ã€ŠCallaã€‹


 Chapter 01

    Calla Redgrove wouldn¡¯t normally walk home alone at night, especially across the old stone bridge. It was needlessly creepy and in the darkness, one could only see the lights at the other end, the middle it was pitch black.

    Still, Calla had no choice tonight. Her parents had refused to pick her up, the lack of a loving relationship causing neither side to give way. So, in her black jeans and light blue hoodie, she made her way back home.

    The night was quiet and disconcerting. Feeling the need for safety, Calla tucked her brown locks of hair down the collar of her hoodie and popped the hood up over he head. With only her phone for light during the hundred meter stretch, she couldn¡¯t help but take cautious glances with her light blue eyes.

    Walking close to the wall that ran along the bridge, her hand slid over the stone to give her a sense of guidance and stability. She walked briskly keeping her eyes trained on the street lights on the other side. They grew as she approached and she was counting the steps in her head to keep her mind occupied and away from the slither of fear she felt.

    She didn¡¯t see it as she walked by, but a couple of hands were holding the other side of the stone wall. The person dangling was above the concrete island in the middle of the running water. It happened quicker than she could turn. The person pulled themselves over the wall and descended upon Calla.

    She struggled as arms clasped around her, she kicked and screamed to no avail as her hood was pulled down and her hair tugged aside. Calla felt something sink into her neck and her screaming grew. Her reaction to the pain was violent and in her struggling she backed her assailant over the wall and fell with them.

    Her eyes rolled back from the pain as the person refused to let go and the pain in her neck intensified. Suddenly the air was knocked out of her and a sickening squelch resounded through the air. Calla felt something sticky cover the side of her face, but the pain that was spreading through her body overwhelmed her. And she gave in to darkness.

    When she woke, the first thing she noticed was that it was day time. And a single thought clouded her mind. Danger. The sun was dangerous, or so her mind whispered. The whispers told her to stay put, in the shadows and the darkness.

    Calla pushed herself to her feet and grasped at her throat. It burned like it was on fire but the whispers knew what she needed. Blood. She shook the thought away and tried to gather her bearings.

    ¡®Was last night a dream?¡¯ she asked herself in a daze. But she soon did away with that thought when she took in her surroundings. A body lay beside her, its head splattered across the concrete and blood oozing out of its body. But the whispers told her it wasn¡¯t tasty, not satisfactory.

    Raising her hand to her face, she felt the dried blood on her neck and face, where it had spurt when they fell.

    ¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯ she thought to herself calmly. Whatever had happened seemed to dim her emotions of panic and fear as she wasn¡¯t freaking out like she should have been.

    Blood. The thought came again as she clutched her throat. But the sun was dangerous, she couldn¡¯t leave. The whispers told her so. There was only one source of blood, and it was the body beside her. It didn¡¯t smell appetising but it would quench her thirst. She licked her lips and, as her tongue ran along the front of her mouth, she felt the pointedness of her fangs. They were slimmer and longer than she remembered.

    And then her senses attacked her. All manner of noises, smells and sounds crashed into her and she clutched her head. It seemed like hours, though she knew it was minutes, before she was able to get a hold of herself and the whispers dulled the influx of information.

    Tilting her head sideways in thought, her eyebrows raised up as she put together what had happened. A craving for blood, a fear of sunlight, enhanced senses and pointed fangs...she¡¯d become a vampire. So the man on the ground was a vampire too and he¡¯d changed her?

    Our Sire. The whispers clarified for her. But he was dead so what did that mean for her?

    We drink. Calla knew, she just knew, that she shouldn¡¯t second guess the whispers and instinct took over. She bit into the man¡¯s neck and sucked out all the blood she could, it was a dirty process. When her fangs pierced his flesh she had to stop the pleasure that rose in the pit of her stomach. It was easy to do as the blood that flowed into her tasted putrid and nasty.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    She wanted to gag but the whispers told her that she needed to do this to survive. It was day time and walking in the sun would kill her, she needed to sate herself until nightfall. Her Sire¡¯s body began to shrivel and dry as all liquid was sucked out. When she was finished, she threw the body on the concrete and viciously wiped her mouth to get rid of the taste.

    She felt a mental shift when she¡¯d drained the man. But the whispers told her she wasn¡¯t done. So she picked up his dried out body, that was now much lighter, and hurled it from out under the bridge and into the sun light. She watched with wide eyed fascination and fear as the body burst into ash and was blown away by the breeze. Leaving only his clothes on the grass.

    Freedom. They spoke again. Freedom from what? Calla wasn¡¯t sure, but when she had both drained his body and it was destroyed, she felt as though a great weight was lifted from her. She wasn¡¯t sure what to do now, but she couldn¡¯t move from the island. The sides of the bridge were too far away and the sunlight kept her trapped.

    Calla followed her instincts and crouched where she was. It would keep her safe from attackers by minimising her body size and she could lunge forward to attack. The voices told her to wait and bide her time until the sun had gone and then she could move. Then she could hunt.

    In the hours that followed, she stayed crouched and unmoving. But her thoughts were moving at a mile a minute. She wasn¡¯t panicking or worried, rather she was scared of how easily she accepted this. And the whispers gave way to darker thoughts that she¡¯d never thought she¡¯d of entertained before.

    She wondered what she looked like and pointed her phone¡¯s camera at herself and snapped a shot. Disappointment was the first feeling she had when she saw her ¡®new¡¯ self. She looked as she had before, although paler with red eyes and pointed fangs. Calla assumed becoming a vampire would make her beautiful or something, instead she was stuck as the ¡®quite pretty¡¯ young woman she was before.

    She did notice however, that her physical body had slimmed down a lot and had become more toned. She was like a woman who regularly used the gym, with defined muscles and even a six pack.

    ¡®I wonder how strong I am?¡¯ she thought idly but didn¡¯t move from her protective crouch. ¡®I struggled against my Sire and was able to move and fight against him as a normal young woman. So my strength shouldn¡¯t be out of the realms of humanity.¡¯

    Other thoughts came to mind as she waited. Were her morals changed or did she just not care what people thought any more. The images in her mind of sinking her teeth into the neck of a tender young girl had her struggling to keep control. She imagined the softness of the flesh and her fangs rending it apart. Sweet red nectar flowing into her mouth and the accompanying screams and cries.

    Calla found the idea almost sexual and she let out a hiss as she tried to stomp the images away. She didn¡¯t feel bad but she wouldn¡¯t be able to wait if they went any further.

    Her senses had definitely enhanced, that much she could tell. The smoothness of the concrete was actually littered with tiny cracks and dips. To her human eyes it would have been perfect, but to her vampiric self it was not. The sound of the rushing river was beginning to weigh on her mind, but she could minimise it and block it out. But most of all was smell, she needed to get the smell of the other vampire off her. It was disgusting like sewage.

    She edged closer to the water and stripped herself of the bloodied hoodie and white vest and threw them into the water. She felt no whispered warnings about the running water so she knew it was safe.

    ¡®That¡¯s one false rumour.¡¯ she thought as she cupped water in her hands and began to wash herself. ¡®What about crosses, garlic and holy water.¡¯ She conjured up the images in her mind and the whispers didn¡¯t react to any of them. Except garlic, which had her scrunching her face up in disgust. It was as bad as vampire blood without any of the benefits.

    Disgusting. Strength. Grow strong. The voices whispered again as she thought about her earlier meal. Strength? Grow strong? Did drinking from a vampire make one more powerful? Calla¡¯s questions rolled through her mind and she decided she needed to test it if she found another vampire. They would be easy to identify by their terrible smelling blood, she could pick them out of a crowd.

    Calla wondered if she was immortal. The ideas of stakes, fire and beheading came to mind as they were the most popular fictional ways of killing a vampire. The whispers hissed in the fear at all three, but Calla could tell the difference in severity.

    Fire invoked the greatest response so she knew it meant death. The stake and beheading not so, but the accompanying fear made her weak. The two methods would make her weak and vulnerable, incapacitated and helpless. And she couldn¡¯t contain her own hiss at that thought. She needed to avoid all three things and be strong.

    Finally she imagined missing limbs but the whispers didn¡¯t seem to care. Her mind showed her images of arms being drawn back to her or regrowing. What about the heart? If it was detached it could regrow, but if it was in the body it couldn¡¯t, or so the whispers said.

    ¡®That must be why stakes are scary. They leave the heart in the body, so it cannot regrow and would leave me stuck.¡¯

    Once she¡¯d finished cleaning herself she realised she¡¯d had no spare clothes. But the sky was darkening now and that meant she would be able to move. To hunt. And to feed.

 Chapter 02

    When darkness had taken over the sky Calla didn¡¯t start running to the nearest meal pack. She needed a plan. If her strength was only around the level of a human then she needed someone unsuspecting. Thoughts of using her body to to lure men came into her mind but she shook the thought of with a shudder of disgust. She had been a virgin for her twenty three years of human life, and she wasn¡¯t about to donate it for the sake of blood.

    The whispers told her it was good to remain untouched. Not to let any man nor woman grope and feel the smoothness of her skin, that was reserved. Reserved? For whom? Calla kept thinking.

    She needed someone who would not be weary of her, a friend, a family member.

    ¡®Family¡­.the easiest to get would be mother. Physically smaller, more naive. Perfect prey.¡¯

    Calla¡¯s eyes blinked a few times as she replayed that thought in her head. Were her family ties so weak? Or was it the fact that she had become a vampire? She didn¡¯t know, but she had a plan now. She also knew how to enter the house without her mother knowing and would be able to get herself some clothing without issue. Maybe pick up her laptop and a few essentials.

    She grinned to herself and dove into the water, swimming to the side. Still half nude, the whispers told her that she shouldn¡¯t show her body, it wasn¡¯t for others to see. She went to the clothing that remained of her Sire and picked up his jacket, covering her face with her hand at the smell.

