American Vampire in London.

I wrote this over the course of a few weeks about four years ago maybe? Mainly staying up later than I should of at that seemed to be the only time my brain would kick out the next bit. I wrote it all by hand, good old fashioned biro and an A4 narrow ruled pad. Think I still have those original pages stashed somewhere. I love to read urban fantasy, it’s one of my favourite genres, and this was my attempt. If you are familiar with The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher or The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne then you will see that they have influenced me heavily in this piece. Now, I wouldn’t of made it so obviously influenced, but I was younger,  definitely non the wiser to what I was doing at the time but this was my first original character and story and, maybe more importantly… I finished it. (I purposely left it as a kinda cliff hanger/suspense thing) Which is more that can be said for 99% of the things I had written up to this point. It’s not great, it’s rough, it’s a rambling attempt of me trying to write comedy into my pieces… but it’s mine, and I’m proud of it, in a weird way. I present it here, unedited. I hope you enjoy ^^

Chapter One.

You ever had one of those days when you wished you had just stayed in bed? To just ignore the sun peeping through the curtains or the shrill of the alarm clock and just stay curled up beneath the big fluffy duvet, or better yet, stay beneath the big fluffy duvet with a warm naked body curled around you. Well I wasn’t having one of those days; I was having one of those weeks! Young girls were being attacked, left in heaps in alleyways, clothes torn, shivering, confused and weak. They remembered nothing, only they had been in the club, then blank, until they woke up in the dark. The police had no clue, don’t get me wrong, the police do good work, but this guy left nothing, no finger prints, DNA, not even a single hair. The blood work on the girls came back clean, apart from alcohol of course, but I knew what it was, a vampire.

An emotional one to be precise, one of the only things I knew of (and I knew about a lot of different things!) that could attack someone, leave them weak and confused and leave not a shred of evidence behind. There are two types of vamp, the traditional suck your blood kind who bite either your neck or wrist (though I have heard there’s a great tasting point on the inner thigh) drink your blood then seal you up with a lick of the tongue. A bit of ‘look into my eyes, you will remember none of this when you wake up’ routine and apart from a few hours of feeling a bit weak, you wouldn’t remember a thing. That’s all vampires really are, a twenty four bug, unless they kill you of course. They can come out in the day time, despite what all the old legends say, they are just weakened by the sun, but none of this burst into flames crap. A stake through the chest won’t turn them to dust either, just paralyze them until it’s removed. Holy water, there’s some truth in that, that will burn them, but unless you submerge them completely for a few minutes they can recover from that too. Crosses don’t do squat, neither does garlic. Best way is to remove the head from the body; all you’re left with is a pile of ash. Emotional vampires have the same weaknesses and strengths as their blood sucking cousins. Super speed and strength, they can heal quickly too, makes them very tough to fight, but not impossible. I’ve taken a few out in my time. These guys, instead of drinking your blood, they feed off your emotions, your feelings. Think of The Dementors in the Harry Potter books and you’re not far wrong. The sweetest feeling is overwhelming happiness, the kind of joy a human being will only experience a few times in their life, like holding your new born child for the first time. As you can imagine that’s a pretty hard thing for a vamp to come by, they’re not in the habit of hiding in maternity wards just waiting for the next baby to pop out, not particularly practical either. So instead they take the next best thing, sexual feelings, lust, desire; a club being the perfect hunting ground. Find some girl or guy, inhibitions lowered by alcohol, get them on the own, in the dark, oh look an alley right outside, how convenient! A promise of a good time, excite them, take them to the edge, then as they tip over it, suck them dry, emotionally speaking.

I had spent the last five nights trying to track this guy down, going to the crime scenes after the police had gone and doing my own investigation. I’ve lived a long time, a lot longer than my ‘late twenties’ look and I’ve picked up a few funky tricks along the way, to add to my own impressive arsenal of course! This one I picked up on one of my many treks through Europe from an old witch coven I helped with… wait, I’m getting side tracked, that’s another story. After checking the alley one more time I set my brown leather satchel down next to where the girl was found. There were no markings or police tape to say where she had been, but you could feel it. Most humans would have just put it down to where they were; a cold dark alley. I wasn’t most humans. Yeah I could feel the icy chill and general wrongness, but I could also feel the ancient magic too, it made the hairs on the back of my neck and bare arms stand on end and it tickled my sensitive nose.

Setting my mini pestle and mortar on the concrete I put a few drops of blessed water from my sports bottle before returning it to my bag. I reached into the back pocket of my jeans and pulled out my trusty flick knife. Looking at the blade gleam in the moonlight I made a mental note to sharpen it when I got home. I flicked and scraped bits of brick, cement, even the cold concrete into my little bowl, anywhere her body could have touched. Stowing the knife I then began to crush with the pestle, all while whispering the enchantment. Ancient words from a long dead language, but I could feel the power within them, within me. As the words fell from my lips the dark concoction began to glow a soft green colour, and then flared blue. The spell was complete. I gathered up some of the mixture onto my index finger and drew a line across both my eyelids and just under my nose. It didn’t really smell of anything, but it felt a bit…gritty funnily enough. It was ice cold and tingled as it touched my skin, I could feel it seeping into my pores, snaking through my eyeballs before it settled over my pupils. I took a deep breath in and opened my eyes.

The scene that greeted me was like one of those old black and white movies, grainy, rough around the edges and no sound at all. I could see the girl, from the dark grey I guessed she had dark coloured hair, her skin was nearly as white as ivory and she had a black(or dark coloured) strapless dress on that fell to her mid thigh and a pair of those heels that looked just a bit too tall to walk in. I also saw my target, the bastard. He was tall, matching my 6ft 2ins, dark hair, guessing from the shade of grey anyway and was dressed all in black, a tight tee shirt wrapped around a muscular frame and some of those slim fitting jeans. I hated just the idea of those things! They looked….restrictive in the…gentleman area, I dunno about you, but I prefer a little bit of…wiggle room. I breathed deeply and got a whiff of him, he smelled of modern aftershave and soap, nothing unusual there, but buried underneath all of that was something he couldn’t hide from me, decay. A vampire is a dead creature, I know I know, undead, same difference, either way, if you’re dead that means decay, just like anything else that should be in the ground. A quick squirt of perfume, aftershave whatever and most people would never know, never realise that the person they were talking too, dancing with, having sex with, was a creature of the night. Why is it whenever I hear that phrase I just wanna take a cape and hold it over the lower half of my face and furrow my eyes brows in an evil villain kinda way? No? Just me? Oh well. I watched as ‘Mr Big Bad Vampire’ continued his seduction that I presumed he had started in the club. He leant in close to the girl, pushing her legs apart with one of his own; her mouth opening in what I guess would have been a whimper. He bought his hands up to slowly caress her arms from wrist to shoulder; she shivered beneath his touch, her head rolling back to rest against the bricks. He crushed her breasts against his chest, pressing her firmly against the wall. His lips hovering near hers, closing in for the kiss before moving back just out of reach when she leaned in… talk about a fucking tease… I can’t say too much, it was one of my favourite tricks too, now I hated this guy even more! Copying my flirting technique…..this guy was going down!

