! How can you resist me?"
"Like this," she said and got off the bed, walking to her closet. She pulled out a rather long something-or-other wrapped in pretty paper and a bow. She looked at the wrapping for a moment then tossed it on the bed. Jason looked up at her, not understanding. "Well. Don't just sit there like an idiot. Open it."
Jason ran his nimble fingers along the wrapping paper for a moment, then tore into it. When it was all over , Jason sat by a leather duster that would flow down to his ankles and fit him perfectly. Candice smiled and nodded her approval. Jason hadn't even touched the coat when he got off the bed and strode over to Candice. He cupped her cheeks in his gentle hands and lay a soft kiss on her lips. It was nothing more. Candice smiled against his lips, as they'd done this many times before as a sign of deep friendship.
Before Candice could move though, Jason had an arm around her waist, holding her to him. The kiss still lingered on both of their lips, arousing Jason and making Candice forget all of her morals, and making her want him just as much as he wanted her.
Suddenly, Jason pulled away and looked at the window and then to the clock. "We've got ten minutes! Damn," he said as he grabbed a still dazed Candice and fled from the apartment. He whirled around just as they were out the door and went back in, grabbing the coat and throwing it over his shoulders before he went out again.



Chapter 5


"Candice, do you have your badge?"
"Yes, Jason," Candice said, holding tightly to his hand as he led them through the heavy crowd. She hated this many people, and the last thing she wanted was to get lost in a blood bar. Jason kept a heavy watch on all of the people, concentrating on the estimate of how many there were. Too many for a concealed pistol to handle, in case things got put of hand, considering that it only held eight bullets at a time. Jason kept a good hold on her just like the one she'd had on him as they came in. Maybe, she thought, these are my people.
Soon Candice was in absolute awe. She wanted to look at everyone. She wanted to stop and examine all of them, but Jason kept a tight hold on her, just like the one she had on him when they first came in. Just as Jason began to turn into another room, Candice stopped. Something didn't feel right. Jason looked back at her, then returned to her. "What is it?" Candice didn't answer. First off, she thought she heard someone call her name. Second, she had on odd feeling in her nether regions. She was turned on! But by what? She looked feverishly around the room for anyone she knew, but Jason was the only answer to that question. What the hell was making her want sex?
She happened to glance to her left and her eyes fixed on a young male, seated in a velvet love seat against the far wall. He was returning her stare, seeming to concentrate on her just as much as she was him. Jason followed her gaze, having an idea. "Candice, why don't you start there and ask around? I'll start in the next room. We can meet each other by the bar in an hour. Candice nodded, barely hearing him. She drifted away from his hold, and made her way to the man, driven by pure want.
She sat beside him and he smiled slowly. "Hello, dear. Is there something I can help you with?" Candice found that creating words other than simple vowel sounds was now a chore. She stuttered a couple of times, then shook her head, getting herself together.
"Yeah, um, there was a recent death of a small girl at about eleven o'clock last night. I was wondering if you had any information about that?" The man seemed to think for a moment.
"Perhaps, but the price is high," he said.
"What...what's the price?" Candice asked, hoping that it was nothing but things that had to do with hot breathing and steady pacing.
"I will tell you what you wish to know, for the simple pleasure of hearing your name," he said gently.
"Oh, maximum on the rudeness. Sorry. I'm Candice Sharp, New York PD. And you?"
"I'm Adain. Adain Cole. I just moved here, so I'm not exactly 'employed'." Adain said. Candice looked at his icy eyes and at his shoulder length dark brown hair. Odd combination, she thought, but no matter. He's still hotter than hell. Adian looked at her for a moment then glanced at the bar. "Let me buy you a drink to break the ice a bit."
"Uh...sure...V-Vodka on the rocks," she stuttered, surprised at the offer. He nodded and headed to the bar. Candice threw her head back on the cushion of the seat, and sighed. She noticed that her hips were making small circles on the cushion involuntarily driven by the bundle of nerves that stirred with her want. She tried to steady herself, but the efforts proved little less than futile.
By the time Adain retuned, she was about ready to scream. She calmed only at the sight of him as he gingerly handed her the glass with the intoxicating liquid within. She tilted the glass aginst her lips, and let it tip deftly down her greedy throat. Adain watched her drink as he held his own glass of untouched liquid.
Candice put her glass down, and noticed him looking at her even in the dim light, she smiled. Adain ran his fingers through his hair as if her were nervous, which he wasn't. "So, about the girl," he said, taking advantage of the loud music as an excuse to slide him and his own black attire a bit closer, playing it off as if he wanted her to be able to hear him really well, "last night at about ten-thirty, a kid came knocking on the door. She was absolutely hysterical, crying like she was terrified of something. Said it was her father. There was this woman here, and she took the child into the room your friend went into. I was in there at the time and watched the scene. She finally got the kid to stop crying and tell her what was wrong. She said that her father had beat the living hell out of her mother, then turned on her.
"Then I got a call on the bar's phone and when I came back, they were gone. I went home around one and then I came back tonight, met you, and here we are."
Candice nodded, not even remembering to take notes in the small notebook she brought just for that purpose. "You didn't see either of them after the phone call?" she asked, trying hard to actually concentrate. Adain nodded, trying himself to concentrate on her and not the annoyng multi-colored strobe lights, or the rediciously loud music that hurt both his ears and eyes.
Candice stared at him for a moment and he soon caught her stare, seeming to laugh. She cocked her head to the side, not understanding his laugh. He seemed to read her thoughts and answered: "Your friend is over there wondering around like a lost sheep." Candice jumped and looked at her watch. It had been a hour already and she had spent the whole time with this one guy that she had no info about other than his name. She felt something cold and crinkled slip into the palm of her hand. She looked at it and discovered it was a phone number. "Call me if you need any more...'info'," Adain said and got up, seeming to dissapear into the crowd before Candice could say anything at all in protest.
Jason eventually found her, staring off into the crowd. He shook her and she snapped back into reality. "What did you find out?"
"Um...there was a girl that came in here last night and some lady talked to her..." Candice was too distracted to even care about the case at that particular moment. She was too busy fondling the piece of paper that lay in her hand. Jason noticed it but made no move to take it. He had a feeling that if he tried, he'd surley lose a limb, because she was holding on to it for dear life.
"C'mon Candice. Let's get out of this place so you can get started on that paperwork you have to do."


