Eternal (8)

Mirra awoke with a hungry gnawing feeling in her stomach; her need to feed was intense. She sat up and realized she had slept on Drayden's chest immobile all night long. That was something she never did. Mirra's sleep pattern was horrible. She had always been somewhat of an insomniac. She tossed and turned and moved all over the bed in her sleep, but not last night. Last night she had literally been dead to the world. She cracked a grin, well, it wasn't really last night, was it? This vampire thing really did agree with her body's metabolism. If you didn't count the hunger she awoke with, she'd never slept better in her life or felt more rested. She had Drayden to thank for that. She looked down at her sleeping lover. Her feelings for him were more powerful than any she had ever known. He had captivated her, body and soul. Mirra reached down to stroke his face, gently, lovingly. 1

Instantly, Drayden jolted and threw her with all his might. Mirra flew across the room, cracking her head against the rough hewn stone wall. A jagged piece of rock pierced her skull from the back and blood began to pour from the opening. Her head was literally split open in the back; her body lay crumpled on the floor and her eyes began to glaze over as she looked up at Drayden. He had sprung out of bed and was standing over her with the most feral red glow emanating from his eyes, murderous eyes. It took him only a second to realize what he had done and his look changed from deadly to wildly concerned. 2

"Mirra! Mirra. Oh, Mirra. What have I done?" He picked her listless body up and saw the damage he had caused. She was dying. She was too young to withstand such a blow. She needed blood or she would die. Her body couldn't heal itself fast enough yet. She'd only fed once and the injuries he'd imposed on her skull and brain were vast. Her head lolled backward and blood streamed. 3

Drayden sat down, holding her head in his lap and did the only thing he knew to do. He used his teeth to slit both his wrists and willed his body not to repair the cuts. He put one wrist to her mouth and pressed the other to the gaping hole in the back of her head. His blood was strong, but was it strong enough? It had to be. Her blood was still pouring like rainwater out the back of her skull, so he flipped her face down and watched as his blood dripped into the crushed indentation that used to be her cranium. He watched it heal where ever it touched and he ripped the slit in his wrist even more to pour his lifeblood directly in the gap to her brain. He felt her tongue begin to lap at his other wrist, then she began to drink as he rubbed his blood around the edges of broken bone. Her beautiful curls were soaked in crimson and he had no idea what this would do to her. Minutes dragged by as he felt Mirra began to really suck at his wrist. Her pull on him was one that was desperate. The vampire within had taken over. Drayden felt his head go light and became groggy. He knew she was draining him, but his guilt let her drink anyway. Finally, the creature inside him made him tear his wrist from her mouth and he fell over backward on the floor. 4

Drayden knew they both needed blood, she worse than he, and they needed it fast. With his last remaining energy, he summoned up the strength to throw her over his shoulder and headed out into the night. He drove his car with reckless abandon, heading quickly to where he knew there was always sustenance. He pulled over to the curb, motioned a girl to him, waved some money at her and she climbed in his car quickly. He drove away, not far, just to an alley a few blocks south. He got out and the whore followed. He had her body drained of blood and thrown in the dumpster in less than three minutes. Drayden felt much better. He looked around for another meal. Mirra needed to feed, too. She was still unconscious in the backseat, oblivious to the world. 5

Drayden walked away from his car toward the park where the junkies and hookers always were. He saw a blonde walking alone and decided to take her. He followed her. It was like stalking an inanimate object, it was so easy. She was oblivious to all the things around her and even if he hadn't possessed stealth, it would've been easy to take her. Some things were just too easy to do. He left her lifeless body in the bushes and felt like his old self once again. 6

Now, he could think of taking care of Mirra. It took him a few minutes to locate a young man wanting to earn his next fix. Drayden flashed his cash and the junkie followed him back toward the alley where his car waited. To his amazement, he saw Mirra stand up from behind the dumpster in the alleyway and stride purposefully toward them. He noticed the scent of death in the air and saw part of a hand on the ground on the side of the dumpster she emerged from behind. She walked right past Drayden and up to her prey. She locked eyes with him for only a moment and Drayden heard the force of her subliminal command, Be still. Mirra grabbed him and latched on to his throat, all the while repeating the telepathic command, Be still. Be still. Be still. She had the male drained in minutes and dropped him where he stood. 7