    ¡®A bit misogynistic.¡¯ she thought with a frown on her face. ¡®But the whispers must have a reason. They¡¯ve helped me so much already.¡¯

    She put the jacket on and started home at a brisk pace. It¡¯d take her ten to fifteen minutes to get there by the roadside, but she opted to travel a little off from the road, taking care not to be seen. She saw with so much clarity in the darkness, as if it were daytime with a blackened sky. Calla also noticed she did not feel tired in the least.

    ¡®Maybe I don¡¯t need sleep? So no coffin then.¡¯ she chuckled to herself as she thought about how many clich¨¦ rumours about vampires were untrue.

    About thirty minutes later she arrived home. No one had seen her during the walk and she¡¯d avoided all possible cameras. She went to her back door and listened through and could hear the television along with her mother¡¯s slurred laughter.

    ¡®Drunk again.¡¯ she growled in her mind. Her mother wasn¡¯t a mean drunk or anything, it was how she coped. And as a result no bond had managed to form between mother and daughter. Her mother was often too far gone to have time for Calla.

    Looking herself over she smoothed down her brown locks and knocked on the door.

    ¡°Bloody hell.¡± her mother murmured as she got up with a groan. She answered the door and saw her daughter, sporting a black leather jacket and make-up. ¡°Calla.¡± she slurred. ¡°Why do you look like that?¡±

    ¡°Ahh.¡± her voice came out very soft. ¡°Me and my friends were getting our costumes ready for Halloween. You know, only a few weeks to go.¡± she smiled at her mother who gave her a half smile back.

    ¡°Well you look ridiculous.¡± she spluttered out as she turned away and went back to the couch. Calla balled her fists in anger. The short, stout, drunk had insulted the way she looked. The whispers soothed her as they told her to wait, killing was an art and needed to be done right they said. The only rule about killing ¨C don¡¯t get caught.

    Swallowing down her rage, Calla¡¯s face set in a gentle smile and she walked into the house, locking the door behind her. She went upstairs and did away with the jacket she had taken from the man. Then she got her father¡¯s sports duffle bag and took it to her room. She pulled out the different articles of dark clothing she possessed, anything black or deep red, and stuffed them inside.

    The whispers pushed her away from anything low cut or revealing and Calla got frustrated. It wasn¡¯t like her breasts and bum drew a lot of attention so why were the whispers so finicky. But something deep in her mind told her to follow what they said.

    She was going to change the clothes she was wearing, trading her black jeans for cotton joggers and grabbing herself a black t-shirt and hoodie. She wouldn¡¯t get changed yet, that could wait until she had washed, so she temporarily put on a light yellow t-shirt.

    Then she went to the bathroom and began to run a warm bath, humming to herself for a few minutes as she stroked the water¡¯s surface.

    Calla went to her families toiletries cupboard and looked at the shampoos and conditioners and shook her head in disgust. The ¡®natural¡¯ scents now smelled of anything but and she could sniff out the chemicals in there. Still, she needed to be clean and deposited all the unopened ones in her bag. She didn¡¯t bother with any make-up and the idea of tooth paste was right out the window.

    She heard her mother¡¯s TV show finishing so she ran downstairs after grabbing a towel out the cupboard.

    ¡°Mother.¡± she said with a warming smile.

    ¡°Still got that make-up on?¡± her mother asked with an arched brow as she stumbled to her feet. ¡°I¡¯m going to bed.¡± she announced to her daughter and made to walk passed her only to be stopped.

    ¡°Mother, I¡¯ve run you a nice hot bath. It¡¯d do you some good to relax and enjoy it.¡± she said acting the part of the concerned daughter. Her smile was award winning and appeared completely genuine to the stocky woman.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± she returned with slightly widened eyes. Her daughter had never done something like this for her before.

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome. Here,¡± she handed her mother a folded up towel. ¡°Go and relax, I¡¯ll tidy up down here.¡± Her mother nodded with a face-splitting smile and made her way to the bathroom like she¡¯d won the lottery, oblivious to the thoughts in her daughter¡¯s mind.

    As her mother hummed her way up the stairs and into the bathroom, Calla went to the door joining the garage and went through. She picked up a cannister of petrol that her dad kept at this house as an emergency. He had another home he spent most his time at; Calla wasn¡¯t as ignorant to his other family as he would believe.

    She set the cannister down in the lounge with a lighter beside it. Then she went to the kitchen and grabbed the roll of black bin bags from under the sink before returning upstairs. Calla set the bags down beside the bathroom door before knocking.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    ¡°Mother,¡± she asked and was answered with a hum of pleasure. ¡°Can I come in a minute?¡±

    ¡°Yes dear.¡± her mother replied and Calla entered. She walked over to the side of the bath and crouched next to her mother, who looked at her.

    ¡°What is it dear?¡±

    ¡°Mother, have I ever told you how much I love you?¡± Calla asked her with a gentle smile.

    ¡°N-no, I don¡¯t believe so.¡±

    ¡°In other cultures, mother and daughter would bathe together to show their love for one another. The daughter would wash her mother¡¯s back. Would you mind if I did that? Just once.¡± Her mother wasn¡¯t embarrassed about the idea of seeing her daughter nude but rather bathing with another person. It wasn¡¯t normally done unless it was with a lover or a small child. But her daughter seemed affectionate today so she found it acceptable.

    ¡°Just this time then.¡± she replied.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Calla nodded, ¡°This¡¯ll be the last time.¡± Her mother had no idea how ominous those words were. Calla stripped off and her mother shuffled forward to allow her to sit in behind her. At that point her mother took in how attractive Calla really was. She always wore baggy clothing so her mother rarely saw her body. But now she could see the tone and strength in her muscles and was surprised but chose to say nothing.

    Calla slid in behind her and her mother leant back a bit only to find her daughter was cold.

    ¡°Calla, you¡¯re very cold.¡± she said with a murmur.

    ¡°Part of why I wanted a bath too.¡± Calla responded as she picked up a sponge and began to wash her mother¡¯s back and neck. She focused on the neck a lot and to her mother if felt like a massage and she was delighted. But in Calla¡¯s mind it was cleaning her food before she had her meal. A person wouldn¡¯t eat off dirty plates, so why should a vampire eat off a dirty body?

    ¡°Mother, relax into me.¡± she said when she¡¯d cleaned the woman before her. Her mother slid back and Calla pulled her hair to one side, completely exposing her neck.

    ¡®I wonder if I¡¯m a righty or a lefty?¡¯ Calla thought as she debated which side of the neck would be best to bite into. She drew the shower curtain across the side of the bath, keeping the ends of it inside the tub so there would be no overspill. She then pushed her mother¡¯s hair to the other side, before wrapping the woman¡¯s arms in a tight embrace. Her mother sighed and then Calla made her decision. ¡®Lefty.¡¯ And bit down, piercing her mother¡¯s flesh.

    Her mother shrieked and screamed and struggled. But in her alcohol filled, unfit body, Calla maintained full control as she sucked the blood out at a rapid pace. Calla¡¯s eyes rolled back and she felt immense pleasure bursting out of her body. It was like an orgasm in her mouth. A few minutes passed before the screaming stopped but Calla could still hear the heart beat and the pulsating blood.

    She kept drinking and to her delight, she didn¡¯t spill a drop. She was worried it would be messy, which is why she chose a bathtub and drew the shower curtain. Blood would reveal a lot about what happened, but not if it was washed away. Finally, the woman in her arms stilled and her heart stopped. Calla had completely drained her, and her mother¡¯s body was now much lighter as she lifted it off of herself.

    ¡®A good meal and a relaxing bath.¡¯ she thought with satisfaction. The whispers told her she wasn¡¯t done though, so she got up and drained the bath of water. She went to the bathroom door and got the black bags, curling her mother up in a ball and putting her inside one, which then went into another. She repeated this five times so there was no chance of dripping or breakage, heavy duty bags were sturdy.

    Calla then stuffed the shower curtains in a bag before going back to the bath and lathering herself up. She needed to be clean before she touched anything else. She washed herself down with the shower head, taking great care with her hair, where there was still some dried blood. Once she¡¯d finished she let herself drip dry as she went to the kitchen once more and picked up the rubber gloves along with a cloth and bleach.

    Calla went back to the bathroom and went over the door handles. Fingerprints the whispers told her, were dangerous. Calla did wonder how the whispers knew, but didn¡¯t dwell on it too much. She went over the door handles and anything else she touched until they were sparkly clean. Then she shoved the gloves, cloth and bleach bottle into another black bag.

    In her room, she got dressed in her black clothing with a pair of brown boots before picking up the duffle and returning to the bathroom. Looking at what she had to carry, her duffle and her mother¡¯s body, she frowned. It would be too much and the shape of the bags her mother was in would draw attention if seen.

    Dropping her duffle she ran to the garage and grabbed her mother¡¯s car keys. She had wanted to avoid being seen at all cost, but she planned to be long gone by the time anyone noticed. The plan would work, the whispers cried. Heading back upstairs, she grabbed the four bags and stuffed them in the boot of the car, her duffle in the back seat.

    The garage door opened and she reversed out. Leaving the engine running, she popped back into the house and grabbed the petrol and lighter. She opened the cannister and began to spread it over the floor, a trail leading to the garage door. At the garage door, she lit the lighter with great care, fire was something she feared greatly.

    The trail was set ablaze and she hurried into the car with the remainder of the cannister and lighter and began to drive off. Initially she¡¯d wanted to just leave her mother¡¯s body there, but the whispers told her that bones don¡¯t burn. Evidence would be left, and anything like that could lead to her. Forensics were getting more advanced these days, it was a wonder vampires weren¡¯t common knowledge.

    ¡®Although maybe people just don¡¯t believe? That or we are really rare.¡¯ she thought with a snort. Once she¡¯d driven far enough from town she knew she had to get moving. It was midnight now, she noticed as she looked at her phone, only to realise the battery was low.