Chapter 6

Jonathan strode to the ME's office, angry as a bull. He flung the doors open and scanned the place for Jason. It was easy to do, considering that it was after hours and Jason was the only one left in the room. He looked up casually, seeing Jonathan, which didn't faze him in the least. "Where is Candice?" Jonathan demanded. Jason kept typing on the reprt he'd been busily working on.
"Well, if she's not here, I'd say she's at home," he said. Jonathan slammed his fist on the desk, making Jason's computer shake. Jason sighed and looked at Jonathan. "Other than that, I don't know where she's at!"
"Let me tell you where she's at. She's at that blood bar you two ran off to yesterday! I called her cell phone to ask why she wasn't here today, and you know what she said? She told me that she had stayed home so she could decide what she wanted to wear!"
"So, she went out to dig up more info. So what?"


Candice sat again by Adain, feeling aroused as he joked with her. He touched her shoulder every-now-and-then to emphisize a point but every time he did so, she would feel as if a jolt of electricity shot from where he touched her and went straight to her sex. Suddenly Adain looked at her. With his high, sharp, and utterly perfect cheekbones, his ice-crystal eyes, and long, velvety brown locks, it was all she could do not to jump his bones. "Let's get out of here," he said. "We can head to somewhere more fun. Say...my place? My sister's there and she's dying to meet you."
Candice didn't even want to try and deny the offer. So they got up and went to the door, her feeling as though her fantasies number one through one-hunderd were coming true.



Chapter 7

Canice threw her head back in a laugh, listening to Adain's sister, Jocilin, tell stories about Adain that made him almost blush. Candice though was becoming very tired. Or very sex-driven that made her seem tired, she wasn't quite sure which one it was. Suddenly Adain glanced at his sister and nuzzled Candice's shoulder. Candice thought she would burst. She felt him trail his lips across the down side of her shoulder, and up to her neck. He bit her tingiling skin with blunt teeth that made her want to scream.
He nuzzled the tender skin that covered her pulsing vein of life, feeling the pulse quicken with each of his movements. Soon, she felt his lips widen and without warning, he sank two long canines into her skin. Jocilin watched with a look of complete satisfaction. It took Candice less than three seconds before she began to claw at the back of Adain's neck, crying out with small whimpers, lost somewhere between pain and pleasure. Adain's back arched as he propped himself over her, drawing at her crimson life force. Jocilin left her seat and disappeared out of Candice's sight. Not that she was paying that much attention to her anyway, as she was otherwise preoccupied with Adain.
He played momentarily with the hem of Candice's jeans , pulling away from his drinking session. He moved up to her ear as she squirmed under him, her senses jumbled together and spots flashed before her eyes at their collision. He began whispering sweet nothings in her ear, feeling her arch against him as a sweet result. He left her ear and brought his lips down on hers, tasting her want. She opened her mouth as an invite and she felt the blood drip from his fangs and on to her waiting tongue.
There was a loud crash and Adain pulled away with lightening fast reflexes. Candice barely had enough strength to reach up and check the wounds on her neck. It took her a minute to register but when she did, she made a decision: Those weren't fake fangs. Adain rushed away into the kitchen, leaving her there, unable to move.
"Jocilin!" He yelled as he entered the kitchen to find his sister on the floor, holding the sides of her head. He sank to the floor, scooping her up. "What was it? A vision?" Jocilin nodded. Adain cradled her, being gentle as he could while trying to restrain her from running like she'd done before with a vision.
Candice forced herself off the couch and made her way a bit roughly to where the scream came from. Everything was dancing for her; the walls, the floor. She knew the tears were falling down her face, but she wasn't sure why. She didn't understand why she didn't want to scream. She stopped at the kitchen doorway and crumpled to the floor at the base of the linoleum, the sight of the two beings flying from her memory as she lost conciseness.



Chapter 8

Jason was in Candice's apartment when the phone rang, nearly scaring him out of his skin. He snatched the cordless phone up and pushed the "talk" button. "Hello?"
"Jason?" Candice's weak voice rang in his ear.
"Candice! Oh God! Candice where the hell are you?" he almost screamed into the phone.
"Jason, don't...don't scream. Please," she pleaded, " just come and get me."
"Where are you?" He asked, lowering his voice.
"Outside the building..." Her voice trailed off. Jason dropped the phone and was outside faster than he thought humanly possible. He scanned the parameter of the building, sprinting around it. No sign of her.
"Damn!" He pulled his cell phone out of the duster she'd given him and dialed the number for her cell. It rang and rang and rang, but there was no answer to his desperate plea for her to pick up. Suddenly he was grabbed from behind, his phone slipping from his grip and clattering to the sidewalk. He spun to find Jonathan standing there. "What the hell is your problem? Sneaking up on someone like that! God!"
"You look like you've seen a ghost, and you better pray that that ghost wasn't a certain Candice Sharp because if it was, I'll do more than fire you. I'll -"
"She called. She's outside some building. She was...she sounded really weak," Jason said.
"Oh, that's gonna' be easy! It's not like there are more than a thousand buildings in the city of New York!"
"Listen Jonathan. It's not this building, so it either has to be the department, or the bar."
"It's the department -" They both turned to see officer Woodrow standing on his nimble legs. "Candice was found outside the building not two minutes ago. She was babbling about you, Jason. Here I am, here you are, now we need to go. "