I moved around the couple, not taking my eyes off them. The foreplay continued, caresses and kisses, gradually getting more heated, all the while I could see the magic he was casting. While technically vampires don’t cast magic in the traditional spell slinging sense, under my enchanted eye sight his dark foggy aura flared outward towards his victim. Tendrils of grey mist weaved their way around her head and neck, snaking around her wrists and waist, there were even two curling around her shapely thighs before heading up beneath the hem of her dress. She arched her back in response, her soft plump lips opening wider, even with no sound, I could almost hear her groan. This is how I imagined a voyeur felt, not that I’ve thought about that, this wasn’t live or anything…I cleared my throat and adjusted myself, what?! You can’t judge me, it was hot okay! At all the other locations I hadn’t had a great image at all showed to me, it ranged from virtually nothing to just shadows and silhouettes. This was the best and most clear picture I had had, meaning this my first real glimpse of him. I moved in closer and tilted my head, his face was next to hers, almost ear to ear, his eyes were shut, a serene almost blissful look was spread across his high cheek bones and chiselled jaw. Tall and handsome…how cliché! I committed his face to memory, I had him, and now I just needed to work out where he was gonna strike next.

He moved his head to kiss her passionately as the gyrating intensified. He held his leg off the floor as she ground herself down onto it, his aura was throbbing now (it wasn’t the only thing!) the long veins connecting the vampire to the girl pulsating as they absorbed every ounce of lust, joy, euphoria, everything she was feeling right at that moment. In that peak when she pulled her lips away to arch her back again, her mouth open in what I guess was a vocal confirmation that she was, well there. His aura flared brightly, nearly white as he drew out her orgasm as long as he could, drinking it in to himself. She laid her head on his shoulder, her chest rising and falling deeply, threatening to burst the thin material of her dress. He lowered her to the ground gently, crouching with her to stare into her eyes for a moment. His ‘forget you saw me, forget everything, even forget your amazing orgasm’ Jedi mind trick…bastard. She stared, unblinking, right back at him before her eyelids drooped and she slouched against the wall as if she had just fallen asleep. The vampire rose, straightened his tee shirt and briefly gripped what looked like a painful erection. As if on cue, a dark coloured BMW pulled up to the entrance to the alley. I walked closer, hoping to grab the number plate, but as I approached my vision grew cloudy, I was leaving the area of effect of my spell, the further I moved away the more it would degrade. I kicked the ground in frustration as my target climbed into the back seat and pulled the door closed behind him. Then to my surprise, instead of speeding away, the driver used the alleyway to reverse and drive back the way he came, giving me a perfect view of the license plate. I smirked, which turned into a full blown laugh at the sky, I got the son of a bitch!

Chapter Two.

It was closing in on dawn when I unlocked my office door. Little beams of soft light peeped through the blinds from the lamp I had left on on my desk. My small office was basic and uncluttered. A big old fashioned solid wood desk stood in contrast to the quite modern leather office chair that I used. Two chairs for clients sat opposite mine facing away from the door. I kept a locked filing cabinet in the far corner with a few nik-naks and a plant on top, which I really should water sometime soon. On the wall mirroring the large window was a full sized framed print of John Constable’s ‘The Haywain’, one of my favourite paintings. A few certificates hung behind my chair, PI License and the large copy of my gun permit amongst them. I undid the three locks to my flat and as I pushed the heavy door open a high pitched ‘Weeeeeeee’ sound reverberated in my head and a ball of fur came flying at me at the velocity of a speeding bullet and landed straight on my face. ‘Ronan!! You’re home!!’ Came the voice in my head again, I thought back my reply. ‘Yes I’m home you crazy fuzz head!’ I plucked the fur ball from my face and looked at the little guy.

I had rescued Phalgrin about six months ago. He was being kept as a pet, locked in a tiny cage, maltreated and malnourished by an evil fairy. This bastard was using his magic, his gift to get people addicted to fairy dust, costing them hundreds if not thousands of pounds and ruining their lives. The drug, for that’s what it really is if used the wrong way was even known as ‘Fairy Dust’ on the streets. The police lab guys, as you can imagine, couldn’t work out what it was made of, so I got asked on the sly if I could help in anyway. To cut a short story even shorter, I tracked the guy down and asked him very nice and polite like to stop. He didn’t so I went back, kicked his ass and left him and his henchmen tied up before calling the police, I know right, how very Batman of me. Before I left I took the cage with me (he would freak the police out to no end!) The plan was to nurse him back to health, if I could, and try and either get him back home or find him a new one, and I did, with me.

Phalgrin is half sylph, air fairy and half earth fairy, gnome, no…not the garden ones. He looked like a tiny rabbit no bigger than the palm of my hand with soft light brown fur. He had a load of fluff around his neck, like a small Ruff collar from the seventeenth century, flecked with different shades of brown and big onyx eyes. His ears, instead of being straight or floppy were a combination of the two. They stuck up then were floppy at the ends. The tips should have been a double point, but Phal’s had been burnt off, the ends all scorched black and jagged. On his back sprouted a stunning pair of wings. The edges and some of the larger veins were a pale green (a nod to his windy heritage) but the main membrane was virtually translucent and seemed to shimmer through every colour as he flapped them. I let him go and he hovered in the air as I flung my keys on the kitchen side. ‘Why do you have war paint on?’ Came the little voice again as he tilted his head to side. ‘I don’t have war paint…oh the black marks? I was working a spell’. Although Phalgrin is a very intelligent creature he couldn’t speak as you or I do, so we communicated telepathically instead. ‘What you been up to while I was out?’ I asked as I threw my coat over the back of the sofa before flopping on it and started to untie my boots.

‘I watched Iron Man’.

‘Oh? What did you think?’ I asked back as I tugged one boot off and began to work on the laces of the other.

‘It was pretty cool, although, I wouldn’t want to accidently fly into him and go poof!’

I laughed as I slung the other boot to join its partner on the floor, rested my feet on heavy wooden coffee table and shut my eyes with an exhale of relief. ‘Phal, you don’t have to worry, One, he’s a comic book character, he’s not real. Two, even if he was, that suit is not made of iron, so no poofing for you’ Like all other fairies iron could severely maim or kill Phalgrin, anything from the size of a nail upwards would do it. Only the oldest and most powerful could not be harmed by a nail or small blade. If Phal really did fly into a plate of iron, it would go exactly as he described, Poof!