    ¡®Fuck. Didn¡¯t get my charger.¡¯ She supposed she needed to ditch the phone to stop being tracked anyway. But she needed something to keep track of things. Remembering her laptop she cursed again, knowing she hadn¡¯t put it in her duffle.

    Soon, she pulled into a curb side near the forest and got out the car. She whipped out the gloves and bleach again, frantically going over the interior. Under the door handles, across the dash board. Wherever she may have touched was wiped clean before she abandoned the car and took her duffle and the three black bags.

    With her enhanced eyesight she easily made her way through the woods. It was a dry night and that was why she¡¯d come here without more preparation. She quickly found some dried out logs and began to kick and snap them in half, before collecting them together and dousing them with petrol. Again she made a small trail so she¡¯d be away from the heart of the blaze.

    She dumped the three black bags on the wood and pulled out the lighter once more, setting the petrol alight from her distant point. The flames snaked along the floor before setting the wood in flames and burning the contents of the bag.

    Satisfaction overcame her thoughts at her successful kill and getting rid of the body. She watched the flames spit and burn. The body itself didn¡¯t take long, all the fluid had been drained and it was nothing more than a dried husk.

    After the flames stopped and only embers remained, Calla checked her phone once again and saw it was already two. She had three or four hours to find shelter, more than enough time, but first she had to dispose of the body.

    Grabbing a long stick she began to flick the major parts of the body out of the ashes and let them cool off. She poked around the fire for an hour or so, ensuring she¡¯d gotten all the bones and began to bury them beneath the earth.

    She shattered the skull with a few stomps, ripping the jaw from its attachment. Scooping soil with her hand, she didn¡¯t bury them very deep. They¡¯d be found, eventually, but there¡¯d be no evidence it was her.

    Once she and the whispers were wholly convinced the skeleton had been scattered and buried she grabbed her duffle and set off into the forest. She knew they ran for tens of miles and in the worst case she could hide behind a broad tree during the day time.

    As a backup she could wear enough clothing that sun couldn¡¯t penetrate to her body, and wrap her head in t-shirts or joggers if need be. She hiked for a couple of hours and snapped her phone in half, taking the sim card out and snapping that as well. She scattered it as she jogged in no particular direction before the sun began to shine through the trees.

    She found a hollowed out one that she could fit in and decided it was best to stay there. So she did, feeling contented at her first kill and the silence of the whispers. Calla smiled to herself and began to hum sounds of happiness, realising that today was the most joyful she¡¯d had in years.

    Having to wait for the daylight to pass, she replayed it all in her mind. The planning, the bath, the burning, the release and the pleasure.

 Chapter 03

    Lucian Fox was not having a good morning. It had started by being woken at three in the morning for a case of arson. This had rapidly changing into a missing persons investigation as the house''s occupants were missing. They knew the husband wasn¡¯t home the previous night which meant he was elsewhere, and Lucian had at least, after several hours, tracked him down.

    Turns out the bastard had a second family away from his other one. The words disgruntled wife circled his mind as he thought about the burnt house. As he pulled his car up into the driveway of where the husband lived Lucian checked himself over. His short black hair was immaculate and his brown face without blemish. Lucian knew he looked good, but he also looked commanding with his strong jaw and straight posture.

    It was useful for intimidation, along with his deep voice, to coax answers out of those involved in investigations. And today he¡¯d use it to the max, and take great glee in scaring this husband. Francis Redgrove, by having two families, had already stained the impression he was to make in Lucian¡¯s mind.

    Walking up to the door of the house Lucian made sure his suit was tidy and his wool tweed trench coat was immaculate. He loved the coat, getting the idea from detective classics such as Sherlock Holmes. In a way it allowed him to get into character.

    Knocking on the door he stood straight and waited for an answer, alongside an ordinary police officer who was with him, which quickly came.

    ¡°Hello?¡± A short, rounded man answered the door. He was still in his dressing gown and his brown hair was messy and sticking to his forehead.

    ¡°Mr. Redgrove?¡± Lucian asked and was answered with a nod. ¡°Detective Inspector Fox.¡± He flashed his ID and offered the man his hand, which was quickly shaken. As they retracted their hands, Lucian took the chance to pocket his and wipe it on his clothes. The man felt slimey.

    ¡°What can I do for you detective?¡± Francis asked as he stood more awake and nervous.

    ¡°Perhaps we should take this inside?¡± Lucian asked and was met with a nod as the man stood to the side.

    ¡°Of course,¡± he said allowing the two officers to walk into his home, ¡°Can I get you anything? Tea? Coffee?¡±

    ¡°No thank you Mr. Redgrove, we have a few questions and then we¡¯ll be on our way.¡± The three walked into the living room and Francis sat down whilst the regular officer took station at the door. Lucian walked around the room, looking at nothing in particular as he tried to get a feel for the man.

    ¡°Mr. Redgrove, are you aware that at eleven thirty last night your home was on fire?¡± Lucian asked in an even voice, not even paying attention to the man.

    ¡°What? What happened? Oh god, what about Sally, Calla?¡± his words were hurried and his eyes wide with fear. He may not love them like he should, but he still cared for his wife and daughter.

    ¡°No bodies were found at the home and your wife¡¯s car is missing.¡± Lucian responded and he saw the man sag with relief. ¡°Do you know where they are Mr. Redgrove?¡±

    ¡°N-no. I¡¯ve no idea.¡±

    ¡°When did you last speak to your wife and daughter?¡± his attention firmly on the man before him, Lucian tried to soak up any detail about his actions.

    ¡°I spoke to my wife yesterday morning, and my daughter...two days ago.¡±

    ¡°And texts? Messages?¡±

    ¡°I had a couple from my wife last night.¡± he said as he offered Lucian his phone. Lucian began to flick through and the man was telling the truth. Looking at the history of texts from his wife, the words ¡®Bastard¡¯, ¡®Cheat¡¯, ¡®Whore¡¯ were prevalent. She definitely knew about his extramarital activities.

    ¡°And your daughter?¡± Lucian asked, not overlooking the fact the man hadn¡¯t answered.

    ¡°A couple of days?¡± he offered with a shrug. He wasn¡¯t his daughter¡¯s keeper. The girl knew the score and they got along fine as a result.

    ¡°I see...Where were you last night Mr. Redgrove?¡±

    ¡°I was with Sandra.¡± he spluttered out in fear, he didn¡¯t want to be accused of anything.

    ¡°Ah yes, Sandra. The woman who lives here with you?¡± Francis nodded in response. ¡°Does she know you have a family Mr. Redgrove?¡±

    ¡°Yes. She accepts it is fine with it. We¡¯ve had this relationship for a few years, keeping it a secret from the children on both sides.¡± Francis said before giving a sad smile. "Not for much longer though, Sandra''s pregnant."

    ¡°Tell me, did your wife object to your relationship or your new fathership?¡±

    ¡°Several times, yes.¡±

    ¡°And the most recent?¡±

    ¡°Yesterday.¡± Francis responded with his face in his hands.

    ¡°Do you think your wife could of burnt down your house, leaving with your daughter?¡±

    ¡°Err...not really, unless¡­.¡± he trailed off.

    ¡°Unless what Mr. Redgrove?¡±

    ¡°Well, my wife liked to drink. It was what got in the way of our relationship to begin with. She wasn¡¯t that violent but she could be...impulsive.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Lucian¡¯s lips curled in a sneer. ¡°But you and Sandra,¡± he drawled, ¡°could have been responsible for this. You both have means, motive and opportunity after all.¡±Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

    ¡°We have an alibi.¡± Francis spat out in embarrassment.

    ¡°Do tell.¡± Lucian said as the red faced man squirmed under his stone cold eyes.

    ¡°We were at the Black Lotus last night.¡± the man said dejectedly.

    ¡°Oh, so you and Sandra are into a bit of kink. May as well save me the time and tell me what your fancy is. BDSM, age play?¡± Lucian said with undisguised disgust.

    ¡°...J-just some light BDSM and sharing. We¡¯re new to the scene and arrived at eightish. We were¡­.tied up for most the night. So there was no way we could of done what you¡¯re implying.¡± His face looked mortified after admitting that in front of the officers.

    ¡°We¡¯ll be checking that of course. Mr. Redgrove, you don¡¯t seem particularly moved that your wife and daughter are missing.¡±

    ¡°Well it¡¯s probably like you implied. Crazy bitch burnt down our house and went away with our daughter.¡± he said with a snort and a shrug. ¡°I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll make contact soon, she has little money in her bank and will come crawling to me for some. For booze no doubt.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Lucian muttered as he stood up. ¡°Then we won¡¯t be keeping you.¡± The pair left to follow up on the leads they found and to check the alibis. Lucian also checked in with Sandra, they knew where she lived after all. Turns out she didn¡¯t know about his wife, though his alibi was true. The woman seemed murderous at Francis¡¯ second life and Lucian wondered, with a chuckle, if he¡¯d have a second crime to investigate before day¡¯s end.

    The investigation went on through the day but leads came up dry and when they found the car it was abandoned by the forest. The following day Lucian would order a search of the woods but when nightfall came, Calla was already on the move.

    She moved swiftly, testing her quietness and the limits she could push herself to. She was still on a high from the previous night and the whispers told her she¡¯d be fine for a few days. Despite the forest being more than twelve miles from one side to the other, Calla passed through in under an hour, even with all the obstructions.

    She had never felt freer in her own body than she had right now. Making games out of small openings in trees and twisting herself to slide through as she ran. A couple of times she¡¯d gotten her duffle caught and nearly snapped the straps but was able to pull herself to a stop quickly enough. Despite enhanced speed and strength it was her reflexes that improved the most.

    Once she¡¯d reach the other side, she found herself a top a hill overlooking a small town in the distance. It was large enough that she could disappear for a while, and have a few meals, before people started to catch on. If she were lucky she might even find herself a vampire, it was the main game she was looking for despite the foul taste.