Candice wasn't there. She wasn't in the bed that Woodrow left her in, nor was she even in the hospital. All three sets of eyes were wide in fear and loss; not understanding. In the process of three hours, they checked every one of the security cameras in the hospital, non that showed any way in which Candice escaped the hospital. Jonathan was going mad. "How the hell did she get out of the hospital without anybody, or any one of these crappy camera's seeing her?" He ranted. Jason rolled his eyes.
"Can we please freak out a little bit more? It's just what we all need right now, a raving lunatic, " Jason said. That was Jonathan's last straw. He swung a right hook and it connected square with Jason's jaw. Jason may not have been as well built or strong as Jonathan, but his will wouldn't be bent that easily. Chance was on top of Jonathan trying to pull him away, but that only let Jason have a straight shot at Jonathan's ribs, and he took it. His knee connected with Jonathan's front, bringing him to his own knees.
"Listen here you bastard! Touch me again, and I will rip your entrails out and make them their out-trails! I'll take your heart and shove it down your damn throat! Got me?" Jason roared, and stomped out of the room. Jonathan got up though, shoved Chance away, and went after him. Jason saw the burly man coming after him, and began to flee. But that didn't stop Jonathan. They ran down the hospital hallways, as nurses and doctors watched, some trying to stop them, some trying just to get out of the way. Chance picked up the phone and called security.
Jason made his way down two flights of stairs, with Jonathan on his heels the whole time, not even giving him the chance to breath. Jason finally reached the front doors and promptly burst through them. Jonathan found himself barely breathing, but then again, he didn't feel the need to. He was gaining on Jason all the time, planning they way he's make that little punk plea for death. Jason suddenly stopped, and Jonathan jumped him from the behind, just as Jason expected. They fell together to the concrete, Jason's rigid features slamming on to the hard surface. Jonathan flipped him over, and drew his fist back, ready to pummel the man under him, but stopped at seeing that Jason wasn't even looking at him. Instead of punching him, he slapped him, his firm hand connected with Jason's sculpted cheek.
Jason focused on Jonathan for a moment, but his attention drifted somewhere else. Jonathan prepared another blow, but Jason pointed to somewhere north of where they were. Jonathan looked in the direction of Jason's pointing and saw the her. There Candice was on the ground by a tree, her knees brought up to her chest, and her head buried in them. Jonathan pushed off Jason's chest, and ran over to her. Jason lay there short of breath, but not watching Jonathan.
Jonathan encircled Candice in his arms, holding her stiff figure to him. Candice felt nothing at the moment. She knew this wasn't the one she wanted though. Too built, and he didn't smell right. There wasn't a hint of cigarette smoke or Winterfresh Gum anywhere on him. This wasn't who she wanted to be around. In fact, she wanted him to be anywhere but near her, but she didn't have the strength to push him away. Her mouth was dry and she was afraid if she talked it would catch fire. "Candice, you scared all of us out of our minds. Even Jason was scared -" That was it! Jason! Candice registered the name and remembered who it was. That's who she wanted to be with!
She found the strength to push against the unwanted man's chest and grunt, trying to get him away from her. Jonathan looked at her, confused. He took her hand, but she wrenched it away from him, crying out in disgust at his touch. Jason heard her cry and flipped himself over, getting up and running over to her. He shoved Jonathan out of the way, and took Candice in his own arms. She struggled for a few seconds, but settled down after she clutched the leather of the coat, running her thumb and forefinger over it.
Jason slipped an arm under her bent knees, and one behind her back, picking her up off the ground and holding her to him. "Where are you taking her? She needs to be in the hospital!" Jonathan demanded and stated, sliding over to step in Jason's path.
"Apparently if she wanted to be in the hospital, she wouldn't have got up and LEFT!" Jason yelled, and turned out of Jonathan's block. "And I'm taking her home!"


Chapter 9

Candice sat naked in her bathtub. The water had a red tint to it as Jason washed all sorts of gashes she had on her forearms. She stared blankly at the opposite wall, not having the mind to care what Jason did to her. Jason talked gently to her, being careful with the deeper cuts. "Candice, baby, where did you get all of these nasties? " He had a feeling she wouldn't answer him, but as long as he could keep her awake, that didn't matter. "Where have you been for the past two days? We've all been out of our heads with worry. You've got a lot of people here that love you."
She suddenly looked at him, seeming a bit lost, "Love?" He looked her over, making sure he hadn't imagined her speaking.
"Yeah, love," he said. She seemed to think for a moment, then looked back at the wall, slipping back to being mute. Jason looked at her for a moment, then went back to cleaning her. He moved her hair back and gasped, shoving away from the tub and slamming himself into the door. Candice didn't budge. He'd hit the door hard enough to send a sharp pain up through his shoulder blade, but he held the short scream in his throat, not believing what he'd seen.
On Candice's neck were two puncture wounds, still seeping blood, and looking a bit infected. He crawled back over to her, and tilted her head to the side, exposing the marks. She showed little reluctance to his act, but he was more than a bit skittish. He put the washcloth over the wounds, letting it soak up the seeping blood that still remained. "Candice, what happened?" She looked at him directly in the eyes and cocked her head to the side.
"Love," she said and crumpled, her muscles seeming to just give up. Jason grabbed her, having to step in the water to hold her up. There was no life in her at that moment. He dragged her out of the tub as gently as he could, and laying her on the rug, he checked the pulse in her wrist. It was normal. Her adrenaline hadn't rushed or anything before she fainted. He grabbed a towel from the shelf by the toilet, and began wrapping it around her. He picked her up and took her into her bedroom, laying her on the bed. She moaned but didn't wake. He sat beside her and watched her sleep.


Chapter 10

Jason snapped awake, and looked at the clock. It was nine-thirty. Candice stirred by him, seeming to wake. He touched her arm and she sat upright, glaring at him. She then looked around the room, cringing at the sight of the walls. She didn't recognize the place. She went from looking at the walls to silently pleading Jason. "What do you need?" He asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. She backed away from him, off the bed, seeming obsessed with the window. She clawed the glass, crying out in soft grunts and whines. Jason didn't know what to think. She had gone from the object of his love, to seeming like a mental patient that he had no way not to love.
She shot him another pleading look. "There," she mumbled, pointing out the window to the street below. Jason walked over to her, and took her hand.
"Candice, it's not safe for you to be out there," He said. She wrenched away from him and began banging on the glass, her pleas becoming more insistent and loud. He grabbed her and pulled her away from the window. "Okay! Okay, we'll go out ."