She stepped over his lifeless corpse and turned on Drayden with insanely feral eyes. He knew she was getting ready to attack him and some instinct told him to back off. He leapt straight up as high as he could and into one of the building's broken windows. Mirra looked around dumbfounded for a moment, then strode purposely forward out of the alley. What had he done to her? She was a mindless zombie. Her eyes had held no recognition for him, only bloodlust. Drayden hated to think of what he would have to do to her if she couldn't come out of it. He had heard of those who couldn’t make the transition and had to be destroyed. It actually pained him to think that he had done this to his new fledgling. He decided he would give her some time to see if she could overcome it, but he didn't know how long he would be able to look at her like she was. She had become a mindless creature hell bent on blood and nothing else. 8

Mirra was on the prowl and would not be sated. She cleared the park of whores and junkies that night, raining her blood parade down on them like a possessed maniac. The blood lust had taken over, and she let it. 9

Being a vampire in this day and age was as much about cunning and art as it was about the hunt. One couldn't just leave bodies lying about with their throats ripped out, all drained of blood. Drayden knew the area fairly well, though, and took the two bodies to an old abandoned building not far from the park where the homeless usually camped. He killed the one vagrant who was in the house just for good measure. He was mad at Mirra for her leaving him all the dirty work. Drayden followed after her, picking up the corpses one by one. With every body he disposed of, his hopes sank a little deeper that she would recover. He knew that the caring girl she was wouldn't slaughter people like this especially after she had had her fill of blood. The beast inside her knew only blood and the sweet taste of terror on its tongue as they died horribly in her arms. The park had no human life left in it and Mirra headed elsewhere still looking for her prey. Drayden picked up her last corpse and turned toward the building where he had deposited the others, sure of what he was going to have to do to her. 10

The woman pulled the van up to her house. She had just returned from her parents' house and was looking forward to sleeping in her own bed tonight. The kids were sleepy and she announced they were home to rouse them from their slumber. She stepped out of the van and slid open the back door to unbuckle her youngest from her car seat. Before she could free the sleepy child, Mirra attacked. Her eyes glowing with fire from the depths of hell were what the children in the car saw first. Mirra ripped the woman's throat out and laughed mindlessly as the blood spurted over her already blood-soaked face. She drank deeply as the children looked on horrified. When Mirra ripped the car seat from the van with the child still inside the other two older children began to scream. The boy in the front seat got out and yelled for his sister in the back to run. She sat still, screaming, staring at the horror in front of her refusing to believe what she was seeing. The boy tore open his sister's door and pulled her outside. "Run! Run! RUN!" He screamed at her, but she stood stock still, hypnotized by the horror. 11

Mirra had practically ripped the toddler's head off and flung her lifeless body, still in the car seat to the ground. She leapt on top of the van and stared down wickedly at the two children. "Run!" screamed the older boy, giving his sister a shove. The push gave her what she needed and she ran with her brother right behind her. Mirra laughed and jumped from the top of the van to land a few steps behind the boy. She grabbed him from behind and she heard him yell, "Don't look back! Just run!" as she sank her fangs into his soft neck. 12

Drayden had finally caught up to Mirra and witnessed her last two killings as he was running toward her. Even he, the killer that he was, couldn't let this go on. "Mirra, stop!" Drayden's thunderous command assaulted Mirra's ears and crashed though her head telepathically simultaneously. He whirled her to face him as she dropped the lifeless boy to the ground. "Mirra, stop." The command came again. He summoned every power he had to force his words into her mind. 13

Mirra blinked blindly at him and he saw some faint recognition in her eyes. "You have to stop now, Mirra. You must stop." Mirra blinked blindly at him again and shook her head. "Hear my voice, Mirra. Come back to me. You must come back to me." Mirra blinked again and shook her head. This time her eyes seemed to focus on him and lost some of their feral glow. "It's Drayden, Mirra, listen to my voice and come back to me, my love. It will all be alright tomorrow. Go to sleep, now, my Mirra. You'll be yourself again tomorrow." Mirra took one step toward him and collapsed in his arms. Drayden swept her up and carried her back to his car. "Sleep deeply, Mirra, sleep," he commanded as he left her in his Mercedes and turned to the business at hand.14

