Bloodseeker - Colin's Conquest Part 1

Colin's Conquest.

Bloodseeker.

Lisa Rene Smith.

One

Something is out there watching me...

The downy hairs on the back of her neck stood erect jutting from her skin, a lightning bolt about to strike and an anxious tide of goose flesh followed, down both arms then her bare legs. Joanna peered into the darkness, searching for eyes watching her under the shadowy cloak of the dense forest surrounding her. The lake and the surrounding woods no longer appeared comforting and serene, on the contrary, every tree hid a demon and the moonbeams reflecting off the still water cast menacing shadows into the small clearing. A chill pa.s.sed through her as she spun around to face the woods.

Some ... "thing" is STILL out there watching me....

Panting, her pulse racing out of control, she clutched her chest, trying in vain to slow the pounding there. Searching the trees, she saw nothing out of the ordinary, no glowing eyes, no swaying branches, no movement in the underbrush ... nothing. Seeing nothing, she c.o.c.ked her head to one side and listened close to the sounds of the thicket. The evening choir of crickets and tree frogs should be rea.s.suring but now it only intensified her fear. So disconcerting to be unable to find the source of her anxiety!

She could neither see nor hear anything out of the ordinary and yet ... she just knew something was out there, something bad. As if nothing were the matter, she rose from the sandy sh.o.r.eline, dusted off her khaki shorts, stretched both arms over her head and faked a wide yawn. It took every ounce of courage she possessed to keep herself from running the sixty or so yards to the cabin door, but walk she did and at a slow pace, no less. She had never let anything spook her in her beloved woods and she was not about to start being frightened by every shadow just because she was alone up here. After entering the cabin she turned and bolted the door, then darted to the window and peered out at the close wall of trees.

The blend of hardwoods, pines and vines intertwined to form an almost impenetrable barricade for humans, but other creatures more adapted to the thicket moved freely and thrived in this luscious setting. Parts of the old folklore came to mind as she stared out at the trees ... mysterious animals living undetected in the denser knots of woods never discovered by man, people disappearing without a trace, criminals hiding out in the thicket to avoid prosecution, and on and on. An entire book could be written on the folklore alone and who knew how much of it was actually true.

Ignoring the ball of fear still in the pit of her rumbling stomach, she turned around to survey the cabin. Her beat up old suitcases sat beside the door where she dropped them when she arrived this afternoon. Threadbare bed sheets of violet and green floral print covered the furniture as makes.h.i.+ft dust covers.

In the middle of the kitchen table, her sleepy parrot in his paG.o.da shaped birdcage sat under the watchful eye of Patches, her calico cat. The cat's tail twitched back and forth and cleaned a nice half moon of dust off the table. Neither one of her pets seemed nervous or alarmed so she began to feel silly about being afraid of nothing. She smiled, lifting one corner of her mouth as she saw Patches sneak a paw through the bars of Pete's cage.

"Patches, you leave that bird alone!"

Her soft voice seemed to her to be a booming bellow echoing through the thicket and she clamped her lips shut, still uneasy about attracting any visitors, real or imaginary.

She sighed and strove to relax herself. Sliding in a CD she turned the volume low and listened to the lilting piano of Lorie Line on her "Songs for the Earth" collection. The music floated around the room, filling every corner and chasing away those jangled nerves with the first few notes. Feeling her chest swell with the joy of the music and the joy of being back at the cabin, she smiled, ran her fingers through her long hair and glanced around the neglected room once more. Good memories surfaced of past trips here with her family ... her grandmother at the stove making breakfast tacos for the entire family, her Dad and Grandpa out in the woods searching out good spots to build photo blinds for her younger sister the photography buff, and one of the most amusing memories, her mother out at the lake as soon as the sun came up trying her best to catch a fish. She laughed because her poor mother never once caught a fish out of that lake. After she left home, the family trips became few and far between. Oh how she missed coming here!

Removing the dust cover from the armchair with an exaggerated flip of her wrist, she flopped like a rag doll into the chair. Stretching her legs, she placed them on the padded footstool and sighed again.

Now this is better ... Joanna laid her head back and closed her eyes, glad to be here, glad to be away from work and home. Ah, so pleasant to just sit and relax.