Jason let Candice lead him, taking him to a part of the city he didn't know. She shot ahead of him, making him run to keep up with her. She turned corners that he didn't even know existed. She ran like there was no end to it; like she was running for freedom. He turned a corner to follow her, but stopped. She was headed straight into a house he'd never seen. It was bigger than any house he'd ever seen; much too big for New York.
He snapped back to reality and went after her. "Candice! Damn it, Candice! Get back here!" He yelled at her over and over, using plenty of profanity, but it made no difference. She went in the door like she owned the place and slammed it just before he reached it. "Candice!"
The door flew open, causing him to back away. There stood the dark-haired beauty, Adain. "Yes?"
"My friend...she just ran in here. She's a little crazy -"
"Who?" Adain asked opening the door to reveal Candice clinging to him like a magnet. "Her?" Jason was stunned to a point of being mute. Why was she clinging to this guy? He nodded dumbly. "Candice isn't crazy. Come, I'll explain," Adain said.
Jason stepped in and just as the door closed, Adain slung Candice away from his side and grabbed him, slamming his fangs into his throat hard enough to knock him into next Thursday. Jason yelped in pain after a second of being stunned yet again. "Get off me!"
The scent of fresh blood hit Candice like a tidal wave, almost knocking her to the ground. She couldn't make sense of it, and the sight of Jocilin approaching didn't help things. Adain pulled away from a dazed Jason and tossed him to Jocilin, who caught him with little to no effort. She drove her own set of fangs into the very same deep, seeping wounds Adain had left. Jason's eyes rolled back into his head, his knees went slack, feeling an emptiness in the pit of his stomach.
Suddenly, Jocilin dropped him and he struck the carpeted floor with a hollow 'thud'. His head bounced off the surface, knocking him out of his mind more than he already was. "Yum. He tastes like...like a new wine," she said. Adain smiled.
"He's the one then? The one from your vision?"
"Vision?" Jason murmured, trying to focus, but not succeeding . He closed his eyes and he was out. Out of body and out of mind.


Chapter 11

Jason struggled to open his eyes. His head hurt, which made his eyes sensitive to the light. He tried to cover them, but found his arms incapable of movement. He glance to the right, then to the left. He was held down with satin restraints that curled around his wrists that led down to his lily colored arms which led to his naked chest. The bed that he was tied to was HUGE! To him, the bed was way too big to fit in New York, much less the house in which he remembered being dragged into. The room was dimly lit, but he could make out the outline of a figure approaching. "What the hell do you want now?" He barked, throwing his aching head forward, pulling against the strips of fabric holding him down.
"Jason, lay down and shut up. I'm not even supposed to be in here!" He recognized Candice's voice, and immediately relaxed. "I'm sick. Real sick." He heard her stumble and fall, hitting the floor.
"Candice!" He yelped.
"I'm...I'm okay," she said, gripping the end of the bed and pulling herself on to it. To Jason's surprise, she climbed on top of him, laying her head on his shoulder. "I'm going to get you out of here."
"Do you see Jason?" An unfamiliar voice said, entering the light from the shadows, "She loves you even now. On the brink of death, she loves you." Adain entered the halo of dim light surrounding the bed . He wore a pair of black pants. They covered slender legs that seemed to go on forever. Jason felt feverish all of a sudden as he shuffled under the weight on top of him.
Adain smiled, throwing his head back in a gentle laugh. He then looked a Jason and chuckled again. "I was unaware that you were gay, Jason. And I don't become surprised very often." Jason grunted and began pulling even harder at his restraints. Adain sauntered over to them, his eyes running over the two figures. He bent down, raking his fingers and their rather sharp nails down Jason's youthful abdomen, and his pleas doubled and became louder.
Adain quieted him with a quick backhanded blow to his cheek. Candice jumped, but made no move to stop the torture she knew Adain would bring Jason through. "God..." Jason rolled his head to face away from Adain. He felt his cheek swell and intense pain ran through every nerve in his body, making him want to scream. "You did it, didn't you?" He wouldn't be broken. The case was still fresh in his mind, and it didn't matter to him what kind of torture this beast put him through, he'd find the murderer, and even if he wasn't able to save the girl when it counted, he'd save her every night after he caught the bastard who did it. "You killed her, and left her for everyone see! You're sick!"
"Jason, you're forgetting that key bit of evidence you fought so hard to receive," Adain said, lifting Candice off his victim, and gently laying her on the floor. "What have we forgotten?"
"Don't tease me! What the hell are you talking about?" Jason yelled, turning to Adain and trying to throw himself out of the restraints.
"Don't try. You'll pull your arms out of your sockets, which I've heard can be quite painful," Adain said, pulling something out of his pocket, flipping it open and closing it again. Jason strained to see, but the dim light didn't provide much help. Then he saw the flame. It was a lighter. A silver lighter. "Now, you sent her to me. You let her fall right into my arms, that night in the bar. Even when you knew something wasn't right. Your subconscious told you so. They always say that you should listen to your 'gut instinct'," He said, flipping open the lighter and the blue flame produced a glow that bounced off his marble-like skin. "but you refused to do so because you wanted to solve the case for once. You wanted the glory for once, not Jonathan. And now, she's close to death and you have to play by my rules to keep her alive...well, not 'alive' exactly, but not dead either."
"Your imagination intrigues me," Jason fired back, rolling his eyes. Then, he watched in horror as Adain bent to Candice, holding the flame to the underside of her arm. The rancid, smoky smell of burnt flesh immediately filled the room. Candice squirmed and let out a sharp cry, and Jason 's body lunged in effort to rescue her. Adain let the flame die, and he stood.
"You know that rush you just felt? That leap that the adrenaline that just rushed through your veins? That was only the beginning of what you'll feel as you watch me kill her. And bring her back. Let her be born again," Adain said, his voice silky, and sickeningly seductive even now, as he was at his worse.
"Please...don't hurt her. She just found the body, she didn't examine it, she didn't touch it. That was me! It was me who told Jonathan everything, it was me who took her to the bar, it was me! Why make her suffer?" Jason found himself pleading and crying even, just wanting him to let her go.