‘Oh’ His little voice sounded surprised. ‘So why is he called Iron Man then?’

A sigh escaped my lips, ‘Probably because his suit is made of metal and iron is the most common metal, hence being dubbed Iron Man’ I could sense this was the start of one of those line of questions that reminded me once again that I needed to make time to teach Phal how to use the internet. ‘It’s just one of those things fuzz head’. Begrudgingly, I pushed myself off the supreme comfort of my big leather sofa and padded to the kitchen. Grabbing the milk from the fridge I poured some into one of my big chunky mugs, placing it in the microwave and setting the timer. I fished out the tub of hot chocolate from the back of the cupboard. My kitchen was all black and chrome coloured, clichéd bachelor I know but I like it. When it was decided that Phal was staying I had to go round and make sure there was no iron in here or anywhere else in the flat for that matter. As the milk warmed I woke up my laptop from where it sat on the kitchen island and booted up my hack program, What? I gotta get my information somehow! The microwave pinged. ‘Hot chocolate! Yippee!’ Phal’s voice reverberated in my head as he came flying from the living room straight towards me again. The little guy loved hot chocolate since I gave him some when he was recuperating. I turned my head to the side so I didn’t get a face full of fur again, he splatted against my ear and promptly climbed to the top of my head where he hopped from side to side. I stirred the powder into the warm liquid before taking a small bowl I had gotten from doll’s house dinner service and filling it with some from my own cup. I placed them both next to the laptop and perching on one of the stools. Phal floated down from my head to sit by his cup.

I hacked into the DVLA database hoping to get a match for my vamp, or more likely his driver. If flashed up instantly, Robert Sinclair, right, now to find his employer. A few more button clicks and…Bingo! Nathanial Vermont. He was in town for a ten day business expo at which he was one of the key note speakers. The glossy picture that flashed across the conventions’ homepage showed Vermont amongst the other high profile guests. It was defiantly him, no doubt. So, one of America’s newest entrepreneurs was a vamp. Him being here for the conference would explain the sudden start to the attacks, it also meant I had better stop him, and soon or there would be more victims. I know he wasn’t killing them, that they would be fine in a day with some rest, but damn it he was attacking girls, maybe harming them mentally, and I had the power to stop him, so I was going too. I normally would just kill a vampire who seemed to be out of control, no questions asked, they can turn out that way. If the person was unstable before they were turned it would carry over, or sometimes the turning can traumatise enough to make them go on a killing spree. Sometimes the turner wouldn’t stick around and teach them how to not take it too far, blood sucking or emotional variety. But this guy was too well known, maybe less so here in the UK, but there were a lot of people who knew he was here. Luckily killing him wouldn’t leave a body, but it wouldn’t look good if he just disappeared either.

Hmmmm I had to think this through.

I sipped my hot chocolate, it was just the right temperature, so I took a bigger mouthful. Phal had already finished his, he was snoozing, flat on his back next to his empty cup, and I couldn’t help but smile at him as his little belly rose up and down.

My best bet was to confront him and get him to stop, simple, maybe. If he refused or tried to harm me then I would have no choice but to fight back. A bit more digging resulted in finding his hotel, one of those shiny posh ones right in the centre of the city. Looks like I would be on stake out duty tomorrow evening, no, this evening, it was already in the am. Rubbing my hand across my face I suppressed a yawn. I placed the dirty cups in the sink and shut down the laptop. Quietly, so as not to wake up fuzzy face, I crept back to the living room to the bookcases. I loved to read, whenever I had a spare minute anyway. The case on the right was all old hardbacks, some even signed, dating back two to three hundred years. On the left more recent stuff, science fiction, fantasy but mainly urban fantasy, I just love to see what people think the world would be like if creatures like vampires and fairies actually existed and the modern era, some were not far off, some not so much. I reached up to the very top of the left case and placed my right index finger of the finger print sensor I had installed there. There was a quiet beep and my bookcase slid back into the wall and to the right, slotting snugly behind the other case. My very own Batcave. What? I couldn’t exactly leave weapons and sensitive equipment just laying around the flat now could I? I stepped inside, the light coming on automatically. Down the middle of the small room was a table where I had another laptop and some lab equipment set up. The three walls held all my weapons. Ones my dad taught me when I was a kid like swords and the spear. Ones I had learned from my travels around the world, both long and short bows, even cross bows amongst others. I had a couple of silver coloured Berreta 92’s in here too. Not a fan of guns to be honest, but handy to know how to fire one when it comes sliding at you across the floor when you’re in the middle of a werewolf pack battle disguised as a gang war, that’s another story too. My personal favourite was the expanding batons which could combine to make a bo-staff, and although I could hide them inside my long coat, I may have to enter a club to find this guy and I may be frisked down as I wouldn’t exactly be in ‘clubbing attire’. Looks like I was gonna have to rely on some good old fashioned hand to hand combat, shame mine was a little rusty, and my spells. That was always with me, the dragon magic my father bestowed to me at my conception, the power of ice. The light went out as I left, flicking the switch to put the bookcase back into place as I went. I switched off the lights and gathered up Phal from where he was still snoozing, he stirred a little and snuggled against my chest as I headed for a few hours of well deserved sleep.

Chapter Three.

As soon as the sun started to hang low in the sky I was parked outside The Britannia hotel. Some vampires come out straight away while others prefer to stay in a little longer. I had no idea of Vermont’s habits so I thought better safe than sorry. As I glanced around I spotted a couple sitting outside the coffee shop across the street from me. They were one of those beautiful couples you know? Both drop dead gorgeous, probably both having well paid jobs too, the kind of people that are so cute you wanna throw up over them. The woman had long, dark, dead straight hair, probably freshly heated flat that morning and he had that dirty blonde, slightly scruffy on the ends surfer dude look. They sat very close, leaning on the table to kiss and touch noses and all that lovey dovey stuff. It then got good. Her face went from smiling and glowing to gradually drop in to a scowl of almost rage and disgust as surf guy whispered something in her ear. She wrenched her hands out of his grasp and stood to leave; when he rose to follow she threw her glass of water over him. That was enough to keep me smiling for the rest of the day, but he then proceeded as she stormed off to pull his tight now drenched tee shirt over his head. Surf guy had a gorgeous chest and set of abs. He wiped his face with his shirt, his muscles then bunched as he rang out the excess water. I gotta admit, there were a few twinges in my chest and abdomen. What? Even after nearly 500 years I can appreciate a nice, firm body.

