Hunger Within (A Sable Hart Vampire Slayer Novel Book 1) Read online

  “Oh my God, Boney, her blood was the best ever.” I stared up at him, breathless and wide-eyed. I licked my lips and ran my tongue all around my mouth, trying to find more of that wonderful flavor. “Wow, human blood is like an energy drink for vampires. I’m so buzzing.”

  “Yes. We call it a blood buzz,” Boney said. “And it’s why so many vampires continue to take the chance of drinking human blood.”

  “Blood buzz, huh? Yep, that pretty much describes it.”

  Boney laughed. “Yes, it’s heady stuff. You're a natural, Sable. I killed the first man I trained on. I ripped out his throat in my hunger."

  "You didn't have such a dedicated teacher."

  "Maybe,” he said. “I don't want you to take more than a swallow of blood tonight before you seal the wound."

  I nodded, but it would be hard. Human blood tasted too good.

  We had a little scare with the next bite. Desiree started when I bit her and I jumped back, and hot blood spurted right in my face. I panicked, but Boney simply reached over and laid a hand on her wounds. She stopped bleeding.

  Then it was back to another hour of biting and healing. I was taught to take blood from the neck, then from the arms and legs. I was shown all the easiest places to get arterial blood.

  I'm sure Desiree lost more blood than usual. Boney insisted we should never take more than a pint of blood every two weeks from anyone. Yeah, two weeks! He was adamant that I absolutely never take more than four pints from anyone, unless I was trying to hurt or kill that person. Four pints is enough to kill some people. He warned me several times that each pint of blood was more than ten percent of an average man's total blood volume, and women were smaller. He explained that it takes the human body three to four weeks to replace each pint lost.

  I also learned that thralls should be on a special diet that was packed with iron to regenerate red blood cells faster, and they all took B vitamins for energy and calcium and vitamin D to help them absorb the calcium. This bunch was nothing if not health conscious. Iron deficiency and anemia were common among less attentive minions. And you could see it in their gaunt pale faces.

  When the training session was finished, Boney sent Desiree away. Both Desiree and I were highly aroused by all that blood-letting. She wanted to go all the way with me. I was willing by the time we finished, but he wouldn't allow it. Bless his undead soul.

  After I showered, I was given another robe to wear – this one was wonderfully soft and much thicker than the first one. It was the loveliest shade of blue, too.

  "You know, Boney, you make being a vampire sound like just another alternative lifestyle," I said once we were seated in the library again. "But I used to stake vampires. They were not nice people. They were all brutal serial killers."

  "Some are, Sable. Some are." He shook his head woefully. "Technically, we all have that same something inside us that could emerge at any time. We live with the thinnest veneer of civilization imaginable. Vampires snap every so often and go on rampages.” He shrugged. “Vampire slayers stake them eventually."

  "Like Yuri and his gang of seven."

  "Vampires like Yuri Romanov and Clive Honeywell are rare in America," he said. "I understand they aren't as rare in Europe and Asia."

  "Well, I'd like to make them a whole lot rarer in Texas." Thoughts of Yuri soured my mood. "If I knew where Yuri and his family were, I'd stake them all myself."

  “You have a link with him.”

  “But he could find me, too.” Nothing was scarier than Yuri coming after me. “He’d know I was coming and be ready.”

  Boney stared off into space for a long moment, lips pursed.

  My heart started hammering. "My God, you know where they are, don't you?"

  "What? Don't be ridiculous." Boney averted his eyes. Indeed, he was avoiding eye contact for the first time since I met him. "Besides, it would be too dangerous. They'd tear you into a million pieces, and then you would be truly dead."

  "Where are they?" I gave him a hard look. “I mean it, Boney. Where is Yuri?"

  "They will kill you, Sable. You understand what that means, right?”

  Anger flashed deep inside me. I couldn’t believe he wouldn’t tell me! Didn’t he understand? I stood up as my anger bubbled over.

  "Yes, I go straight to Hell." I smiled at him grimly, but I knew my eyes were bright with a devil-may-care madness. "It'll be worth it if I can take Yuri and his followers with me."