"No!" Adain barked, pouncing on Jason, glaring down at him. "Tell me what you're forgetting! You wanted to know if I committed the murder, did you not? You're a smart boy, tell me what part of the evidence you've forgotten." Jason calmed himself and thought, straining his memory for Candice's sake. "Um...she had Diabetes," he tried. Adain smiled and shook his head.
"Strike one."
"All of her blood wasn't drained in the beginning."
"Strike two. Tell me why it couldn't have been me who killed her."
"I don't -"
"You better not finish that sentence, my friend. This is your last chance to keep your lover alive, and you don't want to ruin it by saying 'I don't know'." Jason felt the tears burning against his eyes, as he silently strained to get out of the situation he had unwillingly put Candice in. The case evidence ran over and over in his mind. He knew there was something he wasn't getting, but what was it? He felt his adrenaline pump through his veins, making his skin twitch.
"Does it have to do with the spatter of blood?" He'd ask questions to buy time. He hoped that Adain would take the bait for Candice's own well being.
"Yes. Now you're beginning to think, but your game isn't unheard of. Asking stupid questions won't keep her alive."
Jason relaxed back into the mattress. He glanced to Candice and her eyes, now darker than ever, stared at him. "Jason," she breathed, trying to move herself, "just let me go." Jason's brain stopped. Everything went blank. She had just given herself over to death and there was nothing he could do about it.
Adain smiled, and brushed his fingers along the tender skin under Jason's jaw. Jason was too out of it to realize that Adain was hitting him, before his face was slammed to the side and he was losing what he knew of the waking world.


Chapter 12

There was a groan somewhere in the distance, waking Jason from his dark slumber. Another groan, and another. It took him several minutes to realize the groans were from him, somewhere deep in his chest, growing louder every time he snapped back into reality after he drifted again. He felt this horrible clenching in his stomach, and his face felt like it had been ripped wide open. "Oh...God."
"Yes Jason. Mock God."
Since when could someone's voice be that loud? He groaned again and rolled over, suddenly realizing the fact that he could roll over struck him like a bullet to the brain, and it was just about as painful. "Oh..."
""Wake up Jason!" He felt someone shove him. His body shook, and his eyes flashed open to see Candice standing beside him. "Get up."
"Candice...mmm...what the hell? Are you okay?" he found the strength to sit up and look at her. He studied her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling himself to a standing position. She stood still, letting him regain his balance, then she backed away. "Let's get out of here."
Adain was suddenly standing beside Candice, making Jason stumble back and fall on to the bed in surprise. Then, another girl appeared, and Jason gave her a puzzled look. "Jocilin's my name," she said, "I was expecting you. You've heard of my work."
"Your 'work'?"
"Yes. The saliva you found on the wound? It was mine. My DNA. My kill. Aren't you proud? You solved the case."
"She was the woman in the bar that night that Adain first told me about," Candice said, sitting by Jason, who cringed and shoved away from her.
"You knew?" He felt tears well up but shoved them back down into the pit his stomach had become. An empty, hollow, pit. Candice shook her head.
"Not until after you were asleep," she said.
"Asleep? Asleep? Hello! I was knocked out! Blam, and it was over! I didn't just go to sleep!"
"Jason, calm down," Adain said quietly.
"Calm down? Are you people serious? Candice?" He looked to the three surrounding him in disbelief. "Candice please, let's just go home." He turned to her, "Please?" She scooted over to him and drew him to her, holding his body with her once weak arms.
"Home? What is home?" She asked, nuzzling his thick hair. She felt him shudder against her. She tilted his chin up so he was eye to eye with her. His eyes were swollen, and in the dim light of the surrounding candles, his dark brown's made an endlessness black. She could see the outlines of the bruises that Adain had left during his cruel games. She leaned in and kissed them, being rough when needed and gentle when deserved.
"Do it!" Adain stressed. Jason was just about to look at Candice when he felt the prick of two long shafts digging into his worn skin. There was a quiet 'snap' as that skin of his neck broke and blood streamed to the surface. He felt her gentle, luscious lips close over the blood, and her skilled tongue draw it out of him with speed that seemed to the mind to drag on forever, but the subconscious knows that it's going so much faster.
He had no fight left. There was nothing that he could think of to fight for. He'd lost his long-time best friend to what no one believed was real, he'd solved the case, but it wasn't like that mattered. It wasn't going to bring the little girl back. He felt her laying him down and pressing her cat-like, seductive body into his, drawing at his blood and palming his sore abdomen. He grunted and pushed up into her, gripping the back of her neck, wanting her to stop and wanting her to stay in his skin at the same time.
Then he felt another prick, and suddenly Adain was within him as well. His fangs implanted deeply into the easily-chilled skin of his pelvis, right below where his shirt ended...if he'd been wearing one. His hips thrust up to the act involuntarily, knowing that the fangs would just sink in deeper. "Oh God..." This was the only thing he could say that his mind registered.
Then, a third set of fangs drove into him, somewhere on his stomach. His mind swam. There was pain present, he knew that. But it wasn't just pain. There was some kind of sick pleasure he got from it, and thrown in there somewhere was a floating sensation . He never realized becoming lightheaded until it was hard to keep his eyes open. He knew a lot about the human body and from his knowledge of vampires, he knew he didn't have too much blood left. Three preternatural beings, with in-human strength , drawing at the blood that ran beneath his lucid skin? There wasn't a lot of time left for him to live.
Jocilin pulled away first. This barely caused him any pain. Adain was next and his hurt bad enough that it made Jason want to scream. Then Candice drew away, sending him into a cry he thought would surly wake the dead. It was the sensation of getting an IV for the first time as a child. There's the prick and the medicine starts under your skin and the dull ache begins and goes through your body, increasing in pain. But the doctors hold you down if you try to struggle because the IV's needed for something important. And all of it happens in a matter of seconds.
There he lay. Torn and bloody, chest heaving, blood running smoothly from his neck, down over his bare shoulders. His lips swollen and bleeding from unconsciously biting them as he himself was being bitten. Pure artistry.
Candice knew the blood was running down her chin and dripping on to her lily chest, but she didn't care. The Blood was running through her; the power of her first kill. She could hear his heart beating, barely enough to reach even Adain's hearing. Everything had slowed down because the heart couldn't keep up with the blood loss. His lungs were struggling to move even as the diaphragm begged them to. What little blood he had left was rushing through screaming veins, trying to regenerate the heart and lungs, with little success.
Adain left the room first, blood seeping from the corners of his lips, soon followed by Jocilin. Jason looked dreamily around the room, as everything danced for him. The carpet jumped up at him and the light slashed at his eyes, but it wasn't as if he had the strength to close them. "How do you feel?" She asked, running her fingers smoothly over the quickly cooling blood on his shoulders. He looked at her blankly, not comprehending the question. He didn't comprehend anything except for the gentle throbbing he felt more than heard. "What if I could give it back to you?" He was listening and not hearing. Her voice was far away, and muffled.
"What do you think you're doing?" Adain growled as he re-entered the room. Candice stood her ground against her challenging vampire but fear struck her, knowing she had no right to go against his orders. "Nothing happens around this place without my say so. Mine, and Jocilin's. So, do you mind telling a fella' what you think you're doing?"
"I was going to change him," she mumbled. She watched in horror as he strode over to Jason and took his head in his immortal hands of bony, white, preternatural flesh. Jason sent her a dreamy, horror, ill-fated glance just before Adain twisted his neck with one quick jerk. There was a sickening 'crunch' and Jason fell on to the bed, his limbs sprawled at awkward angles, and chin on the blood-stained comforter, being the only thing propping up his now broken neck. His dark eyes were locked on Candice. It sent a chill up her spine, knowing that they could stare forever and never see anything again. He was dead.
"Lesson of the first. Watch yourself. Just because you're one of us doesn't mean we've got your back. We'll turn on you before you can blink. I got what I wanted out of you. You lay low, take orders, whatever they may be, and never try this stuff again, and you my get into my good graces. After all, we've got eternity," He said, and smiled at her, then left the room.
Candice watched Jason's lifeless body for longer than she cared to think about. It wouldn't move. He wouldn't move. She sat there for what seemed like hours. How could someone stay so still for so long? Jocilin came in and sat beside her. "Get rid of it," she said, "You wanna' learn, I'll show you where to dump him, but he can't stay here." Candice looked lazily over at her.
"This wasn't my kill. Have him get rid of Jason's body," She paused. That wasn't right. Something told her not to let anyone touch Jason. She looked around the trashed room. A gentle thudding was going on inside her head. Jocilin gave her a wickedly, evil smile.
"It is possible to live with a broken neck, you know," she said. Candice jumped up and ran to Jason. She lowered her head to his back. The thudding was coming from him! He was alive! "Watch your technique, dearest. One wrong move and you could kill him."
"Do it for me then. Please." Jocilin smiled and held her hand out to Candice. Candice complied and walked over to her, taking her hand, and helping her to her feet.