An hour later, still no sign of Vermont. I had finished my coffee and was debating on how wise an idea a second cup was when my phone started vibrating in my pocket. I fished it out and checked the caller ID. A blue butterfly flashed up on my screen. See, when you’ve lived as long as I’ve had, you can get a bit paranoid, people wanna hurt you for some reason, and if they can’t get to you, they will go after your friends and family, so every contact in my phone only makes sense to me. A blue butterfly meant only one person, Fairy Fliss, Felicity Andrews as the rest of the world knew her. She was a genuine fairy, running a club right here in the city. Her bar staff, under her guidance, made the best cocktails! The reason, one tiny speck just one, of fairy dust in every glass. Her drinks made everyone forget about their troubles whatever they may be for a few hours, relax, be happy. I know normal alcohol can do that too, but that was the crazy thing, her cocktails were alcohol free, it was all down to fairy magic. She bought happiness to people with no side effects, no downsides, no harm to the planet or its inhabitants. Good for me because I didn’t want to shut her down like those bastard fairies that had held Phalgrin captive and got people hooked on larger quantities of Fairy Dust. She was a good friend and I enjoyed her company. So, why a butterfly? When Felicity shows her wings they are identical to a blue Morpho butterflies. I answered the call before it rang off. ‘Hello’.

A silky, rich, smooth like melted chocolate voice drizzled out the ear piece, into my ear and straight to my groin. ‘Hello gorgeous’

‘Felicity’ I almost sung back at her before changing my tone to terse. ‘What do you want?’

‘What?’ She chimed back ‘Can’t a girl phone her favourite Dragon Boy just to see how he is?’

I sighed, and I could hear a quiet giggle on her end. I hated being called Dragon Boy and she knew it. She always did it to rile me up. I took a deep breath in through my nose and out through my mouth.

‘One’ I began ‘I’m the only dragon you know. Two, I’m not a boy, I’m like…what? At least three hundred years older than you are and three, yes people can call other people to see how they are, but you cannot.

‘Oh!’ she exclaimed, making it sound more like she was aroused than hurt. ‘Well, that’s no way to talk to a girl who’s scared out of her mind’

That made me sit up and pay attention. Fliss, hell, any fairy for that matter didn’t have many reasons to be scared. They were one of the most powerful creatures on earth. If she was scared, I had better be concerned. ‘Scared? I asked ‘What’s Wrong?’ I heard her take a breath in. I waited to hear about something so evil and horrendous that she needed to compose herself before she spoke. What I got was more chocolate being poured and a hint of sarcasm.

‘I’ve heard about these attacks Ronan…I’m worried…I mean…What if he comes after me next?’ she paused, I could hear her swallow ‘I’m scared to be alone… I thought… maybe…you could come over tonight? Protect me from ‘The Big Scary Vampire’

I smiled, I couldn’t help it. All she had to do was ask and I would have come over anyway. I wasn’t about to tell her that if all went well, there would be no ‘Big Scary Vampire’ after tonight. I couldn’t resist a damsel in distress though, so I played along.

‘Oh baby, don’t be scared, I’ll protect you’

‘You will?’ I could almost hear her eye lashes flutter.

‘Absolutely, I will protect you, all of you, with my whole body’

‘Oh Ronan’ my cock practically twitched the way she said my name ‘When can you come over and ‘protect’ me?’

I smirked ‘Well, I’ve got an errand to run, but once that’s done, I’m all yours baby’ It was nice to know my evening was going to end well, as long as I made it past the vampire.

‘I’m at the club right now, come meet me here when you’re done with your little errand and we’ll go from there’

‘You got it baby’

‘Thank you so much for protecting me Ronan’ I could tell she was smiling, I loved her smile. ‘See you soon sweetie’ and with a click she was gone. I smiled as I put my phone back in my pocket, just as it started vibrating again. I answered without looking at the screen expecting it to be Fliss. ‘What’s the matter? Wanna start the foreplay now?’ I smiled down the microphone.

‘Excuse me?’ Came a deep, annoyed but still sexy male voice, definitely not Fliss but I did recognise it.

‘Oh, Detective Kincaid…I’m so sorry…I thought you were somebody else’

‘Clearly’ came the curt tone back. I squeezed my eyes shut. Ooops!

When I first move to a city I always introduce myself to the local police force. Tell them there’s a new PI in the area, give them details and offer my services in any way possible. Two years ago when I moved here I sat down with one Detective Grayson Kincaid. I still remember it like it was yesterday. I remember the small interview room, the faded blue walls and cheap plastic table and chairs. I can even remember the faint smells of sweat, aftershave and perfume of the last few occupants. Then there was a quiet click of the door, the taps of the smart shoes on the lino floor. I inhaled for a waft of crisp, clean washing, scrubbed skin, aftershave and something else, his scent. I remember turning to see him, the striking emerald eyes that seem to penetrate everything that they glanced at. He was a couple of inches shorter than me, his light brown hair was meant to be, I guessed, kept a little shorter than it currently was. The slightly scruffy ends gave him a boyish charm and softened the cheek bones that gently stuck out just below those beautiful green eyes. His brows furrowed as to why I was staring at him. I tried to hide my blush with my best smile and held out my hand.

‘Ronan Drake, pleased to meet you’

The crease melted as he smiled in return. He clasped my hand, his grip was firm and his palms and fingers had that lovely combination of soft yet slightly rough skin.

‘Detective Grayson Kincaid’ he responded as he sat and gestured for me to take the chair opposite.

‘Kincaid huh?’ I thought out loud ‘Appropriate name, leading the fight against crime’

He frowned at me quizzically again. I was starting to like that look on him already. His eyes stared straight at mine, a silent request for me explain.

‘Kincaid, it means ‘Battle Leader’ in Celtic, you have roots up that way?’

This time he looked slightly surprised, probably that I knew that. I had passed through both Ireland and Northern Ireland several times during my travels and picked up bits and pieces along the way.

‘Yeah’ he replied ‘My father’s side’

‘Yet no hint of an accent, you moved here when you were young I’m guessing’ It was more of statement than a question, and I wasn’t furnished with an answer.

‘So you’ve come here today for what purpose again Mr Drake? Introduce yourself?’

‘Call me Ronan please, and yeah, I just moved into the city I thought I would let you know there was a new PI in town, give you my details, let you know things I’m really good at, my knowledge etc and just basically offer my services in case you ever need me’

I got a cocked eyebrow in response; this guy’s poker face was crap. ‘You’re offering your services to us? The Police?’

I sighed ‘I get that a lot as you can imagine, but I’ve always been called in the end’ I smiled ‘Always’

The look on his face still said he was sceptical. ‘Look’ I said passing him an envelope with my name on it ‘All my details, knowledge etc even references are in here, you need me, give me a call, that’s all’

Kincaid looked at the envelope, and then back up to me, like he was weighing me up, I smiled.