  "Not to me. I like you."

  "I like you, too, Boney, but I have to do this,” I said. I stepped up close and leaned over him. “There can be only one,” I quoted from the Highlander movies. I clenched my teeth, hands balled into tight fists. “I cannot live if he lives. One of us has to die. I'll accept nothing less."

  "I promise you, you will be sorry if you go after him. He's too old, too powerful. He Changed you, which makes you vulnerable to him."

  "I know. Compulsions." That was a lot scarier than I cared to admit. "I know the danger and I’ll deal with it. Tell me where to find him. I mean it. I'll go after him with or without your help, Boney. But I’ll have a better chance of success if you help me."

  I could see he was fighting himself to withhold the information from me. But he was losing the battle.

  "Yuri is renting a house in Highland Park. Not too far from here," he finally said. He gave me the street address. "The best time to attack is at sunrise. They will be in their coffins, in light-sealed rooms. The rising sun will dampen his vampiric senses, so he might not feel your approach."

  I relaxed, stepping back with a smile. "Yeah, I felt the oppression of daylight, so I'm sure he won't sense me coming for him. They will not expect me, especially at that time. I like it."

  I got my clothes back. They got most of the blood out, too. The pink tank still had a few faint stains across the belly. Not too noticeable. I dressed and Boney took me to the corner of Royal and Harry Hines. I might be undead, but I wasn't going to betray the safe house to another vampire.

  I approached the house cautiously. I expected my friends to pop out at any time, with stakes in hand and guns spitting blessed silver. But nothing happened.

  The house was locked up. I used my new supernatural strength to rip the back door open. It was actually pretty easy. Kinda scary, too. So many vampires out there threatening humanity, and so few people dedicated enough to fight them.

  The soiled clothes I’d left in the living room were gone. I checked the bedroom, and all of my things were gone too.

  Joy of joy, my battered up old Mustang was still in the garage. Keys in the ignition. I guess no one wanted the abused old pony.

  I had to force the trunk open to get to my pack. I'd forgotten that I had already removed the pistol, which had been lost in the big fight at Gabe's armory. I didn't like the idea of someone else using my gun. It irritated me, even if I couldn't use it. Sanctified silver crosses were all over the damn thing.

  Once the trunk was open, it didn't want to stay closed. I had to use a length of wire to tie it down. It answered my prayers and started, and I opened the garage door, backed out, and took off down Royal Lane.

  It was two-thirty in the morning. Not much traffic. No one behind me. I'd have known, because my vampiric eyes could see exceptionally well in the dark.

  Okay. I admit it. I was afraid my vampire-hunting friends were hunting me now. The safe house was a logical ambush site. I guess they didn't think about that. Was it possible they didn't already know my fate?

  I took Royal to Central. Northbound Central to Plano Parkway, then over to Jupiter. Going north on Jupiter, I quickly reached 14th street, and headed over to my apartment complex. I was surprised to find no police crime scene tape. None. Nada.

  There had been a violent crime committed there. I know – I was the victim.

  Warily, I climbed the stairs to my apartment. I just knew men with wooden stakes would jump out at me. But no one blocked my passage, I felt no heartbeats within the apartment and within a minute I was ins
ide my apartment, where I’d eaten and slept for the past two years.

  To say it was good to be home was an understatement. Tension immediately seeped right out of me. My cherished photos of family and friends were there, as was the furniture that I picked out and was still making payments on. My clothes. The second bedroom that was converted to be my closet. Dane called it my shrine to fashion. I spent every spare nickel I earned on clothes. I admit it, I have a problem.

  More importantly, my spare weapons were still there.

  Nothing was disturbed. I was ecstatic. Finally, something going my way.

  Opening the bottom drawer of my dresser, I frowned at what I had left in terms of firepower. Two Beretta Px4 Storm 9mm pistols, still in their boxes. Hell, I'd never taken them out of the box except to ensure they looked okay when I bought them. Neither had ever been fired. They were the standard matte black finish, with no crosses worked into grip or slide. At least I had blessed silver bullets. It took a while to load up the eight empty magazines, mostly because I couldn't look directly at the silver crosses etched into each bullet and I had to be very careful to only touch the brass casings. The few times I glanced at the box of bullets left sunspots in my vision.