Chapter 14


Jonathan muttered to himself as he dug through the cluttered papers on his desk. He hadn't slept in three nights but he was as wide awake as ever. His eyes were bloodshot and the strong smell of liquor rolled out on his breath, but his head was clear. He knew he looked awful.
There was a gentle rapping on his office door and he spun, almost tripping over his own feet. There was a silhouette in the creamy glass in the door and goose bumps ran up his arms. "Come in!" He mumbled loudly, turning back to his paperwork. The door creaked open as he was turned around.
"So tense," a silky voice mewed. Jonathan froze, papers in hand. There were gentle steps coming toward him and he was too old and too drunk to run fast enough to get anywhere fast. Before he knew it, there was a hand on his shoulder. "Why don't you turn around and take a look at who comes to see you?"
"I don't need to turn around, I know who you are---and more likely than not, I know what you are."
"Turn around, Jonathan." It wasn't a plea, it was a command. Jonathan lay the papers on the desk and took a deep breath. He began to turn, but stopped.
"Candice..." he paused, choking back a thick sob that rose in his throat as to where he could feel it pulsing within him. "Will I be frightened?"
"That...that I cannot answer." Jonathan turned and there she was. Her skin pale with thick, blue veins pulsing underneath it. She wore a long, black dress that V'd down between her breasts and criss-crossed down the length of her belly, ending above her waist. The arms were lace, he was almost sure of it. The webbed, thin cloth showed the paleness of her lily arms. And her slender figure shown beneath the fabric of the dress, flowing in ruffles down to her legs, laying in neat folds from the waist down. Her eyes were more brilliant than before, almost seeming to stare through him. Her lips were pink. It'd been a long time since he's seen the natural color of her lips. They were always hidden under a dark shade of lipstick.
"Hello Jonathan." Jonathan looked past Candice quickly to see a dark figure in his doorway.
"Jason."
"Still not drunk enough to let go of a grudge, are you?" Jason strode to Candice's side. He was also lily pale, with darker veins running up his neck to the underside of his chin. The thin, black, long sleeved T-shirt he wore showed the ripple of muscles going down his abdomen that he'd kept hidden from everyone. He wore black denim jeans and some sort of boots. Railroad boots, Jonathan guessed.
Jonathan took a step backward, swallowing the bit of vomit that had suddenly risen in his throat. Jason smiled down at Candice. "We should go," he said. Candice nodded and looked at Jonathan.
"I won't leave you. I'll always be watching." She walked over to him and swiftly cupped her hand behind his neck. He stiffened.
"You're going to kill me?"
"No." Candice reached with her lips and kissed his throat gently. "I'll make it painless as possible." She sank her fangs in cleanly, and the blood filled her mouth slowly. She took a first swallow, and her body jumped into his almost on it's own. She latched her mind on to his, learning his credit card number, post office box, bed room size, his every sexual fantasy. They were one. He belonged to her at that moment. She was lost in the crimson lace that flowed down her throat and zinged through her veins.
She pulled away with a sudden urgency , bits of blood hanging in shiny droplets off her fangs. Jonathan shoved himself back, his hand flying to his neck. Candice recovered first, lapping at the last remaining blood on her lips. "What did you do to me?" Jonathan cried, opening the drawer of his desk and pulling out a pistol. Candice eyed him slowly. She then, untied the laces of her dress and let it fall open, revealing her naked form. Jonathan then realized why the dress hugged her form so well; she wore nothing under it.
The gun shook in his trembling hands as he pointed it at her. Jason stood still in the doorway, a silent smirk playing on his lips. He loved it when she played with her victims. But nothing on Candice's face showed form of play. Her eyes were dark now, darker than when she had come. She stared at him with half-lidded emeralds, shadowed deep within her features. "Do it." Jonathan looked at her. "Do it," she said a little louder, though never losing her temper. "I won't die. You won't gain the relief of killing me. You realize that killing me won't heal the wounds that my kind left by murdering your daughter. You'll just live with the guilt of killing me. You'll die unhappy. Perhaps that's what you want."
"You're a monster, why would I feel bad for killing you?" Candice sauntered over to him, even as he still held the gun. She walked, her long legs seeming to go on forever, until the open end of the barrel touched her naked chest. Jonathan pressed the gun into her skin, his finger running up and down the trigger. Her eyes flitted to the gun and back to him. She reached up and caressed his cheek slowly. Again, Jonathan stiffened, but he didn't pull away.
"Candice!" Jason stressed. "Let's go. We have somewhere to be, remember." Candice nodded at Jonathan and backed away, pulling her dress together. She smiled and turned to the door, and exited the room without a word. Jason waited until she was gone and he walked over to Jonathan. "I, on the other hand, will not be so kind." With that, he backhanded Jonathan across the face. Jonathan's head snapped to the side, and a spatter of blood shot out of his mouth. He looked slowly back at Jason.
"You bastard. Damn you."
"Already been done." Jason said, smirking. "And it feels damn good. You were never good enough for her." He turned on his heel and began to walk away, but stopped. He looked over his shoulder. "But on a more noble subject. I know who killed that girl. I know who killed your daughter. It's been taken care of. I will miss you, Jonathan. All spats aside, you were my friend."
"Are we not still friends?" Jonathan choked out in a sudden sob. Jason turned to face him again.
"No. I'm afraid not. I have to be dead to the world, as does Candice. And the ones who made us. This is the last you will see of me. Candice keeps her word. She'll be watching out for you. The blood she took links you together. She's your angel. But you'll see little of her, and never shall you see our makers. If you seek them out, we'll be forced to kill you. It's best if you keep distance. Goodbye old friend."
Jason walked out to leave Jonathan gripping his desk and sobbing. He looked helplessly at the open door and whispered: " Goodbye."