Patches jumped in her lap, purring and kneaded herself a nice warm place to sleep in her favorite naptime spot. She knew her human would stroke her from head to tail and scratch behind her ears. It was kitty heaven and she purred her contentment as her big copper eyes closed for another catnap.

He gazed through the window at her, his mouth filling with saliva that threatened to run down his chin if he didn't swallow fast enough. Delicious, this woman, Ben thought, as he gulped and swallowed once more. Her head thrown back, blouse unb.u.t.toned enough to see her collarbone and her long slender neck, the pulse beating under her jaw, he could almost taste her from where he stood, so tantalizing she appeared. Her short blouse did not cover her midriff and the smooth skin of her belly beckoned to him as much as the length of her throat did. He swallowed again and felt his fangs fall into place beneath his lip as his heart marched in triple time against his ribs.

A riot of lovely colors, this young woman, from the sun kissed blush on her cheeks to her luxurious dark hair and those vibrant green eyes that he glimpsed before she dropped her lids. Nature's child, no doubt, her khaki shorts and rich pine green s.h.i.+rt accented her glowing tanned skin and long black hair. Even her choice of music matched her earthy appearance. He wanted to touch her, to visit her like an exquisite landscape that one never forgets.

The creator forbade him to enter her home. He knew this, but even with those archaic rules running rampant through his mind Ben so wanted to taste this woman. Colin's words, spoken so long ago, sounded in his head as if he stood right next to him. "Kill only the fools or the evil ones. Leave the innocents alone. Never enter a secured home without an invitation." Hmm. Despite the possible repercussions, he could break the rules, just this once. How would his creator know anyway?

Holding his breath, he eased the window up with one finger. Delightful! The latch no longer worked. Ben's cue that he should lift the window farther. The heat from the stuffy cabin seeped from the cracked window, burning his eyes, and he reached to lift the gla.s.s higher letting in the cooler air from outside. How could she stand that heat?

"Forbidden!" The growled censure startled him and for a moment, he didn't know if the growl remained inside his head or if the woman in the cabin heard it also. He dropped his hand from the window and spun around as he felt someone watching him from the woods. He saw nothing and now he knew how the girl had felt when she sensed him watching her from the woods earlier. He saw no one there, but yet, he knew someone or something watched him. He tried, but couldn't detect Colin's presence or that of another human either. The sensation bothered him, but his preoccupation with his future conquest distracted him so. Finally he shrugged his shoulders and turned back to the window and the vision just on the other side of the gla.s.s. He smiled with relief when he heard the sounds of a four footed creature moving away through the thicket. After all, four-footed creatures posed no danger to his kind.

The breeze off the lake lifted the lemon yellow gauze curtains away from the window. If she opened her eyes, she would see him staring in at her. He didn't even care.

To h.e.l.l with the rules, he wanted this woman to see him. He wanted her. She was different, so alluring and he could not resist her.

Just a taste, what would it hurt? I won't kill her, no, not her.

The brush gave way as she moved, with silent footsteps, through the woods. Forbidden? What did that mean and why did it spring into her mind? She knew nothing but feral instincts until she came upon the young un-natural by the lake. He seemed somewhat familiar and memories tried to surface, but she pushed them back and continued her hunt for a meal.

She saw countless humans during her lifetime and she avoided them with some inborn instinct of self-preservation. This one, not human though, and she sensed no danger from him, but more of a longing that she could not appreciate and did not want to understand. She stopped to scratch her fur where a deer tick stabbed its hateful head into her skin. A startled gray squirrel bounded across the forest floor and she took off after it, all four paws scrabbling for footing, to catch the foolish rodent before it could get back into the trees.

Joanna awoke with a start when Patches growled, hissed and jumped from her lap, leaving two long stinging scratches on the back of her hand.

"Ow! Dammit Patches! What the h.e.l.l is wrong with you?"

Right away, blood began to well up out of the cuts and she shook her hand as if to shake off the pain. Standing on wobbly legs, she hobbled over to the bathroom to clean up her wound. The door stood ajar so she pushed it open with her hip and flipped on the light.