‘Yes, well, okay, I’ll put your details on file, thanks for coming in’ he said as he rose from his chair. I stood too and followed as he went out the room. Turning to face him, I offered him my hand again and another smile ‘See you soon Detective’ I added a wink for good measure.

I opened my eyes and tried to pull my mind to focus on the now.

‘I was just arranging an evening with a friend of mine, you’re welcome to join us, I’m sure she would love to get her hands on you’ I teased. I heard a slight scoff on the other end of the line.

‘If she’s one of your friends they would more likely be claws’

I clasped my chest as if I was hurt ‘Sir, you wound me deeply, are you implying that I cavort with unscrupulous types?’

‘I’m saying you are an unscrupulous type’ he retorted, but I could hear a faint smile on his lips.

‘Ouch!’ I exclaimed ‘The knife goes in and then he twists it for good measure’

A heavy annoyed sounding sigh blew into my ear ‘Are you done?’

‘Erm’ I pretended to ponder ‘Yes I think I believe I am, what can I do you for Detective?’

‘I know you’ve been tracking this guy, the one attacking the girls outside the clubs. I want to know what you’ve found?’ Well, that was a surprise. I hadn’t told anyone I was trying to find this guy, so how on earth did he know?

‘And what makes you think I’ve been tracking him Gray?’

‘I know what you’re like Ronan, it’s the kinda shit you would pull. So, tell me what you know?’

I swallowed. Should I tell him the truth? I mean, he knew about all the supernatural stuff that was going on, I told him. You can’t really deny all that kinda stuff when you rescue someone from a demon who had them bound and was about to all kinds of nasty demon sex stuff to him before killing him, well, you could to stoner or a drunkard, that word is so under used nowadays, I loved the word drunkard…but you can’t deny it to a stone cold sober police detective. A snarl slipped through gritted teeth brought me back out of my little flashback.

‘NOW Ronan!!’

‘Okay okay, Jesus! Yes, I’ve been tracking him. It’s an emotional vampire. I’ve found him and I’ll have him neutralised in the space of a couple of hours…’ I blurted out before I got another earful.

‘What if you can’t neutralise him?’

‘If it doesn’t go well, there will an attack every night for at least the next five nights, you will have the murder of a PI that you probably won’t be able to explain and Felicity will not have an epic night of sex tonight’

‘Well, I don’t like the idea of the first two I have to admit, but I’m sure your friend will be able to find someone else, so I’m not really worried about that last one’

‘Oh, you are in a very catty mood today’ I said ‘Plus, you wouldn’t say that once you’ve spent a night with me’ I added with a purr.

‘In your dreams Ronan’ came the retort

‘Indeed Detective, every…single…night’

I could almost picture him as I waited for a reply. Those stunning green eyes rolling with exasperation; an exhale to match escaping his lips. His work shirt sleeves pushed up to let his elbows rest against his impeccably tidy desk.

No response came, I checked to see if the call was still connected, it was.

‘Grayson?’

‘Don’t die on me now, I got enough paperwork as it is’ Then he hung up.

I love getting under that guys skin, I would love to get under the covers with him more though. I settled back in my seat with a smirk on my face and reached for my half eaten box of jelly beans.

As the sun finally disappeared over the distant horizon Vermont strolled casually out the big glass double doors at the front of the hotel. He was again dressed all in black, virtually the same outfit as I had seen in my vision, but he had added a small black biker style leather jacket. It was a lot chillier tonight than last night, not that Vermont as a vamp would feel it, but he would have looked odd wearing just a tee-shirt and having no goose bumps. His driver, Sinclair, pulled the car up just as Vermont reached the pavement and as he climbed in I started up my own cars engine. It coughed a couple of times before growling to life. Looks like it was service time again, I would have rather been on my Harley but bikes don’t really work on a stake out. I followed them along a few streets, all the while knowing that I was inching ever closer to the inevitable confrontation. Eventually the car stopped, where it shouldn’t of I may add, outside a place called Crystal Rhythm, oh shit…. The vampire was heading straight into Felicity’s club.

Chapter Four.

Crystal Rhythm was one of the nicer clubs in town; it had opened up a couple of years ago, not long before I moved here actually. I continued past the entrance, luckily there was no queue tonight, and headed around the corner to find a place to park, and quickly before another girl got hurt.

The doors of Fliss’ club opened into a small reception area where you could exchange your coat for a tag. I opted to keep my coat on; I’ll probably be heading back outside again soon. (I got patted down as I had suspected) The entrance led off into a meandering hallway dotted with deep blue spot lights causing strange shadows to dance as I stepped along to reach the next set of double doors. The spot lights were another cool feature of Fliss’ club, they contained fairy light, muted of course, just enough to make you feel exactly what you need to feel, whether it be easing the muscles tension so you can relax after a hard day at work, or the first buzz to start a wild night. I felt like I had been slapped across both cheeks, hard, and had cold water thrown over my face, a wakeup call, telling me to stay alert. I could still barely hear the music, despite its proximity, but I could feel it, in my chest, hammering an opposing rhythm to my own steady heartbeat. The bass so heavy it pounded through the walls as if there was no soundproofing. The double doors emerged onto a glass and chrome balcony high above a circular dance floor. There were a few people draped over the railings, sipping from slender glasses containing various coloured liquids. Staircases to my left and right led downward, and directly across from me under pale white lights was the DJ. Glancing over the edge I observed the scene below. Bodies writhed and swayed all over each other. Kind of reminded me of a documentary I had seen a little while ago where Japanese wasps would swarm an invading hornet. They all seemed to move and dance in unison to the thundering beat the DJ and the expensive surround sound system provided. There were two bars, mirroring the stairs, with four staff on each side. They too all appeared to be dancing themselves, gliding around each other and up and down the bar, making serving drinks and cocktail creation seem like a beautifully choreographed ballet. I took a deep breath in through my nose trying to find my target. There were a lot of different essences, but the one that over-powered them all was the luscious sugary scent of fairy and fairy magic. It was everywhere, coating every surface, I could even taste it in the air, like I had dunked a damp finger in the sugar bowl and was sucking on it. It was delicious. I could also smell a lot of humans, plain, neutral, kinda like pancakes, freshly cooked but bland before you add syrup, fruit or bacon, mmmm bacon. The humans were all sweaty too, ergh. There was also perfume, aftershave and the faint smell of smoke where people had nipped outside into one of the two smoking areas. There were other smells too; sniffing again I could defiantly catch the deep earthy fragrance of two werewolves, both by the left side bar. To my right there was a nymph, its fresh ocean breeze gently weaving its way to me through the sweet air. There was also a mage of some description on the dance floor amid the writhing mass; I could smell the magic. The smell of decay hadn’t come to me yet, had I missed him? Did he know he had been followed and got dropped off outside here to throw me off the scent? Literally. I leaned over the right side of the balcony and did loads of little sniffs like a bloodhound trying to find the scent of a deer; attempting to find the one scent he needed above all the others assaulting his nose. I was about to do the same over on the left when I caught it, the unmistakable stench of the walking un-dead. He was here, but I still couldn’t see him. Edging my way past the patrons that were leaning on the banisters I paced slowly down the stairs trying to narrow down where he was. As I hit the bottom my eyes moved from the dance floor to the bar area, straight on to the beauty that was Felicity. Her face lit up as she came out from behind the bar towards me, almost skipping. Her shoulder length hair had been pulled back and was being held in place with two slender crystal adorned sticks, and was an impressive shade of pink. A dark blue dress hugged her curvaceous body in all the right places, its hem longer on one side drawing my eyes to her knee high boots. I beamed back at her and opened my arms to receive the hug I was sure was coming my way. I didn’t get a hug.