Chapter 15

Jason smiled innocently at Adain's scowl. "What?"
"You hit him? You let her take blood from him! She didn't cover the marks!" Adain stood quickly, knocking his wine glass over. Candice smiled coyly, and sat back in her seat, crossing her legs high on her thigh. She stretched her arms out along the length of the top of the love seat.
"Adain, don't be angry. You didn't think that I'd forget did you?" She asked quietly as Jocilin took a seat beside her, wrapping her arms around Candice's waist.
"Yes Daddy, don't be angry. " Candice looked over at her, thinking of how she called Adain 'Daddy' even though Adain was her brother because he had changed her. Jocilin's tongue flicked out and ran along Candice's cheek. "She tastes like raspberries, you know. Grown under the moon. Don't be angry at something so pretty." Jason smiled.
"Yeah, Pop's. And I taste like a new wine, remember?" Adain gave him a cold stare. "Look, it's not a big deal. Can we do whatever we came here to do and get it over with?"
"You've only been one of us for two months and you're already cocky. A bit early for one who'll live for eternity."
"Well, you haven't taught us much, so really, I don't owe you enough not to be cocky." Jason sighed, shrugging. "Darn."
"What did you bring us here for, Adain?" Candice asked, trying to change the subject.
"Your first hunt," Adain said flatly. Candice and Jason shared a confused look.
"We've been vampires for two months and you just now decided to take us on our first hunt?" Jason asked, watching as Adain returned to the empty table.
"You've been feeding on the innocent. You can taste their lack of sin and yet you continue to kill them. "
"So? No one said we were saints. " Jason walked over to Candice and pulled her to her feet, ignoring Jociliyn's protesting moan. "We are supposed to be killers. You taught us that anyway."

Chapter 16

Candice pulled his lips on to hers, crushing her form to him. He broke away from her kiss feverishly and bent to her throat, puncturing the soft skin there quickly, not caring to stop the pain with his mind. She cried out but still clutched him close to her, her pelvis slamming into his leg. He drank deep, kneeling to the floor with her in his arms, her dress drifting open and seeming to spill on the floor as he lay her there, still drinking. Her body arched into him every time he swallowed.
He moved from her throat and went to her lips, breaking the barrier of her own lips and teeth with his tongue to reach her own. She put up no struggle as she offered it to him willingly. Her tongue entered his mouth gently enough, he bit into it, bringing a little flow of blood from the tip of it. He took a first swallow and let go of her tongue with his teeth only to catch it with his own. There, they made love amongst the corpses.

