I was in a very bad place for the next couple of months. I stopped going to practice or doing gigs. My bandmates weren’t too happy, but they understood and gave me space. I wasn’t very happy they’d found a temporary guitarist to replace me, but I got over it. After I got tired of sitting around feeling sorry for myself, I hoisted myself up by my bootstraps and went back onstage.
My first night back, the lead singer, Ashton, dedicated the whole set to Audrey per my request. During my downtime I’d been able to pen four songs—ballads—in memory of her and we’d performed those that night. It seemed like after that, our band started to get more attention and recognition.
There was also something else I started to do after Audrey’s death: Complete and total obsessive research on vampires. By the way the freak had moved, along with all the movies I’d seen, I had a big slap of reality in the days and nights following her death—that vampires were fucking real and one was responsible for my sister’s death. So, aside from writing those songs, the only other productive thing I did in those months was find out everything I could about them. It was a long and lonely project. Honestly, though… how could I have asked anyone for help with this? They’d have me institutionalized. The coroner had ruled Audrey’s death a homicide, and I was grateful he had included bite and tear marks along her neck in the report. He had stated they’d seemed animal-like, but acknowledged that it was impossible, as they didn’t match any kind of animal bite he’d ever seen. Her case was, of course, still unsolved but I was determined to change that.
At first, my rage and need for vengeance outweighed any common sense. I learned quickly about the silver-eyed characteristic so I hung out in clubs and bars at night, knowing they could not go out during the day. The darker the club, the better to see their freaky reflective eyes. There were nights when I would just follow one out to see where it went, but it seemed like they’d disappeared into thin air. Or they would already be dead, a pile of ash and clothes on the ground. I knew they turned to ash upon death from my research. But I was never able to catch one. Not that I knew what I was going to do once I did. I carried holy water and a wooden stake on me at all times just in case I had to defend myself. I honestly thought I could talk to one, see if they knew which one had killed Audrey.
When I’d spotted Daniela in the crowd, I figured I might be able to get to know her—pretend to be ignorant of the existence of vampires—and see if I couldn’t draw some information out of her. After all, from what information I’d gleaned out of my research, these creatures hung out in packs or “nests” and most likely all knew each other. After all, Denver wasn’t overrun with supernatural beings or else everyone would be wiser about their existence. What I was unable to figure out was why the one that had attacked my sister had been so feral, almost like a wild animal, while the rest I’d observed seemed to very humanlike. Even the ones I’d seen in other clubs seemed to be normal. Maybe my sister’s killer had just been overly hangry?
I shook my head. I didn’t fucking care how hungry he was. He was gonna die when I found him.
As I thought about my ‘date’ with Dani last night, a strange stirring in my stomach began to emerge, and it wasn’t anger, fear, or dread. It was almost an excitement to see her again. But no way was I gonna fall for one of these filthy things. I’d kill her before that happened.
5
Daniela
“The fuck you mean you had him, and he got away?” Ringo roared into my face. I could swear that my hair blew back a little from his rant.
“It’s not like that,” I replied, trying to sound brave, but honestly, the rage in his voice and on his face was scaring me a little—and I hated myself for that.
“Then what was it like?” His jaw ticked with annoyance.
I looked over to see Talon sitting on a shell of a Porsche he’d probably been working on, a toothpick in his mouth, staring at our interaction.
Looking around the warehouse-slash-chop-shop, I resisted an eyeroll. Vampires stealing cars and bikes and chopping them up for resale—how original.
“Go back to playing with your little toy,” I said to Talon, indicating the Porsche with my chin, and then gave him the finger.
He grinned and threw the toothpick to the ground. “There’s nothing little about it.” He grabbed his crotch. “You wanna see?”
I did roll my eyes this time and made a mock gagging sound. “No.”
Ringo grabbed my face in a painful grip and made me look at him. “My office.”
I nodded and followed him. He went around his desk and sat, then pointed for me to do the same in the chair opposite.
“Are you going to tell me what happened?”
I had planned on lying but decided I would go with a… mostly truth. “I went back to his place, we fooled around, had a nice time. Decided to keep him for a while.”
“You’re joking. Please tell me you’re fucking joking. You know I don’t care if you fuck them first, but you have to kill them when you’re done.” He paused, then grinned. “Like a black widow spider.”
“I know. And I will. I just want to