When Fliss reached me she flung her arms around my neck, laced her fingers through my hair and pulled my lips to her. The deep thundering beat faded to nothing. All the people around us just melted away. All I could see, smell and feel was Felicity. My eyes drifted closed as her nails scratched my scalp. She tasted sweeter than the air as I kissed her back, like she had coated her lips in glucose; sucrose or maybe other stuff that ended in ’ose’. I raised my hands to her bangle decorated wrists before slowly stroking the backs of my fingers down her bare lower arms to her shoulders. Summoning my magic, I covered my fingers tips in ice as I touched her naked back, knowing her sensitive wings were just below the surface. She opened her lips in a gasp and allowed my tongue to caress hers. I didn’t suppress my groan. She shuddered beneath my touch as I moved my hands to her peachy behind and crushed her against me. It still felt like it wasn’t enough, it always did with Fliss. Her nails dug into my head again, a little too hard. The pain must have reconnected a wire in my brain somewhere. There was a reason I was here…I’m sure there was…what was it again?… Shit! The Vampire!

We pulled back about the same time; her arms remaining in my hair, both breathing a bit heavier. I glanced down into her sky blue eyes, they were sparkling; she was biting her bottom lip too. Her hair had gone from bubblegum pink to a stunning ruby red. Fairies hair colour changes with their mood. They can hide it if they wish, which they did most of the time. Sometimes its involuntary if the emotion is very strong. When I first saw Fliss she was happy, now she was fucking horny. She released her lip and said something but her voice was carried away by the music. I frowned and leaned in close again,

‘What?’ Her warm wet tongue ran along my outer ear and I shivered.

‘I said, I’m so happy to see you’

‘I’m happy to see you too baby, but we got a little problem, can we go to the office? I said back. We parted again; she frowned and nodded. She placed a chaste kiss to my lips; turned back towards the bar and I followed, our hands clasped tightly together. Even before we reached the chrome bar the flap was being held open for us by one of the staff, a cute petite fairy with a shy smile and her hair pink with blue streaks, happy and calm, good combo for a possibly busy nightclub. Felicity led me through the bar door into the ‘backstage’ area, a break room for the workers, toilets, cleaning cupboard all that sort of thing and the manager’s office which we went into and I shut the door behind me.

‘What’s up?’ she asked as she perched on the edge of her desk with her arms crossed ‘Thought you were coming over after you ran an errand?’

‘I was, but the errand brought me here… I was tracking the vamp and he came in here’

‘What?!’ Her eyes blazed. ‘There’s a fucking vampire in my club?!’ Her red hair now had flashes of orange, she was still horny, but pissed off too.

‘Hay’ I chimed, going to her and pulling her close to me ‘Don’t worry, I’ll get him. I just thought you had better know that was why I was here’ I kissed her forehead and rubbed her back gently. She promptly shoved me away and I hit the door, the knob digging into my lower back.

‘Well… Don’t just stand there, go get him!’ She re-crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at me, a silent ‘And don’t you think of coming back until he’s ash!’ I moved quickly, stole a kiss and winked at her ‘You got it baby’ and I exited stage left.

Chapter Five.

Heading back to the main club area I began sniffing again, my eyes scanning every person. Now I was closer the smells were stronger, the sugar sweeter, the pancakes fluffier. The werewolves had moved from the other bar to the dance floor. I caught them eyeing me briefly. They probably had caught a whiff of me with their own superior sense of smell and was wondering what I was. (I’ll have to ask a werewolf one day what I smelt like, I mean according to my dad I smelt like a crisp icey winter morning) To my left under the stairs was the nymph. It was a male, tall, quite slender for his species with dishevelled windswept dirt blonde hair. I could only describe him as beautiful, but then again, all nymphs were. He had three women around him, a blonde, brunette and red head. Red was in front, slightly to his left. I could see she was tracing lazy circles on his right pectoral. The other two clung to his sides while his hands were snaked round to rest on their behinds. He raised eyes his from red’s to meet my own, his slight smile broadened and he winked. I returned his smile and nodded politely before returning to my search. Moving slowly towards the dance floor I inhaled deeply, trying to the smell of fairy and human. Then, there it was, the scent of decay and it came from behind me. Trying to act as casually as possible I turned and out the corner of my eye I saw him, Nathaniel Vermont. He had his arm a blonde who had his leather jacket draped over her petite frame; and they were heading towards the smoking area exit. Slowly, I weaved my way around the tables, keeping my eyes locked on the moving couple. I didn’t want him to see me, not yet anyway, so I kept to his six. He went through the door, I waited for a few seconds so he would be away from the other side and was about to follow when I was surrounded by the crisp fresh scent of the ocean and there was a gently touch at my elbow. I turned to find the nymph from a moment ago; the three girls in tow and a smile on his face. Now he was closer I could see he was wearing a white shirt, the top three buttons undone, his sleeves pushed up past his elbows. I would have thought he had come from the office, but he was wearing tight black jeans instead of tailored trousers. He just kept on smiling at me and held up a business sized piece of card between long fingers. I held his gaze as I took it and flipped it over before glancing at it. In beautiful spiral handwriting it said ‘Alex’ and a phone number. My eyes went back to him and I returned his smile as I pulled my coat away from my body and began to place the card in the inside pocket. ‘Alex’ shook his head and taking the edge of my coat in one hand, his card in the other and promptly stepped chest to chest with. His smell enveloped me more. Despite the relative darkness I could now see his eyes were the colour of storm clouds, his breathing a little heavy causing his chest to rise and fall. The thin material of his shirt and my tee shirt doing nothing to hamper the feeling of his nipples pressed against my own. I felt the hand with the card in on my hip, then slowly slide down into my front pocket, depositing the card and moving his hand to my hip. He leaned in and placed a gentle yet firm kiss to my lips. Before I could respond he moved away, his groupies following, the brunette stroking my arm as she went past. God I love nymphs. I must have stood just looking like an idiot with a grin for a minute before sense kicked back in. Face palming myself, I sighed and edged my way quietly through the door and out into the night.