Chapter 17
Candice dipped her head and closed her eyes as Jason cradled her. She breathed deeply and pulled the blanket over her chest. Jason chuckled. "Are you tired?" Candice smiled but didn't answer. A door opened somewhere in the house and footsteps rang through the hallways. Adain appeared in the doorway and surveyed the room. Six bodies, lying where the fell, were sprawled about the room. A family. Mom, Dad, Brother, Sister, Little sister, and Baby. All dead.
"Look at this. Isn't this...overkill?"
"No," Jason stretched and wrapped an arm around Candice's shoulders, "I think it's just enough kill." Adain walked over to the baby, and knelt down, picking her up gently. "Oh, we didn't drink from her. She just wouldn't shut up after we killed her mother, so, we resolved the issue." There was a hint of an accent in his voice. Adain glared.
"So, you think you're British now?"
"My mother was British. London born actually. I stayed there until I was seven, and when I came here, my father made me take classes to rid me of the accent and slang. Nobody knew."
"Slang?" Candice wondered aloud. Jason looked down at her.
"Poofter, slag, knickers, bloody, ponce, pansy...on and on. "
"You make a sorry excuse for a vampire, Jason. I chose her," Adain said, pointing at Candice, "But not you. I'd never choose you. There's nothing in you that I want."
"You seemed to want my blood bad enough when you had the chance." Jason growled.
"In that, I only wanted your death. She took you. Jocilin took you. I never wanted your sorry arse. "
Jason stood, letting Candice slump to the cushion of the couch. Adain watched him as he strode, limber and tall. Jason stood before Adain, naked but not afraid. "Am I a sorry excuse for vampire then?"
"Indeed."
"I do not fear you, Adain. I have no respect for you. There is nothing within me but hate towards you. And fighting you isn't something I'd think twice about doing." Adain's hand was around Jason's throat before anyone could blink.
"Hmmm. Let's see how brave you are when I pull your spine through your windpipe." Jason smiled slowly, wrapping his hand around Adain's , his nimble fingers clasping the older vampire's. Adain looked at him, danger coating his eyes.
"You know it won't kill me," Jason whispered, "I'll heal." Adain released Jason, but did not pull his hands out of the boy's grip. Jason backed away a step, pulling Adain's arm out to it's full length, the pale underside exposed. Thick veins ran underneath that skin. Thick veins, filled with human and vampire blood alike. Jason sank his fangs in so softly that Adain didn't hardly notice. Jason drank deeply, his eyes closed, his throat greedy in want for the taste of Adain's power.
Candice watched all of this, amazed at the lull Adain seemed to be in. He seemed to be under Jason's complete control. The only sound in the room to any of them was the almost slick sound of Jason swallowing and the two vampires' heartbeats becoming even. Adain's head tipped back, his lips parted in a silent moan. His eyes closed and his breathing was short and jumpy. Jason was drinking harder and deeper with every swallow, causing Adain more and more pain.
Finally, the older vampire's silent moan became a raging scream and he slung Jason from him. Jason stumbled back, blood streaming down his chin and flowing down the pale skin of his throat. It was so red. It looked as though something had slashed him, leaving long, jagged wounds, seeping red blood. Adain stared at him, breathing heavily. "You devil," he spat.
"Yes," Jason murmured, "But I am now what you are. Your blood runs within me, just as mine, and Jocilin's, and Candice's does. I can escape into all of your minds. I have the power now. There's nothing more you can do to me. You're beneath me." He narrowed his eyes again, and took a step toward him. Adain took a step as well, meeting Jason in the middle. Candice's heart raced. She could feel the power coming off of them in waves. Their auras crackled and popped against each other. "And you know it, don't you? " Jason seethed. Adain stood calmly, thinking about the situation.
"You will never be as strong as I, merely because of my years. As long as I've lived...you'll never have that kind of power. Not until you reach the same age, and by then, I'll still precede you by a couple hundred years. " Candice let out a small laugh and Jason whipped toward her. Adain took advantage of the moment to grab Jason's arm and twist, until they all heard a sickening 'pop' as his shoulder came out of socket. Jason screamed in agony and hissed through is teeth in pain as he fell to the floor, landing roughly on the carpet. His arm hung at an odd angle as he attempted to stand. That didn't sit well with Adain, who promptly brought a boot to the back of Jason's head. Jason landed again with a 'thud' and didn't attempt to get up again. Adain leaned over him and bent to his ear. "You'll never be me, Jason. You'll never have what I have. You're beneath me."


Chapter 18

Candice walked alone. She stood alone. For now, anyway. And she watched. Jonathan was on the computer in his apartment, staring blankly at the screen. His hands were poised over the keyboard, like he was thinking about what he wanted to type, but the thought had escaped him and he was trying to remember. Candice hovered outside his window, three stories up, just watching him. He'd thinned out. He no longer had the muscular frame he once did, and she could tell by the few trips he made to the refrigerator, that there wasn't much to eat in the apartment, and the only thing keeping him going was the beer.
She shook her head and wrapped the coat tighter around herself. It's not like it mattered...she didn't retain heat. She never would retain heat again. She was dead. And she would always be from now on. The only body temperature that changed was the temperature of her blood when she fed. It rose, and then fell when it settled into her veins. Not a big change...just enough for her to notice.
Jonathan turned to the window suddenly and caught her off guard. They stared at each other for a moment, then he approached the window. He touched the glass timidly and she shrank away from it. He opened it and leaned out to her. "Why the hell are you here?" He barked.
"I told you I'd be watching. I didn't lie," she said simply. "So here I am. Watching."
"Well, quit it. I didn't ask you to watch me. Jason said I'd seen the last of you guys. I'm taking him at his word. Stay the hell away from me." Candice narrowed her eyes at him.
"Or what?" It was within seconds that she had him by the throat, backing him into the depths of the room. He struggled. He kicked. He hit her with all he was worth, but it didn't stop her. Her hair fell in a web across her pale face as she gazed down at him. He was frightened. Not because of what she was, but because the look in her eyes was not human. She was now a predator and an inhuman one at that. "Let me make this easy for you," she hissed. "I could kill you right now. Destroy everything you made for yourself. Death is my art."
"Then do it," he cried. "Just do it."
"Is that what you want?" She asked, cocking her head to the side and looking at him. "Is that what you yearn for? Death? What will that solve?"
"I wish it was that easy," he said, feeling her let up on him. He sat up while she was still on him. "Your kind killed my daughter. I have to avenge her death some how."
"The blood that killed her runs in my veins. And the blood that killed this other little girl runs through Jason's veins. I wasn't strong enough to make him myself. Jocilin made him. Adain'll kill you before you get a chance to touch any of us." She rose and stared down at him. "We're all connected. We feel each other. If you try to hurt any of us, we'll all know." Jonathan looked up at her in return and felt hatred build and build within his human soul. With a toss of her hair, she was gone.