A pale hand appeared inches from her face and she leapt back in fright. The hand held out a bottle of peroxide and attached to that hand, an extraordinary male body, out of place in her bathroom, but there, nonetheless.

"Can I help you with that?" His deep and downy smooth voice caressed her with fingers of chilling terror.

She caught a glimpse of a handsome boyish face, dazzling blue eyes and sandy blonde hair before the mustiness and the heat of the room enveloped her and she dissolved into a puddle of unconsciousness.

He caught her with ease and carried her over to the bed, placing her on top of the spread. So romantic! This is perfect. No need to hypnotize, I can do what I want and she will not know!

He sat beside her and stared down at her stunning face. He so wanted to examine the lush green color of her eyes, but it seemed a sacrilege to move her long lashes away from her cheeks where they rested with such serenity. With the most tender of touches, he brushed the curve of lashes and smiled with the sheer joy of touching her.

There was something different about this one, but try as he might, he didn't know what it was. What was it about her that attracted him so? She had normal human scent but there was something more, he just couldn't put his finger on it. He had also developed a bit of a headache, a buzzing pain, right in the middle of his brain that worsened as he moved closer to her. Odd, yes, but not too painful and easy to ignore in his excitement to taste her.

He wet his lips, bent to her throat and kissed the throbbing pulse there, then he ran his tongue down the length of her neck delighting in the brackish but honeyed taste of her skin. Ben pulled away from her throat and lifted her injured hand. Lifting his upper lip, he deepened the cat scratches into furrows with his honed teeth and nicked the vein running across her hand. As the thick blood began to flow he watched the trickle and savored the antic.i.p.ation of tasting her. Then he moved his tongue over the wound, again and again lapping at the blood before latching on with his lips to suck with gentle care from her damaged vein.

Divine blood. Besides the Creator's it was sweeter, better than any he'd ever tasted. He couldn't control the moan of pleasure deep in his throat, but he watched for signs of her awakening. He wanted so much to play the sandman, a foggy dream that just tickled her consciousness.

As she began to stir, he removed his mouth and held his hand tight over the wounds. Within minutes the bleeding stopped and he forced himself to leave her side. As an afterthought, he turned back and knelt beside her to whisper in her ear, "forget me."

Before she opened her eyes, he vanished, speeding through the woods towards his hidden lair in the depths of the mysterious Big Thicket. Stopping, he realized that he had one more errand to run before he returned home. The post office was not far out of the way and he needed to check his box.

When he arrived at the small building that housed the postal boxes, he checked first for humans around. Finding none he walked right in, picked up one of the numerous large mail tubs and went straight to his box. Holding his breath, he inserted his key into the lock and eased the door open.Empty. He released his breath in a long sigh and stood staring at the inside of the box, all s.h.i.+ny and metal and spotlessly clean. It seemed even worse that it was the largest box available at the post office. In his antic.i.p.ation of tons of mail, he had scoffed at the smaller boxes and rented the very largest one. His shoulders slumped in disappointment and Ben let the mail tub drop to the floor with a depressing thump. He expected something back from his latest venture by now.

The main doors swung open and Ben spun around sure that Colin had caught him. Relief washed over him when he saw the older gentleman and he laughed out loud. Just a normal human being, no supernatural fiend here to catch him unawares. The man went to his box, opened it and removed handfuls and handfuls of mail that he bundled into his baggy sweats.h.i.+rt.

Ben watched with growing exasperation as the old man filled his arms full of mail, fumbled to close his box and left the post office.

He thought for a brief moment of chasing the man down and cracking his balding head like an egg, but he knew his rage was not directed at that shuffling old being.

He glared back at his empty box, kicked the mail basket and set it flying across the room, then slammed the box door so hard that it flew back open and smacked into his forehead. Mortification! Glancing around, it thrilled him to see that no one saw his fit.

Nothing as important as that. With great care, he closed the door again and locked it, then turned to leave the post office. He caught his reflection in the window gla.s.s and his face flushed with embarra.s.sment, camouflaging the angry red lines across his forehead. Oh, his childish temper! His resilient body healed even as he watched, the welts fading so that no one would ever need to know about his little tantrum or the consequences from it.