  With the pistols were assorted holsters. I had shoulder holsters and hip holsters. Another holster held a pistol at the base of my spine. I chose a two-holster belt, one on each hip. My brother had given it to me last Christmas. It had to be a joke, but I wasn’t sure. I never thought I'd use it, since there was no concealing the pistols like that. I felt like a real cowgirl when I put it on, and holstered the two Berettas. Just call me Jane Wayne.

  Next, I went to the bedroom closet and pulled out my sword. It was a katana, with a long dark blue hilt. The blade was silver-cased and had the requisite silver crosses etched into its length. The crosses, of course, were blessed. I didn't pull the blade, because I didn't want to be blinded again. Next, I pulled out a canteen. Holy water. What else?

  "Armed for bear,” I said, picking up a pair of wraparound sunglasses. “Bloodsucking, undead bear.”

  I returned to Dallas the same way I had gone into Plano. Except this time I passed right on by Royal Lane. The turn off for Highland Park was further down. The small, wealthy community of Highland Park was completely encircled by the City of Dallas. Well, except for their shared border with University Park. Southern Methodist University was in University Park, and way too close to those vicious vampires for my comfort. After all, my little sister went to SMU, and lived in an apartment near campus.

  Chapter 8

  It was a nice neighborhood. They could afford the large, older homes and tree-lined streets. Big trees too, for North Texas. Dallas sat on the butt end of the prairie. There were very few naturally occurring trees, and those that were weren't very impressive looking. People planted the pretty trees – the big trees and it took a long time to grow them; Highland Park had been growing them a long time.

  Yuri's house was a two-story, red brick Georgian. He had good taste in real estate. I bet the neighbors wouldn't be too happy when they learned they had vampires in the neighborhood. A houseful of vampires tends to bring property values down, and people in Highland Park worry about such things.

  Yuri and family should be tucked away safely in their coffins. It was pre-dawn, minutes from official sunrise, and so light out it gave me the willies. I had to wear sunglasses to see normally. Not light enough to burn, but pretty damn close.

  I checked the front door. It was locked, but I could sense people inside. I could feel their blood surging, hear their hearts beating. I went around back and found it locked too.

  I took a deep breath. It's purely an emotional thing, really; but it still helped.

  The coming attack was my first solo staking, and an ambitious one at that. I might be harder to kill, but they were still older, stronger, and there were more of them. I hoped surprise would carry the day for me.

  I loosened the katana on my back. I had three javelins with silver spearheads in my left hand. Beretta pistols rode both hips, and a canteen of holy water hung around my neck. That was every weapon I had left.

  The door was hung to swing in. I kicked the door, right next to the knob. It crashed open and I charged through.

  “Yippee-ki-yay, I’m here to ruin your day!”

  The door opened into a family room. Spacious and sparsely decorated. There were four men watching TV. They jumped to their feet and charged me. No hesitation. Born fighters.

  I pulled my sunglasses off and stepped into the closest man's charge. Locking eyes with him, I caught him in my gaze and brought the butt end of my javelin bundle up into his chin. Hard. He fell straight back: out cold.

  "Damn, I pack a wallop now!"

  Then —

  Bang, bang, bang!

  — and I felt three hits and three spots of fire in my belly. The impacts forced me back a step. Glancing down, I saw three bloody holes in my pink tank. I no longer felt the wounds, or even the bullets inside me. Not silver then. I cut my eyes up and smiled smugly at the stunned thug.

  My mistake. He recovered quicker than I thought possible.

  The man seized me by my hair and yanked me forward, straight into the wall. Head first. My head went through the sheetrock. It hurt like the dickens, but the pain faded fast. Amazing new body.

  I pulled my head out as I released two of the three javelins. I didn't need to see the man to know where he was. I could feel him. So I spun left, and thrust the remaining javelin deep into his belly. He looked surprised, then embarrassed. I watched as his aura collapsed into him. Gone in death.