    Throughout the previous day Calla went over her mistakes. Forgetting electronic devices which would be helpful to giving her direction and connections, no money or means to acquire it. These were what she regretted most as without them her journey was that much harder. Her end goal was to reach a city, alive, where she could hide out and feed on vampires and humans alike.

    Sneaking into town she was attacked by hundreds of different scents. All delicious and hers for the taking. Her mind began to be consumed before the whispers calmed it. Feeding wasn¡¯t a frenzy for her, it would be clean and concise. None would know she¡¯d done it.

    She popped her hood up as she walked through the town and kept her eyes away from the flashiness of the lights. With her enhanced sight they were blinding, so she got by on her hearing. A couple of people staggered into her but she seamlessly slipped around them and continued on, her nose searching. Eventually she caught what she was looking for¡­ the unmistakable rancid smell of a vampire.

    Her eyes looked up in that direction and she saw a young man staring back at her from a window with a cover over his mouth and nose. She waved at him and he waved back as red eyes met. He waved towards himself and Calla took it as an indication to walk in that direction. She held her hand up with five fingers spread, to indicate five minutes, and he nodded back.

    She¡¯d found a vampire and he¡¯d even invited her in, could it go any smoother? She smirked as she quickly headed into a nearby supermarket. The aisles were bare and she threw cautious glances around as she headed to the home goods row and plucked out a couple of packs of knives. She pocketed them without anyone seeing. Her expression was completely unchanging as she walked out the supermarket.

    On her way back to the vampire¡¯s building she tore open the plastic packaging and took out the knives and put them into her hoodie pouch, one in either hand. The building he resided in was rather seedy, but she calmly walked up the stairs passed the leering eyes and reached the third floor door, where his scent was.

    She knocked thrice before walking in and was greeted by a nerdy looking man in his mid forties, wearing glasses with short hair and a face mask.

    ¡°Hello.¡± she said as she walked in with raised hands to show she meant no harm.

    ¡°Welcome. I haven¡¯t seen you here before.¡± his voice came out with a nervous sounding high pitch. His body language was guarded and tense.

    ¡°I¡¯m...new.¡± she answered slowly.

    ¡°A traveller? How old are you?¡±

    ¡°Yes and I¡¯m twenty three.¡± she answered, seeing no reason to hide it.

    ¡°I mean your vampire age dear.¡± he said with a chuckle.

    ¡°Ah...I am twenty three...I became a vampire a couple of nights ago.¡± His eyes shot open with astonishment at the young lady before him. She didn¡¯t seem to be nervous or thirsting, if her words were true then she had sublime self control.

    ¡°Are you not hungry? With all the smells and the kind blood donors who are walking just outside.¡± he smiled as he spoke. He became more relaxed, a newborn posed little threat to Childe vampires like himself.

    ¡°No.¡± she replied with a shake of the head. ¡°I ate yesterday. I think I¡¯m able to control myself because I feel that I¡¯ll be caught or worse if I go about hunting haphazardly.¡± ¡®The whispers tell me so.¡¯ she thought, but the whispers advised her not to mention them.

    ¡°You have a good survival instinct.¡± he said with a smirk. Calla felt waves of authority rolling off him and the whispers told her to submit¡­.for now. Until the time was right. She lowered her eyes away from his and slightly bowed to him. Looking back up, her eyes were dazed.

    ¡°Very good.¡± he mumbled. He was ecstatic that he had found a newborn who he could bend to his will and use to make his life more comfortable. He always regretted becoming a vampire, the only times he didn¡¯t was when he was consuming blood. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°I am called Calla, sir.¡± She made sure to speak respectfully, as the whispers said she should. The man was a danger whilst he was focused on her. She needed to worm her way through his defences and then strike.

    ¡°Tell me Calla.¡± his voice said holding compulsion. ¡°Would you like to work for me?¡± It was more a demand than a request.

    ¡°Of course sir.¡± she said with a slightly dazed and happy look. The compulsion affect could be seen by others. ¡°What would you like me to do?¡±

    ¡°I need to feed and I want you to bring me a meal.¡± he said with a wide grin filled with self satisfaction.

    ¡°What type of meal would you like sir?¡± she asked robotically and the man licked his lips.

    ¡°Something virgin, male or female, I¡¯m not picky.¡±

    ¡°Is age a factor sir?¡± She didn¡¯t want to upset him if he had limits.

    ¡°No younger than seven.¡± he said with a sigh. ¡°Now get out and bring it to me by the end of nightfall tomorrow.¡± he snapped.

    ¡°Yes sir.¡± she answered dutifully and left the building, leaving her duffle bag. Once she rounded a couple of corners and crossed through streets she took a deep breath and shook her head.

    ¡®He¡¯s strong. The compelling feeling...I¡¯d have lost to it without the whispers, or died trying to fight him off. Bastard didn¡¯t even tell me his name. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll have the chance to find out tomorrow, with enough preparation.¡¯ She giggled to herself and muffled it with her hand, there was only a couple of hours left tonight and not much time to plan.

    She walked to the nearest fast food outlet and lay in wait. Depositing herself in a deep hedge and making sure she was completely covered over. She stood there, hidden and unseen and out of sunlight for the next day, watching humans come and go to get their fix of fatty foods.

 Chapter 04

    It was the evening and it was sufficiently dark for Calla to move out of the hedge but she stayed there waiting. She watched families come and go and latched onto one irresponsible set of parents who left their young son unattended in the car whilst they went in.

    He was napping in the back of the vehicle and Calla crept closer, taking great care not to be seen. She peered through the window and saw the young boy around ten or eleven years old. Smirking, she went to the boot of the car and opened in, sliding herself in and shutting it down so she was inside.

    She couldn¡¯t take the kid in the evening, police would be crawling over the entire premises within an hour and she¡¯d be unable to move. And she intended to get her meal tonight, she just needed to deliver the boy.

    So she decided to go along for the ride and kidnap the child from his home in the middle of the night. She could hear the family talking to one another with clarity as the car started up and they drove. Calla hummed in delight at the coming feast.

    When the car came to a stop she waited for about an hour before kicking at the back of the back seats, knocking them forward. She tunnelled out into the main part of the car and unlocked the driver side door and checked her surroundings. It was all clear, so she strolled up to the house and listened by the door. She could smell the parents scents downstairs but the boy was upstairs, probably in bed because the light was off.

    Flinging herself up a nearby tree, close to where the scent was coming from, she thought she could chance something.

    ¡®Young boys are adventurous right?¡¯ she thought and the whispers agreed with reservations. She might get a clean kidnapping or he could scream and she¡¯d have to do it the old fashioned way.

    She knocked on the window and heard a rustling from inside, and the boy walked to the window. She knocked again and he saw her and gasped but she put her finger to her mouth to tell him to shush. He opened the window and looked at her unsurely.

    ¡°Hello?¡± he said in a high voice, betraying his lack of puberty.

    ¡°Hi.¡± she said with a smile.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± he asked, probing her for information.

    ¡°Ah, would you believe young man, that I¡­.am a vampire?¡± she questioned as she gave a curt bow to the boy.

    ¡°No you¡¯re not.¡± he replied with a small laugh.

    ¡°I can prove it.¡± she said. ¡°I have red eyes and pointed fangs.¡± she pointed to herself as she spoke.

    ¡°Haha, fake teeth and contact lenses.¡± he smiled at her. Normally humans would have a danger sense about vampires but she was in no way meaning to harm him, so he didn¡¯t seem phased by her.

    ¡°I am a vampire.¡± she said with a slight pout, trying to endear herself. ¡°I can prove it.¡±

    ¡°How would you do that?¡± he asked with raised eyebrows and excitement in his voice.

    ¡°Erm...I¡¯m still young so I can¡¯t fly yet.¡± ¡®Vampires are bats right?¡¯ ¡°Or turn into a bat, but I can do some cool stuff.¡±

    ¡°Like what?¡±

    ¡°Erm...¡± she pretended to ponder. ¡°I can make you a vampire. Oh, and I can run for miles with you on my back.¡±

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like much.¡±

    ¡°Well no, I¡¯m young.¡± she said with a sigh. ¡°But I can take you to meet an older vampire if you like. I could run you to town now and have you back in an hour tops!¡± she said with false glee.

    ¡°My parents wouldn¡¯t like that.¡± he said sadly.

    ¡°But they don¡¯t have to know.¡± she answered softly. The boy was quiet for a moment but he spoke again.

    ¡°How do I know you won¡¯t hurt me, I¡¯m not supposed to go off with strangers?¡± She scoffed at him and rolled her eyes in a playful way that showed she wasn¡¯t serious.

    ¡°Erm...I could easily hurt you you know. Not that I will, I like you. But if I wanted to I would have already.¡±

    ¡°So you won¡¯t drink my b-blood?¡± he stuttered out.

    ¡°Of course not! That¡¯s a myth. Vampires like to eat things like steak, rare. Animal blood is divine.¡± she smiled and put on a dazed look. The boy still seemed apprehensive.

    ¡°Look, how about this. I¡¯ll take you to see the old vampire, he¡¯ll show you a few cool tricks and then offer if you want to become one too! Which you can refuse. But it¡¯s so much fun, watch this.¡±

    Calla began swinging herself from branch to branch and the boy smiled and laughed at her antics and silly behaviour.

    ¡°It¡¯ll really only take an hour?¡± he asked for clarity.

    ¡°Of course! I give my word as a noble vampire.¡± she responded with a salute which made him giggle. He clambered out of his window and she took his hand and placed him on her back, piggy back style. She jumped down from the tree which made the boy hold his breath, before she took off at high human speeds, sprinting forward as her feet hit the ground.

    After his initial fear, the boy laughed and enjoyed the breeze. He clung on tight afraid to fall. Soon they were in town and the boy¡¯s excitement was growing as it¡¯d been ten minutes and the woman vampire was still sprinting.