Ben set out posthaste to make his way back through the woods. Maybe he would beat Colin back from town and he could work on a new system to ama.s.s his wealth. But then again, he sure wanted to peek in at his newfound plaything, the pretty lady by the lake. What did she think of when she awakened to find herself in bed? Did she remember him at all? He hesitated, trying to decide to do either the smart thing and return home or the fun thing instead.

He wanted to go back to the beautiful black haired woman, see the shock on her face, see her bright green eyes widen with surprise when she saw him. But no, the creator would return soon and he didn't want to explain his obsession with this human girl.

He couldn't explain it even to himself. He just knew that he would visit her again even though this was the wrong time for him to be socializing. Next week, he could woo her all he wanted with no worries. He definitely planned to bite her ... at least once.

He continued through the dense thicket towards the cabin and what an ordeal the Big Thicket proved to be, even for him with his strength and flexibility. But Colin, the genius, used the vines and underbrush to his advantage and built the cabin deep in the middle of these east Texas woods, virtually inaccessible to humans. No trails leading to their lair, no driveway, no roads, not even a deer path! Too bad Ben didn't see how Colin had the cabin built but Colin had lived here many years before he came into being. What a marvel to behold, a typical woodsman's cabin, but on a grander scale. The ideal night stalker's sanctum sanctorum with its reinforced shutters bolted from the inside, dead bolt locks on both steel doors and double thick fire proof inner walls.

As he approached the back door he dug into his slacks pocket and removed his keys, eyeing his black slacks with distaste as he unlocked the door. How he hated wearing black, but the creator insisted upon proper attire during the full moon. What difference did it really make? No one ever saw them until it was too late anyway, so why not wear plaid or neon pink for that matter?

Colin kept the cabin cool inside and if felt wonderful after being out in the warm evening air. He didn't know what he disliked more down here in Texas, the extreme heat and humidity in summer or the bone-chilling damp cold in the winter. But, here in the midst of the towering pines, what vampire in his right mind would complain?

Quiet and cool, two of Colin's favorite things and it showed in the way that he built his house. Fans whirred on the ceiling in every room. No carpet graced his floors; instead, natural wood glowed with a rich polished sheen, so polished in fact that you could glide like an ice skater across the floor in your stocking feet. Ben thought it best, however, to restrict this activity to the times that Colin stayed away from the cabin.

Colin kept his floors immaculate as well as the rest of his roomy cabin and he pa.s.sed that habit on to him. Or rather, he demanded the same from him. The Creator taught Ben from the beginning to practice cleanliness at home and then during feeding as well.

Nothing as bad as leaving a mess on your prey, but it took practice to get it right, so practice he did.

Even though Colin hated taking human life, he may very well have taken Ben's life if he defied him! Ben did like the sport. He loved the chase ... the ultimate high, the romance of sinking his teeth into a beautiful young girl's pliant throat, then leaving her in a swoon from which she awakened remembering nothing. He had to admit that he found most humans beautiful in some way and he didn't need Colin's nagging to protect that beauty from himself. It was of the greatest importance to him, but regardless he enjoyed the chase and secretly scoffed at Colin for drinking plasma from a winegla.s.s and spending his time at home, cleaning his already spotless house. No matter. Loving his life, he would never dream of defying his creator. Nope, never happen.

This week, the week of the full moon, totally sucked. He hated it and felt like a monster bent on stealing human lives, one after another. He couldn't control himself, no matter how hard he tried. He took one life every night and in the beginning sometimes more than one body fell due to his terrible hunger. Colin told him that it could not be helped and to learn to deal with it, so he tried to adapt just like he did to the detestable black clothes and the rich blood diet that sustained his life.

"What say you, Ben?" The deep soft spoken voice came from right behind him and he spun around to greet his creator. The blood rushed to his face, burning his cheeks for he was more than a little embarra.s.sed, taken unawares, caught daydreaming.

"Good evening, Colin." He smiled up at the taller blood seeker, his affection for his elder obvious on his blus.h.i.+ng face.

"Did everything come out all right for you tonight?" Colin's words a melody to anyone's ears, immortal or not, and Ben always loved to hear his carefully modulated voice. His articulations so precise, it made him think of restrained awesome power.