Chapter Five.

The rain that had been threatening all day was now coming down in a steady torrent from the nebulous sky. Trying to keep my foot falls as quiet as possible and sticking to the shadows, I edged further in to the alley that was being used as a smoking area. All the usual stuff you would expect to see down an alley, bins, rubbish and maybe even a tramp were all void here. They had cleaned it out, even painted the bricks and strung up a few pale spotlights. Several cigarette bins had been screwed to the walls.

I took a deep, yet silent breath in through my nose, good job I didn’t have a cold. He was still here; there was also the faint smell of perfume, which would be the girl. Despite the steady rhythm of the rain beating down around me I could just about make out the sound of heavy breathing, yet there was no one in sight. Then, in the dark corner by the stairs that led back to the street, a shadow burst into the beam from the nearby light. I tensed, then realised it was a piece of clothing that had landed with a rustle on the ground; Vermont’s leather jacket. The seduction was already underway. The time to make my move was now. I sort out my magic from where it resided deep within me and pulled it to the surface, ready. Cracking my neck and knuckles, I took a deep breath, stepped into the light and boomed;

‘What manner of man is this, or what manner of creature is it in the semblance of man.’

From the darkness came a quiet male growl, followed by a desperate plea ‘No…please…don’t stop’

I heard what sounded like a person sliding gently down a wall to the ground before Vermont stepped into the light in front of me. It felt like we were on a stage, two actors each illuminated by our own spotlight. My own vision and even the website didn’t really do the American justice now I was up close. He was even more handsome, a light dusting of stubble had grown across his ‘Superman’ jaw. His chestnut eyes were hooded with arousal, and he looked pretty annoyed.

‘Seriously? That’s the best you could come up with? A Dracula quote? He snarled at me.

I grinned back ‘It seemed appropriate ya know, what with that recent TV series, have you seen it? Jonathan Rhys Meyers makes one sexy vampire’

‘You got a lot of nerve punk, especially knowing what you’re up against’ His smile was gentle, confident, as he rolled his shoulders.

‘I do actually, they don’t know how many nerves are in the human body, but it runs into the millions I believe’ I retorted, mock counting on my fingers.

‘Smart mouth fucker!’ he roared as he charged at me. He was super fast, a blur as took his right fist and connected it, hard, to my stomach. All the air seemed to leave my body in a rush and I crumpled to the ground in a heap. I fell a fancy Italian shoe connect with my ribs.

‘Dumb fuck’ he spat down at me. I heard those same shoes grind on the tarmac as he pivoted and began to walk away.

‘Ya know’ I began as I rose from the floor and dusted myself off ‘It’s very dangerous to turn your back on your opponent’

Vermont had stopped and turned with an eyebrow raised, half in the shadows, half out. The shadows surrounding him like he had been enveloped by darkness and it were now a part of him.

‘How the fuck are you even conscious, let alone fucking standing?’ I smiled, it’s fun doing that, puts people on edge, makes them wonder what you’re up too.

‘That a rhetorical or an actual question?’

His mask of control slipped back into place, but he remained in the shadows.

‘Look’ I said, not bothering to find out if, it was an actual question or not. ‘I dunno how it works in the good Ole U S of A, but here, you can’t go around taking what you want from girls in club alleyways without their consent, see what I’m saying?’He raised both eyebrows this time, Man….why do people keep doing that to me? It could really give a guy a complex.

‘I’m giving you a chance to walk away, no more hunting while you are here and fly home, everyone’s happy’ I held my arms open, hands splayed in a casual ‘What do ya say?’ Kinda way.

Vermont’s lips spread into something between a smirk and a wicked grin ‘and I suppose you are gonna stop me?’

‘If I have too, I will yes’ My magic that I had kept simmering began to bubble, ready to be unleashed, but not yet, that was my trump card.

The American ran his fingers through his wet hair, slicking it back and cracked his neck. His grin widened into an almost wolfish smile. ‘Let’s go’ and he surged forward for a second time, aiming for my stomach again. I side stepped this time, swirling my three quarter trench coat like a matador’s rag. He skidded to a halt and turned to face me, eyes blazing; now he looked really pissed!

‘Ole!’ I chimed

‘Cocky little shit ain’t cha?’

He stepped slowly towards me, cautiously, fists raised like a boxer. I mirrored him, as if all I had against him was my own fists. He jabbed with his right, aiming for my nose but I blocked, barely, and connected with my own. His may have been fast and strong, but mine had been reinforced. As I pushed my fist through the air I encased it in ice, freezing the rain on my skin completely around my hand, with little icicles over the knuckles for added impact. He turned slightly so I didn’t get him full in the face as I intended, but my frozen fist still caught him on the edge of the temple, slicing the skin and causing him to take a steps back. Still not ready to reveal my magic, I dispelled the ice. The wound had already begun to close but he still had to wipe blood infused rain from his eye.

‘Lucky shot’ he spat as he came at me with a flurry of punches. I blocked, it was all I could do. Well, it wasn’t blocking per say, more covering my face with my forearms. He used his speed to circle me, landing blows to my ribs, kidneys and stomach. The punches weren’t as hard as the first one he did, but there were a lot of them and my body was really starting to feel the constant barrage, like he was all around me at once. With each contact of his fists I felt a rib fracture, an organ bruise, and just as it began to knot itself back together he punched me again. I couldn’t block forever, I had to go on the offensive. There was a pattern to the pain he was dishing out, punch punch move, punch punch move and elbow to the stomach! He wasn’t expecting it and staggered back a few steps, just enough to give me a chance to breathe. Everything ached like a bitch, but I pushed it to the back of my mind, I couldn’t let this guy win. Just because I heal faster, a lot faster, doesn’t mean I don’t feel pain; I stand on a Lego I scream and swear just like anyone else. Oooo Lego, there’s an idea! That could be a good way to keep Phal distracted during the day…or me at the wrong time! Get your head back in the game dickhead! Suddenly my arms were clamped to my sides and I could feel a heavy weight against my back. I twisted and squirmed but to no avail as Vermont’s super human strength gripped me like a vice. ‘Easy easy’ His voice low and husky in my ear ‘Now we can get to know each other better’

A warm wet tongue caressed the lobe of my left ear and gently stroked upwards, teasing the silver rings I had there on the way up. Was he trying to seduce me? Magic began to build in the air around us, I could feel it thrumming and pulsating. Any thoughts I had on the possible dangers of this situation flew out of my head as my body temperature rose a couple of degrees, and I felt…really frisky. My head fell back to rest on Vermont’s shoulder, my whole body relaxing out of the tension of combat as he kissed his way down my neck.