    They were soon in an apartment complex where she set him down and took his hand.

    ¡°We need to be quiet. The old one can hear all the noises we make and we don¡¯t want to be rude.¡± The boy nodded and walked hand in hand with her as they climbed up the stairs. Calla allowed the compulsion to slip back over her, the whispers keeping it from truly taking hold. Her eyes glazed and she knocked on the old vampires door and went in. He was sat where he had been before and the sides of his eyes crinkled as he saw the boy.

    ¡°Come here child.¡± he said whilst a smile formed. He knew compulsion was effective but he¡¯d never had the chance to test the limits. He hadn¡¯t long been a Childe and had survived in solitude so there was much left for him to learn.

    The boy walked forward as compulsion over took him and his eyes glazed over. The old vampire wasted no time sinking his fangs into the boy as Calla stood still at the room¡¯s door. When she saw the vampire''s eyes roll back from pleasure she broke the compulsion and propelled herself forward. Drawing the two knives from her hoodie pouch, she jammed them into either side of the vampire''s head.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

    The compulsion on the boy dropped as the vampire fell to the ground, unmoving. The boy began wailing in pain but Calla tore off his t-shirt, gagging his mouth and tying his hands behind his back. He wriggled and kicked on the ground but was already weak due to the shock of the fangs penetrating his body. The smell of his blood wafted through the air and Calla began to salivate, but shook it off.

    Calla found the largest knife she could in the kitchen and severed the limbs of the old vampire, bagging them and putting them in the freezer. As she bagged them she saw them begin to wriggle and squirm to his body but they couldn¡¯t once placed in the freezer.

    She bound his neck with shoe laces, and tied him to the radiator pipe, he was unlikely to be able to break it with only his neck strength. Calla then drew the knives from his head and the boy watched on in horror as the mutilated vampire''s wounds stitched closed.

    When he awoke he was furious and hissed at her.

    ¡°Hello to you to.¡± she said calmly as she took up a seat beside him.

    ¡°You bitch!¡± he shouted, but the other residents were used to the screams and howls that came from his room. He flailed about before looking down to see himself armless and legless.

    ¡°What do you want?¡± He growled out as the boy whimpered in the background. The old vampire knew he wasn¡¯t being kept alive for fun.

    ¡°Information.¡± she stated. ¡°Give me what I want and I¡¯ll let you live. I¡¯ve no reason to see you dead.¡± Except to eat you and become stronger, she thought.

    ¡°How did you break the compulsion?¡± he asked immediately, remembering she should have been under his control.

    ¡°Ah ah. I¡¯ll answer when you answer a few of my questions.¡±

    He grit his teeth and nodded, trying to keep his rage down.

    ¡°What are you?¡± she asked. ¡°I know you¡¯re a vampire, but your blood...I noticed when I was cutting you up, it smelt different.¡±

    ¡°Ah...¡± he said with a chuckle, letting his feelings subside. ¡°You¡¯re new of course.¡± he muttered. ¡°I am a Childe vampire, we have ranks amongst our kind with newborn, yourself, being the lowest.¡± he said smugly.

    ¡°I see. So newborn and Childe are the first ranks? You¡¯re not much stronger than I am.¡± she responded unfazed by his mocking.

    ¡°I know of four ranks. Newborn, Childe, Blood-letter and Elder. Other than that I don¡¯t know but there¡¯s probably more. Some vampires have lived for thousands of years after all.¡±

    ¡°I see, and how do you become a Childe?¡± she prodded him for more information, but the whispers answered. Eat. Consume. Devour.

    ¡°The only way I know of is time. The same for Blood-letter and Elder, to reach a higher rank you just have to wait.¡±

    ¡®So consumption isn¡¯t common knowledge, at least around here. It explains why he didn¡¯t eat me on sight.¡¯ That was good knowledge to have.

    ¡°Now, how did you escape my compulsion.¡± he demanded of her and she felt no problem answering him. She¡¯d gotten some information she needed and would happily dispose of him now.

    ¡°It¡¯s the whispers you know?¡± she said as she pointed to her head. He looked at her confused, before rage took over his features.

    ¡°How dare you mock me!¡± he shouted as his torso thrashed about. Calla swept down and stuffed his mouth full of fabric from the floor and pierced his neck with her fangs. She cringed as she slurped his blood, the taste no better than the first time, but at least it was different.

    When she was done, his body was shrivelled and unable to move, but she didn¡¯t want to take any more chances. She plunged a knife into the top of his head and another into his heart before dragging him into full view of the window.

    Before she convinced herself not to, she ran to the freezer and pulled out his limbs. She drained them all of their blood before setting them beside his body. He looked like a grey prune and Calla smiled before turning her attention to the still whimpering boy. He had now managed to crawl halfway across the room.

    She removed his gag and he stared at her petrified and unable to speak.

    ¡°You¡¯re okay.¡± she said as she pat him on the back, but her blood covered mouth and pointed fangs now looked incredibly scary. She carried him to the bathroom and sat him in the bath and ran the hot water. It was warm and she began to clean him up with a sponge as his arms were still tied behind his back.

    ¡°You¡¯ll be okay sweetie.¡± she said in a motherly tone but he didn¡¯t feel safe. His brain screamed at his to do something but his mouth wouldn¡¯t move due to the terror he was feeling. Calla stripped off and got in the bath behind him and hummed, rocking the lad. Chills ran down his spine as she focused on cleaning his neck.

    ¡°I wonder,¡± she said. ¡°Do you prefer left or right?¡±

    ¡°W-what?¡± he squeaked out.

    ¡°I¡¯m more of a lefty.¡± she said ignoring him. ¡°How about you?¡±

    ¡°R-right?¡± he saw as she tilted her head and pondered to herself.

    ¡°You think right is good?¡±

    ¡°Y-yes. I¡¯m r-right handed.¡± he was stone still as he waited for her to leave him alone.

    ¡°Ah. Right it is then.¡± Before the boy could say anything else she had wrapped him in her arms and sunk her fangs into the right of his neck. She moaned a little at the taste of the blood as the boy¡¯s body flailed and jerked. The high-pitch of his screams made it all the more pleasurable for her as it reverberated through her mind. She savoured the sounds as well as the taste and texture.

    It wasn¡¯t long before she was done as he was already half drained. She flung the corpse off herself and let it smack against the tile flooring. From the crack she knew some bones had broken but the boy was already dead. She emptied the bath and stood under the shower head and cleaned herself down, using soap sparingly as the scent was unappealing to her. At least the old vampire had scentless soap, probably needed the normal stuff for when he was out around humans.

    She looked herself in the mirror and saw she still looked as she did.

    ''So strength won''t change my appearance.'' she mused in her mind. She looked at her teeth and fangs and her eyes zoned in on all the small details. They were flawlessly white despite her blood drinking.

    ''Maybe my saliva naturally cleans teeth?'' she thought with a grin. ''Could make a fortune if I bottled it.'' That was a plan she might work on later.

    When she was clean she didn¡¯t bother to tidy up the apartment as the body was unlikely to be discovered for a few days, and if it was it wouldn¡¯t lead to her. She went to the kitchen and found a bin bag and stuffed her old clothing inside.

    ¡®If I go through clothing like this I¡¯ll need a new bag every three weeks.¡¯ she frowned as she thought. ¡®If I can get the money I could but something in or around the city that¡¯ll let me make feeding more...clinical. I¡¯ll be able to wash my stuff at least.¡¯

    She took the bin bag to the main room and looked down at the old vampire once more, smirking at him. Approaching his desk, she found his wallet and phone, taking both. She couldn¡¯t find any car keys so she assumed he had none. The whispers agreed they needed to make it look like he had fled, so she approached his body once more and stripped him of his clothing, and bagged it.

    She took large amounts of clothes from his room, along with some sets of shoes, and stuffed them in too. Finally she took the cash out the wallet and cracked the sim card in the phone as well as the phone itself, placing them in the bag.

    Taking a moment to think, she realised she was undressed and picked up her duffle which she¡¯d left on her initial visit. She dressed like she had before, but wore a maroon hoodie instead. She searched his apartment for anything else she might need, finding a few strange books which were unhelpful. The man also had a room dedicated to strange symbols with the moon in the centre of an eye, but it didn¡¯t mean anything to Calla.

    She did find a watch, and she¡¯d never been so thankful for one before. It was cheap and rubbery, but it was waterproof, digital and accurate. Looking it over, she realised the time was four in the morning, not enough time to embark on the next leg of her journey. It was still early autumn and the sun began to rise around five.

    She covered herself over with a blanket and retreated to the corner of the main room, away from any chance of sunlight, with her duffle and bin bag. She waited patiently as she looked at the old vampire¡¯s corpse.

    Calla waited for day light to break into the apartment and when it did she found herself fascinated once more. The wriggling of his limbs earlier had made her giddy, but the current sight of the light hitting his body mesmerized her. He took a couple of minutes to burn, far slower than her Sire. At first his skin became scorched and ashy, but he didn¡¯t suddenly burst apart. He whittled down until his body was no more.

    ¡®Perhaps increasing in ranks covers over some of our weakness? Maybe if you reach a high enough rank you become like the vampires in the movies, able to move in a blue and stop cars with your bare hands.¡¯ Knowing her line of thought, the whispers responded.

    Feed. Eat. Consume. Devour. The whispers spoke into her mind. And she would.

 Chapter 05

    Calla spent the next few nights wandering round the town and noticed her increase in strength and senses. She managed to get some sun glasses and from there was able to get some contacts for her eyes. Dropping into the supermarket she was able to pick up some packs in different colours, along with hair dyes.