He gave a small laugh at Colin's pun, relieved to see the twinkle in those deep brown eyes that proved Colin was in good spirits this evening.

"I'm glad you're in a good mood tonight." Ben followed his dark mentor into the library. He could not believe his eyes. Colin had a bounce to his normally staid step.

"All right, spit it out. What's with you tonight? The full moon usually puts you in a foul mood, and I could swear that I almost saw you smile!"

Colin stood with his back to his young apprentice, his eyebrows drawn together, a hint of a smile on his lips. Running his long fingers through his hair, he tried to put his tousled curls into some semblance of order. How could one appear menacing with these d.a.m.ned 's.h.i.+rley Temple' curls sticking out all over his head?

Before he turned to face his curious friend, he set his features into his best, expressionless, blood-seeker face then he spun on his heel to catch Ben staring at him. His sky blue eyes burned with curiosity and Colin couldn't help but to tease him a little.

"Ah yes ... inquiring minds want to know."

To his credit, the younger one stood his ground.

"You have to admit, Creator, you are not your usual solemn self. So I'm nosey, so beat me, but first enlighten me please, Colin."

He dropped to his knees and clasped his hands together in front of his face mutely begging for an explanation.

In a split second, Colin placed his foot on Ben's knee, and with the smallest of nudges sent his pupil sprawling on the floor.

"Clown! I should beat you senseless, should I not? But then again you are already quite senseless, so what is the use I ask you?"

They both smiled, then laughed at each other as Colin towered over his young one, daring him to start any more melodramatic antics. With no more silliness forthcoming, he turned away. Folding himself into his favorite armchair, he sighed and waited for Ben to do the same before he spoke again.

"If you must know, I am bringing in another this week." Colin spoke with no more emotion than someone reading a grocery list.

"But, Creator! Am I not pleasing you? Give me another chance, please, Colin."

"Stop! It should not be in your nature to be presumptive. Remove your heart from your mouth my zealous protege and listen to me." He cleared his throat with deliberate meaning and ran his fingers through his tousled curls once more, and then he went on. "It is my chosen one that I must bring in this week. It is time."

"What do you mean your chosen one?"

"My mate, Benjamin."

"Oh."

"No more questions. I would like to finish this book." He waved his hand at the earmarked book on the table beside him. "You should, perhaps, read one also and leave me in peace."

Ben bowed his head in acquiescence, staring at the tips of his hated black loafers.

"Yes, Colin." He knew to argue would be futile, because once Colin had his nose in a book he didn't want to be disturbed. Woe be to the one foolish enough to interrupt him. Having felt the creator's displeasure before he would rather not be the source of it again.

What mate? He hadn't even been dating!

Ben slunk from the room and went to his own bedroom. His vault. It's fireproof walls and steel door reminded him of a bank vault, but he didn't mind. After all, it was safe, very safe. Colin had the vault-like rooms built so they could not be attacked or destroyed by fire during their time of weakness as they slept. Of course anyone, blood seeker or not, felt weakest while they slept, and humans went to bed in normal bedrooms. Arck! Did he just think that? Boy there would be h.e.l.l to pay if he did not change his att.i.tude. Ben knew he should feel grateful to have such a creator to protect him, even though he doubted that anything could ever really destroy them.

He closed the heavy vault door shutting himself away from the rest of the world. He could turn on his stereo as loud as he wanted without disturbing Colin. Sound did not penetrate these thick walls. Colin would have to purposely listen in to hear anything in his room.

With the press of a b.u.t.ton, the harmonious voices of the Oak Ridge Boys floated into the room from the hidden speakers.

"From her silky long hair to her s.e.xy long legs..."

With an exasperated moan he flipped the stereo back off, and in a fit of pure humanism he flung himself on the bed and lay staring at the ceiling. He couldn't get the girl by the lake off his mind. Her long black hair, her bright green eyes, wide with shock ... her blood.

Two

Colin woke the following night ravenous, and his stomach rumbled as he put on his dark suit to go out for the night. Hearing Ben's door open, he dashed to his doorway and stepped into the hall to face his young friend.