  I yanked the javelin out and turned to face the two other men.

  The third man charged me. I guess he missed what I did to his little playmate. I was nicer to him; mainly because he was too close to really consider my next action. I reacted out of instinct, and kicked straight up into his chin. His head snapped back. Loudly. That was a broken neck. Dead before he hit the ground.

  "Just me and you, babe," I said. "Come give momma a big, wet kiss."

  He lifted a big pistol. Revolver. Looked like a .44 Magnum. Bet he had a little dick. He aimed at my chest, at my heart, and pulled the trigger. Knocked me back two steps. Yep, .44 Mag alright. Ouch.

  "Bastard, that hurt. I'm going to kill you slow."

  "You're a vampire?"

  "Duh. You're buddy already shot me three times and it didn't faze me. What did you think I was, a girl scout?"

  "Oh."

  I threw the javelin at him. It was a fast, powerful throw. Very accurate. My new vampire body wasn't all bad, you know. He blocked it with a martial arts move. I was impressed.

  We charged each other. He knew Tae Kwon Do. I quickly got the advantage, not that my talent at Krav Maga was better. He was much more talented than I ever would be, but I was vampire – strong and fast. I broke his left arm with a roundhouse that continued through to his temple. Flipped him completely over. He was down for the count.

  So far, so good, I thought. I looked around the room as I picked up my sunglasses and put them on. That's odd. None of them have auras anymore.

  Surely I hadn't killed them all. I knew a couple of them were dead, but not all of them. Unsure what the aura thing meant, I used my supernatural senses to check their pulses. Nothing, so I checked with my fingers at their throats and wrists.

  My stomach clinched as I realized they were all dead. I thought at least the first guy I hit would be alive. Nope. Broken neck. How strong am I anyway? I need to learn control.

  If I failed, the vampires might reanimate them by bleeding into the dead bodies' wounds. I couldn't allow that, so I cut out all of their hearts. Then I shoved them down the garbage disposal. Ground them up. Without hearts they couldn't be reanimated. Bet they'd be surprised when they woke up in Hell.

  Enjoy your just rewards.

  The ground floor was empty of any other humans or vampires. The house proved to have a pier and beam foundation. Not a slab, but no basement either. That meant all
the vampires were upstairs in the bedrooms.

  I found the stairs in the entry foyer. I'd expected something grander. It was Highland Park, after all. I started up.

  The stairs creaked and groaned. So much noise. I reminded myself that gunplay hadn't brought any vampires down upon me. They wouldn't hear the stairs if they hadn't heard the gun battle.

  Without the excitement of a life and death fight, I couldn't ignore the feeling of daylight pressing down on the house. The pressure of it made me grind my teeth as I climbed the stairs. The weight of the pistols on my hips, the sword on my back, and the javelins in my hand lightened my heart enough to trudge onward: upward.

  I felt around upstairs with my dulled senses. I could barely sense living bodies up there. The oppressive sunlight was suppressing my vamp senses, confusing me. The sunlight above and outside was trying to scramble my thought process and send me running to a dark hole to hide. I wanted to go hide, but I continued on up the stairs.

  "Ready or not, Yuri, here I come," I muttered as I reached the second floor.

  "We're ready," a female voice said.

  Wide-eyed I turned toward her. There were two of them. A blonde and a redhead. Both average height and weight, and both wearing latex dresses.

  Standard-issue minions.

  The redhead raised a small pistol and fired. Hit me between the eyes, snapping my head back as it broke my sunglasses in half. I dropped the javelins when I threw my arms wide, trying to regain my balance.

  The other girl thrust kicked me in the belly, sending me tumbling down the stairs. I won't lie. It hurt doing down. As much as the bullet in the brain. I came to a stop in a crumpled pile at the bottoms of the stairs.

  I lay still, not even breathing. I listened to their descent, but mostly I listened for any other stirrings upstairs. I didn't hear anything but the footsteps of two very unlucky vampire loving minions.

  "Did you see her face when I shot her, Amber?" one said.