    She felt she''d adapted quite well to the vampire lifestyle, but she needed somewhere more permanent. She''d found she was about sixty miles away from the nearest city, Sostine. It had a population of roughly eight million with a high crime rate. That''s not to say the city wasn''t rich, it just had a segregation style policy, the poor areas didn''t get policed and funded. Calla felt that if she hunted in the right areas she could live there for many years with others none the wiser.

    Currently she was living in an abandoned flat and drawing and writing out her plans. She hadn''t happened upon any vampires again but knew she would, and had to learn to defend herself. She needed to learn different kinds of martial arts and styles of fighting to help her against those more powerful than herself. And she had a lot of time, most daylight hours she spent reading books she''d stolen and felt it was an inefficient use of her time.

    She also wanted a kevlar vest if she could get her hands on one, but she doubted the police would give them up for free. Guns were one of her greatest fears as anyone with one could stop her.

    Over the past couple of days she''d also stolen wallets and money from passers-by to beef up her savings. She was up to three thousand now, prostitutes made for easy robbing. She didn''t kill any of them, she snook in whilst they slept and followed the scent of men that was on the money they hid. Calla also found she was lighter on her feet than before, and her ability to move stealthily had increased.

    She spent her days planning and her nights preparing. She also thought on a few oddities of her vampire life. The whispers seemed obsessed with her keeping covered up and staying modest. Yet when she bathed with her mother and the young boy they didn''t seem to care. Calla conjured images in her mind about different men and women she''d seen and the whispers became screeches of disapproval. Young children, like the boy, didn''t trigger them, neither did family members. But anyone she''d seen who was old enough to have gone through puberty was disapproved of.

    The whispers, despite the excitement of the idea, didn''t want her hunting young women if it meant she was going to join them in the bath before feasting on them. Which was a pain for Calla as she liked doing that. Having a meal and bath together was delightful and the stiffening terror she felt crawl up the spine of the young boy tickled her fancy.

    But Calla knew the whispers had a reason, so she decided it was best to stick with young children for now. She knew none of her relatives enough to be able to contact them.

    Calla had her plans ready and had bought new clothing and a couple of pairs of boots from a store. She also managed to get an unlocked phone and a clean sim card, which she topped up in store with cash. The details she gave about herself were minimal and made up. The store didn''t care that she had no fixed address, it was a common thing and they worked around it.

    A couple more days and she would leave the town but before that she needed to feed. It wouldn''t take long to get to the city, but she needed to be ready in case of anything unforeseen. In the next couple of days she kidnapped three children but didn''t kill them right away.

    They were a pair of twins, a boy and girl aged seven. The final child was a twelve year old girl who hadn''t gotten her first blood. She needed the pair of twins due to their small size, to her eyes they were half a meal a piece. The other girl she had different plans for.

    She kept the twins muffled and gagged whilst she performed what she now considered her killing ritual. Cleaning them off in the bath before indulging the whispers of her mind and draining them.

    The older girl she kept tied up in her front room. She was bound to the chair with a look of terror as the freshly cleaned, nude Calla strolled up to her and took up a seat before her.

    "Hello sweetie." her eyes squinted in mirth.

    "H-hi." the girl stuttered out, trying to not let her fear overcome her. The woman sat before her didn''t look particularly evil, take away the fangs and red eyes and she was actually quite pretty. But the girl heard the screams and wails of the younger pair and knew something horrible had happened.

    "My name''s Calla, what''s yours?" Calla asked with a gentle smile and a look of softness.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    "L-L-Lisa."

    "Well, Lisa it''s a pleasure to meet you." Calla ignored the fact that the girl wasn''t here voluntarily and was bound by her wrists and ankles to her chair. The pair sat in silence for a few minutes before it became too much for Lisa to handle.

    "W-what happened to the twins?" she asked. She''d spent the better part of three hours alone with them and she was concerned.

    "I ate them." Calla said.

    "A-ate them?" she squeaked out.

    "Yes, I''m a vampire you see." she pointed to her fangs. "And we eat humans." Calla let those words sink in and Lisa couldn''t help but begin to tear up and sob.

    "A-are you going to eat me?" she asked full of fear. Calla seemed to ponder for a moment before shaking her head.

    "No. You''re a special project." she replied gleefully.

    "What do you mean?" Lisa asked with a sniffle as her sobs subsided.

    "Well..." Calla drawled, "the twins were my dinner and you''re more like....a portable lunch?" Lisa began to tear again but before her sobs could escape she found her mouth stuffed with cloth and a strip of duck tape put across her face to hold it in.

    "Shhh." Calla whispered as she stroked Lisa''s cheek, tucking her golden locks behind her ears. The way her blue eyes misted up was a thrill for Calla and it took all her restraint to not consume the child then and there. She thought, and the whispers agreed, that it was a waste to eat her when she was full.

    Calla sighed as the girl before her whimpered at her touch.

    ''I''d best get on with it whilst I''m sated. I don''t know if I''d be able to do this whilst I was hungry.''

    She went to her kitchen and brought a box over which she set beside Lisa. Inside were empty several empty glass bottles, a knife, some tape and a plastic sheet. Pulling the sheet out, she forced Lisa''s bottom off the chair and slid it underneath her. She pulled it tight round the girls waist and tied it tightly, making the girl wince in pain.

    Her flailing and muffled screams were beginning to annoy Calla, the sound no where near as satisfying as an ungagged scream. Looking up at the girl from her kneeling position, Calla raised her hand and smacked her across the head, hard, and rendered her unconscious.

    ''I hope I''ll be able to wake her, it won''t be nearly as fun with a sleeping person.'' she thought as the girl went limp on the chair. She wrapped a couple of rolls of tape around the plastic at the waist to make sure it was air tight and then did the same with her knees. Finally she nicked the artery on the girls thigh with the knife, before pulling the sheet over at taping it to prevent any loss.

    She added a couple of extra bindings for good measure to ensure the girl couldn''t disturb her work whilst she was awake. All this was testing Calla to the limits, but she remained in firm control and the whispers helped to keep her stable. As blood began pooling at the bottom of the plastic, around Lisa''s knees, Calla smiled.

    She grabbed a cup of water from the other room and dunked it over Lisa who slurred awake as Calla dragged the cloth out her mouth. Panic set in as she looked around and saw her bleeding body wrapped in a bag, with blood gathering at the bottom.

    "Please stop. Please." she cried hoarsely. Her eyes were tearing and her pleading sent shivers up Calla''s spine. She knew she was enjoying this too much and took a moment to calm herself. Such feelings were the closest Calla could come to satisfying the lust she felt on a daily basis, other than actually drinking blood. The whispers wouldn''t let anyone touch her, not even herself.

    The girl begged Calla even as her words became more slurred and delirious from blood loss. Watching her life drain away, along with listening to the gradually stopping of her heart was something Calla found an odd sense of beauty in. The girl wasn''t quite of age but there was something poetic about the slow death of such an angelic girl.

    When she was finally drained Calla shut her eyes for a few moments, replaying Lisa''s last breaths in her mind, savouring the feeling. Then she got to work and slid a glass under the bag where blood had pooled. She punctured it and let the blood flow in, allowing it to reach the rim before quickly swapping it with another. She minimised the wastage and after screwing the lid on the now full jar, she licked the blood which had dripped down the side.

    ''A portable lunch indeed.'' she smirked as she thought.

    She repeated this several times until all the blood had been drained from the girl. Each time she felt those few drops on her tongue, she recalled the praying words of Lisa.

    Not one for messiness, Calla took the jars to kitchen and cleaned off the blood and saliva left on the sides before drying them. She wrapped them in a thick layer of clothing, before sticking them in her duffle.

    It had been a good couple of days work for Calla, but now she needed to dispose of the bodies. She could leave them, she supposed, after all she''d be long gone. But someone might have seen her during her time here, she couldn''t be a hundred percent sure nothing would lead back to her.

    Children, especially drained, were much smaller than adults and she was able to fit all of them in a couple of bags. She hoisted the bags over her shoulder with her duffle.

    A great benefit of vampirism, is that whilst super human strength didn''t just happen, Calla still never got tired. So she could push her muscles to the limits and not care. They didn''t need oxygen, the strain just meant she''d have to consume blood sooner than she would otherwise. Calla wondered how long a vampire could live catatonic and unmoving, and the whispers answered.

    Forever. Maybe that was where the idea of coffins and hundred year sleeps came from? Use no energy, need no energy.

    ''Hmmm, one o''clock.'' Calla checked her watch as she began to run with the two bin bags and her duffle. ''By the time I finish burning up at the forest, it''ll be around twoish. I''ve sixty miles to cover and can do roughly fifteen miles in an hour. It''ll get light around five so I can''t make the full journey, I''ll need to find somewhere to stop off.''

 Chapter 06

    The next day, whilst Calla found herself cursing in anger as she hid herself from the sun under a thick blanket and behind a slim tree, a full scale hunt was underway in the town. Three children had gone missing the previous night, without any of their parents knowing. The intruder had come in through their windows and spirited them away and people were scared. Add this to the young boy who went missing a few days ago and the fear was palpable.

    Two distraught families appeared on TV seeking help in finding their young children. And one of those families was related to a vampire. They didn''t know it, of course, but Lisa''s mother''s brother was a vampire and he had adored the little girl. When his sister had called him up in tears, Benedict Farrow had been furious. As his sister poured her heart out, he had nearly shattered the phone with his firm grip.

    He couldn''t move just yet, the sunlight would kill him, but he told his sister he would arrive in the town during the evening and help with the search. Once he''d hung up, his dark apartment felt the full strength of his fury and anger, before it gave way to a small sob.

    Benedict loved his niece and she was the one in his family he planned to offer to change when she was old enough. She had the purity of heart that knew she could accept what he was, and that she''d offer to live with him through the ordeal.

    He wanted to find her and prayed that she was okay, but here, stuck in Sostine, he could only wait for night to come before making his move. He spent much of the rest of the day calling up and preparing his newborns to help him search for his daughter. Only those with controllable bloodlust would come of course, he couldn''t risk them hurting Lisa if they found her.