He carried the woman and her three children and threw them in with the others. Then, he returned for the van. He put on gloves and drove it over there, too. When all the bodies were inside, he stole gasoline and matches, soaked the bodies, and set the house on fire. He did the same to the van after taking the cash and credit cards from the woman's purse. The gloves went into the inferno as well. He turned from his handiwork and headed back to Mirra. Tomorrow he would "lose" the credit cards where some local gang members would find them. His thoughts were still on Mirra. He didn't know if he could bring her back. 15

He drove home quickly and carried her inside. She was filthy. Dried blood was caked in her hair, under her fingernails, and on her skin. Her wounds had healed perfectly, but had her mind been permanently damaged? How could he do that to her? Drayden felt guilt for the first time in centuries and it wasn't an emotion he liked. He stripped both their clothes off and took her into the shower with him. Drayden dressed her in the only thing he could find-one of his silk shirts and lay her on the bed. She stirred a little and moaned. He laid down beside her and gazed at her beautiful form. She looked so innocent with her wet curls splayed on his pillow. "Mirra, I haven't woken up with anyone in an eternity. I just reacted out of instinct. You've got to know that, don’t you? I know you do." He said this staring at her sleeping form, then he caressed her cheek. "I'm sorry, Mirra. You have to come back to me. I can't lose you." 16

Mirra had no idea how much it cost Drayden to say those words, to admit that he had done something wrong, to admit to feeling defenseless, and to show his feelings for her. It was as if he was less of a man, to have to explain himself to his fledgling female, to have to apologize for hurting her and to show her his true feelings. It hurt the vampire inside him and he hadn't realized how much of his pride it would cost him until the words were out of his mouth. It was a mistake he would not make again. It gave her some sort of power over him, and he did not like it at all even if she was sleeping and might not even know what he said. He was supposed to be the one in complete control, and too late, he realized that he had given the power over to her. Drayden fell asleep holding her in his arms.17

Mirra awoke with her head on Drayden's chest. She lay back on her elbow and started to stroke a lock of hair away from his forehead, but something stopped her, warned her not to do that. She didn't know what. She stared at his lifeless form and softly whispered his name instead. Drayden's eyes opened instantly and he sat up and looked at her. He grabbed her by the shoulders and looked deeply into her eyes. There was an emotion in his eyes she didn't fully understand. "Are you alright?" 18

She wanted to tease him, but there was something in his demeanor after he spoke to her that said she had better not. "Uh, yeah. I'm great. Why wouldn't I be?" She smiled at him and pushed him back on the bed playfully. She scooted over to put her head in his lap. She kissed his naked stomach, looked up at him. He seemed apprehensive. Was he regretting turning her? Her old insecurities took hold of her. The words flew from her mouth before she could stop them, "Do you regret it?" 19

Drayden was furious. What did she want from him? He couldn't make himself repeat the words he'd said to her last night. He refused to give her that power over him. She wanted him to beg for her forgiveness, but there was no way he was going to do that. He just looked at her. His eyes were different somehow, a shadow passed behind them. She didn't know what had just happened, but there was a coldness to him that hadn't been there just moments before.20

He did regret making her a vampire! Her heart fell. She looked into his eyes with a glistening of tears beginning in hers. "Please don't tell me you wish you hadn't brought me over," she begged.21

It took Drayden a moment to register what she had just said. She'd asked if he regretted bringing her over, not if he regretted bashing her head in. What the hell was she talking about? The look on her face was one of complete honesty and fear. She truly was afraid that he regretted making her like him. Was it possible that she didn't remember what he had done to her? Could it be that she didn't remember last night? The tears were swelling in her eyes and the hurt was plainly on her face as she waited for his answer. "How could I regret bringing you into my life? Don't be silly, my dear." Drayden genuinely smiled at her and watched her face light up.22

Mirra grinned and stuck her tongue in his belly button playfully. They wrestled on the bed and Mirra giggled. 23

The sound was music to his ears. That was what he wanted! Her life, her vibrance, her happiness all around him. He straddled her on the bed, pinned her hands above her head, and looked down at her smiling face. It made his dark heart soar to see the adoration for him in her eyes. He drank it up like it was the nectar of life. This time, he would make love to her and hold nothing back. He would show her what her vampire man could really do. 24