‘I don’t normally go for guys’ he said as spun and slammed my back against the brick wall, my head reeling at the sudden movement. ‘But for you…I’ll make an exception’ and he crashed his lips to mine. They tasted of honey and he groaned as our tongues touched. It didn’t quite taste right, but I couldn’t work out why. It didn’t seem that important when a solid thigh was thrust between my parted legs. It was my turn to groan as I began to wantonly grind myself against it. The kiss grew rougher, more desperate; I bit his lower lip drawing out a hiss from him as a drop of blood trickled through the broken skin on to my tongue.

Let me tell you something about my species. Dragons, pure dragons, more often than not, battle in their dragon forms. Fighting with claws and teeth, tearing at flesh and scales; and with this, you’re bound to get blood in your mouth. The taste for blood is not only yearned for in battle, but learned. It is passed from mother to child before and after birth. Being only half blood, I can’t turn into a dragon (I know, sucks right!) and I never got the taste from my mother in the womb, she was human after all. My dad however from a very young boy taught me the ways of our kind. He taught me how to fight with both sword and spear (our weapons in human form) He told me our history, right up to the Civil War that tore our species apart; and he taught me it was like to fight with your opponents’ claret on your lips. I gotta admit, I didn’t like it at first, who would? But with each practice session with my dad be it hand, sword, or spear. You kinda get used to the sour metallic taste of your own blood in your mouth (My dad didn’t go easy on me) I went from hating it, too it not bothering me so much to welcoming it with open arms. Now, I crave it. Whether it’s my own, my opponents’ or my lovers, the metallic twang tingling all my senses, liquid life slipping down my throat, the sensual ruby smear across plump lips. It’s like a drug.

But when Vermont’s single drop touched my tongue, something in me snapped. It didn’t give me that sweet rush, it barely tasted metallic. It tasted of ash, earth and death. My eyes flew wide open, a sudden urge to get away flooded through me. I grabbed at the American’s elbows, ready to push him. When I realised he was still kissing me, his eyes shut and his leg still between mine, a strong hand cupping my erection. He didn’t know his ‘spell’ had been broken. He thought he was still in charge, well that was about to change! I still had the grip on his arms; I tightened it and slammed my knee in between his own slightly parted legs, connecting with his balls. He broke the kiss, his head snapping backwards with a howl to the skies. So I took the opportunity opened and smashed my forehead into his nose with a satisfying crack. I pushed him away from me before introducing his chest to my heavy booted size eleven. He staggered backwards, one hand holding his nose, the other on his crotch. The time to hide my magic was over, so I reached for it as I flung my arms forward like I was pushing and unleashed it. To be honest though, I had never tried what I was about to do before. I didn’t know if it was gonna work at all, let alone resist the strength of a vampire, but it was the only thing that came to mind that may work. I prayed. The temperature in the alley dropped about ten degrees in two seconds. Vermont’s clothes were soaked from the rain that was still streaming down. I froze them. Remember those cartoons when you were younger where a character would fall through a frozen lake and bob back up to the surface encased in a block of ice? That’s the look I was going for. Brilliant blue ice exploded from the ground, big shards piecing Vermont’s legs. He wailed in surprise.

‘Wha….’ He began to wiggle from side to side, sweeping his arms to break the ice, but for every one he snapped I replaced it with two more. Beads of sweat began to trickle down the sides of my face from the effort. Freezing water that was already there was a lot less draining than creating ice out of nothing, but I was freezing an awful lot water, it was still taking a lot out of me. I slowly began to raise my hands, spreading the ice up his restrained legs, freezing them apart.

‘How…what are you doing? He stuttered

‘Just trying to cool down the situation a little’ I responded as I weaved the ice further up. He yelped again as I enclosed the ice around privates, a smile spreading across my face. What? It was funny. I pushed it higher, surrounding his stomach and torso before snaking it down his arms all the while digging more icicles into him, hoping the blood loss would weaken him, even if only a little. I even froze his hair, leaving his face clear so I could talk to him. By the time I was done, he kinda looked a bit like the little man stuck on the gents toilet door. I lowered my hands to my knees, breathing heavily. I wanted more time to catch my breath but I wasn’t sure how long the ‘ice prison’ would hold him. Standing back up I slowly stepped closer.

‘Are you more chilled out now? I said, making sure I emphasised the ‘chill’ in chilled. Oh yeah, I went there.

‘You’re not human are you? He asked, I swear I heard his teeth chatter even though vampires are resilient to the cold.

‘No shit Sherlock’ I barked back at him.

‘What are you?’

‘That’s enough of the stupid questions. Are you going to stop hunting while you are here? Or am I gonna to have kill you where you stand? With a slight movement from my fingers, two large thick shards began to slowly protrude up from the American’s shoulders heading towards his neck, stopping only when they just touched the skin.

‘A click of my fingers is all it takes to decapitate you, so what’ll it be?

Vermont’s eyes were darting up, down, side to side, a hint of fear contained within them and I could almost hear the cogs in his head turning over. I had caught my breath back and was standing with my arms crossed across my chest, foot tapping impatiently.

‘Anytime today Vermont’ as I started to tap my fingers against my bicep, the American’s gaze locked on my fingers, eyes wide, seemingly terrified that one wave of a digit could kill him. It could too. One click of my fingers would make the ice explode, taking his head and leaving a small pile of ash to be easily washed away by the rain.

‘O..okay’ he said, appearing to sag in defeat despite being frozen solid ‘I won’t go out hunting while I’m here’

‘Promise?’ As I held my right hand up and slightly out in front of me, thumb and middle touching, poised.

‘I swear!’ he nearly shouted ‘I will not hunt, you have my word’ His eyes never leaving my outstretched fingers.

‘Your word isn’t worth jack!’ I scoffed and snapped my fingers.

‘Nooooooooooo!’

With a thunderous crack the ice shattered, outwards. Shards hit the walls, a few lights went out, fragments skittered across the ground and Vermont was left unharmed, well almost, he had a few holes and a lock of his hair was still frozen, pressed against his forehead in the back draft. His eyes were tightly shut and he was still screaming, until he realised he was and he stopped. Cautiously, he opened his eyes, looking down his hands, patting down his body, he glanced up at me, I smiled.

‘Remember your promise’ I clicked my fingers again, causing the last shard of ice to shatter. Vermont whimpered.

I began to walk back towards the club. ‘Wait’

I paused.

‘You never answered my question’

I turned on the spot to face him, raising my eyebrow for him to continue.

‘What are you?’ I thought you may have been a sorcerer, but you’re not are you?’

‘I’m not’ I said, turning back towards the door.

‘I’m something else’

I hope you enjoyed! ^^