    He had seven under his command, all of which he sired, and he left two back in Sostine who were too young to be of help to him. When night came they travelled by car and drove passed a young woman on the roadside and could tell she was a vampire by her scent. They quickly pulled to a stop and Benedict accosted her with his men.

    "Hello?" Calla asked him as he got in her way. With her small size she looked innocent and naive, even to a vampire''s eyes.

    "You coming in from the Lillypud?" Benedict asked as his eyes coldly glanced over the woman. He put a small amount of compulsion into it as he spoke and her eyes glazed over, the whispers telling her to play along.

    "Yes sir." she said as she stood straight and tidied her hoodie. Benedict could feel that his compulsion hadn''t fully over taken the newborn in front of him but he had a couple of ideas why.

    "You are heading to Sostine?" Calla thought quickly and came up with a story.

    "Yes sir, my master demands it." she said with still glazed eyes, the whispers had told her it was a good cover.

    "Who''s your master?" he demanded but was met with the shake of a head. The woman either didn''t know or her order''s prevented her from speaking, or so he thought.

    "Why are you coming to Sostine?" he tried a different question.

    "The master has departed from Lillypud and wants me to set up accommodation for him in the city." she lied without any tells, keeping her face and expression flat. It was a lie that she could cover herself with, she didn''t say when the master would be coming.

    "Do you know about the disappearances in Lillypud?" This was the most important question for Benedict and he compelled her to answer. She didn''t show any sign of struggle so he thought the command took hold.

    "What disappearances?" she asked for clarity.

    "Ah." he said, of course there would be more than one or two if a vampire lived there. "Two sets of children, a pair of twins and a young girl aged twelve." Calla appeared to think for a moment before answering.

    "No, the master forbid hunting children." ''Lying right to your face.'' Calla thought with an inward smile. ''I suppose I shouldn''t be surprised the kids have been declared missing. Why do humans have to complain? It''s not like they can''t make more.''

    "Very well." he saw no reason to harm another of his kind, especially when he had confirmed she knew nothing about his niece. "You make sure to tell your master to visit me when he comes to the city." He put all his compulsive power into the command and Calla''s body seemed to jolt.

    "Yes sir." she said expressionlessly.

    "You can go." he said as he stepped to the side and his newborns got back in the car. The young woman vampire began to walk passed him and continued on with a dazed look.

    Once he''d gotten back into his car and driven off with his fledglings, Calla let out a heavy huff. If she could sweat she''d be dripping, she was so nervous during the encounter but the whispers told her how to act to keep herself safe.

    The man would become a problem in the future and he had followers. Calla supposed she had to make arrangements for killing him off as he probably wouldn''t leave her be. She''d have to do it silently and bit by bit, no way could she take five or six head on. And the interrogator had a compulsion power so Calla supposed he was a Childe vampire.

    Consume. Devour. The whispers spoke soothingly into her mind. Yes, she needed to hunt him. It would make her stronger. She chose to walk at a brisk human pace for the remainder of her journey, trying to look inconspicuous and open to those who saw her enter the city. Especially vampires, she wanted to show she was no threat.

    She was a couple of hours walk away and continued on. As she did, Benedict arrived at his sister''s house and found her distraught and hysteric. The house was in shambles and her husband, the selfish prick, had chosen to go off and drown his sorrows instead of consoling his sister.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    "Hey sis, I''m here." he slowly crept towards he in her lounge where she was curled up in a ball. He had chiselled his fangs down and put in green contacts to conceal his eye colour. His fangs would regrow in a couple of days.

    "Ben." she replied brokenly, pulling him into a hug and letting her tears dampen his shirt.

    "Shh." he said as he rocked her. "What do we know?" he gently coaxed her for answers.

    "All they''ve told me is she must of let someone into her room, there was no forced entry." she whispered as her eyes stared off distantly.

    "We''ll find her sis. I''ve brought my boys and you know how good we are at this kind of thing." he gave her a small smile and she tried to return it, only for it to fall flat.

    "Please Ben," she begged as she hugged him. "Find my baby." she broke down sobbing once more.

    "I will." he stated resolutely. "But I''m going to have to go, are you sure you will be okay?"

    "I don''t know, but I''ll still be here when you get back. Lisa is more important than how I feel right now. The police...they said that every minute counts."

    "They''re not wrong sis." he soothed her by rubbing her back.

    "Then go," her voice cracked, "please go and find her for me."

    "Okay," he said as he stood. "We''ll look for her, but you need someone here with you, call our aunt and have her stay?" he offered, to which she nodded.

    A couple of minutes later, after grabbing a couple of things from Lisa''s room, he ran out the house and gave the items to his newborns. They each took in the scent like tracking hounds, but the air had already scattered the smell.

    "I want each of you to comb through every building, every alleyway and street, and find this scent. When one of you does, call the rest and myself and we''ll track it down. Understood?" he stated with compulsion over the ones he''d sired.

    "Yes Sire." the answered in unison before splitting off and began scouring the town.

    It was a frustratingly long night for Benedict as his heart was filled with worry. The first night yielded no results and his compulsion filled interrogations didn''t find anyone who''d seen the girl in person.

    Calla''s night was just as frustrating as Benedict''s. He''d specifically asked her about Lisa and thw twins which meant that he knew them somehow. She needed to consume him and his followers but they were too strong united and would smell her a mile off. Calla needed a way to stop her scent so that she had the element of surprise.

    Searching through the stores through the night she at last found something that could work. A full body swim suit that was designed to keep people warm in the water. She found gloves and boots of similar material and bought them all. All three sets were skin tight so she could wear them under her other clothes. The main problem she had was concealing her head. Every part of her body gave off scent and her head and hair in particular gave off a strong smell.

    No clothing seemed to be helpful for her predicament, so instead she turned her head to make-ups and body sprays.Rubbing a couple of the cream samples from the store into her hand, her eyes took in all the minute details and she saw that it wasn''t soaking into her skin. Rather it was sealing the gaps, like a glue, it formed a protective layer.

    She took bags worth of the chemicals and found she''d nearly emptied herself of the money she''d saved. The clothing already set her back a thousand and she bought an equal amount in care products.

    The first thing she''d done when she arrived was find an abandoned warehouse without anyone nearby, and that''s where she returned to. There was a tap with cold running water which she used to wash herself thoroughly to dampen her scent and ensure she was clean. She spent much of the next day experimenting with various creams to see what worked and what didn''t.

    As she was doing all this, she began to wonder if she couldn''t do the same thing to guard from the sun, but the cream would probably evaporate and she''d burn to dust. She''d try it on one of the Childe vampire''s followers if she got the chance.

    After numerous showers and experiments she ended up lathering her whole body in very thick cream that seemed to seal off her scent. Her hair was dyed and the chemicals made her want to gag more than vampire blood or garlic, no way could other''s smell through that.

    She then deliberately stilled her breathing, before rubbing the cream inside her nostrils, ears and mouth. Only the whispers kept her from clawing out her own tongue at the disgusting taste. The cream had to be spread completely over her face including under her eyelids so her blinking wouldn''t give her scent away.Calla also doubled up her contacts to ensure her eyes were fully covered.

    More than once she did wonder if she was a masochist, some of the things she did to herself were disgusting.

    Finally she dressed herself in the skin tight body suit and prepared her clothes for the coming night. She had to air out her clothing before wearing it, and spent the second night in Sostine, running around, letting the air rid all her clothes and duffle of any lingering smell from her. She washed down the blood jars again.

    She did notice that the whispers seemed to hum in satisfaction when she wore the skin tight body suit. It completely cover her hands, feet and body, all the way up to her neck.

    ''They really don''t like me showing any skin....'' she thought sourly. But as time passed she found she was growing to find the idea of complete concealment more appealing. After all was done, she was prepared and now just needed time to scope out the man and his followers. She stationed herself at the road leading into Sostine, out of sight, and waited for the now familiar smell of vampires to roll by.

    Benedict''s second night had allowed him to find out exactly what had happened. They''d found little Lisa''s scent in an abandoned apartment along with the scent of a vampire. The same vampire who''d passed them on their way out of Sostine. He''d had the one who''d taken his niece at his fingertips and allowed her to walk away without a care in the world.

    She''d also overcome his compulsion which meant she was probably a Childe like himself and had tricked him. That Calla was a newborn was inconceivable to him.Something cracked in his mind when he found that his niece was taken by a vampire. He knew what fate had befallen the girl and he gnashed his teeth, constantly clenching and unclenching his hands.

    His newborns gave him a wide berth, not wanting to take the full force of his anger.

    "Get to the car now! I want that bitch found tonight!" he roared at them, and they scrambled to where they left the car. Benedict rode shotgun, his thoughts darkening with what he''d do to that small bitch of a newborn when he got a hold of her. The newborn who was driving ignored any and all laws of the road as he sped at speeds over a hundred to get back to Sostine.

    It was three in the morning when the group finally returned, oblivious to the gaze that followed their car as they drove by. Calla allowed herself to smile.They hadn''t caught her scent from her nearby position.

    ''There''s six of them including the Childe.'' she thought to herself amongst the constant whispers. ''But he probably has more in reserve right?'' The whispers agreed with her. She could flee the city but the whispers demanded she be worthy and she fight.

    ''Worthy? Of whom?'' Calla had felt this way more than once or twice. The whispers were trying to make her perfect for someone or something. Who or what it was, she had no idea. But something deep within her told her the whispers knew best, and all this effort would be worth it.

    The whispers would allow her to bow before others, to tell self-depreciating lies, and anything else she wanted to. As long as she won in the end, as long as she was the victor.

    ''Time to scope them out.'' she said to herself mentally. She ran her tongue along her fangs and was getting used to the rotten taste of the cream, though she still wanted it gone. ''The things I do.'' she sighed to herself before turning to follow the scents into the city.

 Chapter 07

    Tracking the group of vampires was an easy thing, but on the trail Calla managed to find that vampires were by no means rare in Sostine. There were groups of them, perhaps friends and families?

    Clans. The whispers told her. Calla walked by what she thought were three clans and a number of strays. The way to tell them apart was how their scents mingled together. Clan vampires seemed to be stained with one another''s smell. None of them noticed the young woman in a black hoodie other than a waft of chemicals which made her unappealing to further sniffing.

    When she found the man''s apartment she was able to tell by the scents that eight vampires resided there. There were several floors and each floor had no more than two strong scents.

    ''So he did have more? I know from the way they followed him that the five with him last night were newborns. But the two that remained here...I can''t tell if they are newborns or Childe vampires.'' she frowned as she stared up at the building. She crept along the wall, so silently that the vampires would be unable to hear her. She stilled and waited and planned.

    ''I could light the whole building up?'' she thought before shaking away the idea. It was too destructive and would bring unwanted attention. If these vampires were a clan then they probably had connections to other vampires, possibly friends or allies.

    As her mind ran through different scenarios she knew she needed to get the individuals separate from one another, and take them out one at a time. She didn''t have a plan, but she didn''t need one tonight. As if the gods had heard her, she saw the five newborns from before storm out the house and frantically split apart. She followed one and noticed from his movements that he was constantly scanning and sniffing the area. He didn''t even pay attention to the disgusting smell of chemical dye that seemed to be spread around the area.

    ''Searching for something?'' her mind took a few seconds to click. ''For me...my scent, Lisa and the twins'' scent. I left it all over that apartment. It''s why the whispers warned me to fight...they knew I''d made a mistake. But why didn''t they say anything at the time? They didn''t know a vampire knew her...so the scent didn''t matter, but once that Childe questioned me, the deep recesses of my mind knew. I remember....after he spoke to me, I made the decision to kill him.''

    The whispers hissed in approval and it echoed around her mind granting her a shiver of pleasure. Calla''s mind began to break down the barriers between her and the whispers and they gradually quietened. She didn''t know what was happening but the world seemed to become a little bit clearer, and her thoughts came to her with more clarity.

    She continued to follow the newborn, closing the gap between them. She moved slightly faster than him but did so so silently that he was unable to pick up her position. He didn''t know anything was wrong until he felt himself tackled to the alleyway pavement and his face met concrete. He was slightly dizzy but before he could lift his head he felt a sharp pain in his neck and tried to scream.

    But a hand on the back of his head grabbed his hair and began to thrust his head repeatedly into the solid ground.The screams became soft moans very quickly as he struggled to maintain consciousness.

    Meanwhile Calla found the taste of the newborn almost divine after having that cream in her mouth for the past several hours. She surprised herself with the ease that she took him down and incapacitated him. He felt weak to her, and she reckoned it was because she had already consumed a Childe vampire. She didn''t feel like she''d changed into a Childe, but she knew she was definitely stronger than a newborn.

    She deposited him in a nearby garbage bin and shut it, crawling underneath and waited. It was only four o''clock and she figured they''d continue to pursue her for another hour or so. The days were definitely starting to get darker so maybe a little more than that.

    To her absolute delight another vampire happened upon the garbage tip and had a look inside. It wasn''t one of the one''s who was hunting her. She''d set a trap and she hadn''t even realised it, and the whispers hissed in approval at her next actions.

    She grabbed at the vampire''s legs and she tumbled to the ground. As she reacted and struck out under the bin, Calla dodged and clutched the woman vampires throat. She used all the leeway the bin afforded her, smashing the female vampire''s head into the ground.

    The woman vampire groaned as Calla scurried out from under the bin and straddled the vampire''s back, quickly feasting upon her. She did as she had with the other newborn, repeatedly slamming her head into the ground to keep her quiet.

    The alleyway was littered with blood and flesh with two mangled corpses sitting in a garbage bin. Calla stripped them both off and waited for day to come, and once it had, she cast their nude bodies into the light and watched them scatter to ash.

    Strength. Consume. Devour.The whispers constantly ran round her head that day and she felt giddy inside. She didn''t get any pleasure in the act of drinking, but she seemed to have a delayed high.

    ''Might have drank too much. Hehe.'' she giggled to herself silently as she curled up under the garbage bin. ''Tonight, if I catch one...I can lure the others out with it.'' then she frowned to herself as she looked herself over. ''I''ll need to freshen up again...my scent isn''t spreading but having the smell of two different vampires on me might single me out. I also don''t know if the female one had connections.''Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    Maybe she''d been too hasty in her second kill, but she couldn''t risk being discovered. She didn''t know how vampires acted when they found one of their own drained dry.

    ''I don''t know enough about these communities...Once I''ve dealt with the Childe I''ll need to find a way to integrate myself. From what I saw last night, vampires are quite lust filled and blood driven.'' she scrunched her face in disgust at the thought of any of them trying to touch her and the whispers turned murderous. ''I need information....maybe I can force it out of one of my meals?''

    The whispers gave a chorus of approval at the action. Seek. Torture. Discover. Feed. Grow strong. It came to Calla like a to do list in her mind. She needed information and strength, and the actions stated by the whispers would give her both.

    When night came, Calla did as she had the night before. Cleaning herself up and disguising her scent. Meanwhile Benedict was fuming that one of his newborns had either gone missing or turned rogue.

    "Why isn''t he answering!?" he yelled to one of his nearby newborn who flinched away despite his much larger size. Benedict quite slender with blonde hair and blue eyes, normally sporting a gentle appearance with his five foot ten height. To an outsider it would look funny seeing the six and a half foot newborn acting so scared.

    "We don''t know sir. We all tried phoning him but Jake''s always been a bit of a loose cannon." one of the other''s answered, trying to spare his friend Benedict''s wrath.

    "Fine." Benedict spat out through gritted teeth. "If you find Jake or that bitch, bring them to me alive. Now go!" And like that, the four remaining newborns were off again.

    ''I''ve still got the two newly turned.'' Benedict thought as he bit his thumb nail. ''No, I can''t risk exposure. The others would come down hard on me if I revealed anything to the humans.'' He shook away his thoughts and tried to calm himself. Soon he''d capture the newborn woman and tear her to pieces, repeatedly, before slowly burning her as tribute to his niece.

    Benedict wished he could search for her himself but he''d already used a couple of days to try and find his niece in Lillypud. Now he was back in Sostine he had business to attend to, and his counterparts would not care about the death of a small human. Despite his love for his niece he didn''t let it completely cloud his mind, he still thought rationally when he needed to, only occasionally indulging in the fantasies of violence he would inflict upon Calla.

    The second night of the search was more complicated for Calla. She easily kept tack of her tracers but they moved in pairs tonight.

    ''Maybe they know something happened to the other one?'' she thought as she watched them from a high up window ledge. They mostly stayed above the rooftops, moving faster than typical humans and remaining silent. She saw as they followed the scent of the one she killed yesterday and how it came to an end in the alleyway.

    Calla crept closer to them, blocking out her surroundings as her hearing zoomed in on them. She was a good fifty meters away yet she could hear them clearly.

    "Think he''s gone ash?" the burly one asked the little one beside him.

    "Well he was always pretty stupid." the small one responded with a sigh. "A scent can''t just disappear, unless the fucker was idiot enough to get rayed."

    "Looks that way." the big one chortled. "Think Benedict will punish us?" he asked with a tinge of fear in his voice.

    ''Benedict much be the Childe.'' Calla smiled. She could now put a name to a face.

    "Nah, s''not our fault Jake kicked it. Gimme your phone." the little one said, and the big one gave him the phone. He tapped on the screen a few times before putting the phone to his gear. "Sire." he said respectfully.

    ''Oh. Maybe they aren''t a clan then?'' Calla mused, suddenly feeling much lighter.

    "Jake''s scent came to a dead end." He closed his mouth and listened silently and Calla supposed Benedict was speaking.

    "We don''t know, but there''s nothing here. We think he was fool enough to get himself rayed." He nodded a couple of times and then spoke again. "Yes, there''s a second scent here."

    ''Shit.'' Calla thought to herself. ''Did I mess up?'' The little guy was quiet for a bit more before speaking.

    "No Sire. Definitely not the bitch you''re looking for. I remember this scent from the Red Light. Georgina or some chick vampire, likes to play with her food." Calla breathed out a sigh of relief. "Think she dusted him?"

    Frustrated at being able to hear half the conversation Calla rubbed her temples. If she were closer she could hear but the whispers and her instincts warned her against it.

    "Dunno if she''s dead too. We''d have to follow her scent and that''s deep Swarmer territory."

    "......"

    "I''d need to request a meeting, and even then they might not care."

    "......"

    "As you will Sire." he said as he put away the phone.

    "Well?" the large one enquired.

    "Wants us to try meet the Swarmers and find out what happened." the little one replied with a click of his tongue.

    "And the woman we''re looking for?"

    "He says there''s a priority list. If something''s going on with the territory that takes precedence. We''ve already ceded control of the western buildings to the forest dogs to keep the peace."

    The big one gave a grunt of agreement and the pair went on. Calla didn''t track them straight away, if they were meeting these ''Swarmers'' she would probably be put in danger.

    ''Swarmers and forest dogs?'' she chuckled to herself. ''Don''t know what they are, but things could get interesting. There seems to be a lot of animosity in this city...guess the groupings are no different than gangs or street thugs. All vying for their share of the pie.''

    Calla didn''t pursue them the rest of the night, instead she chose to arm herself in what ever ways she could. Supermarkets stocked a lot of good equipment and there was even an all night DIY shop. She''d spent a lot of time cleaning out the abandoned warehouse and it was where she''d base her operations, where she''d get the information she wanted.

    As she move back and forth with different things through the night, cement mix, a sledge hammer, lengths of rope, knives to hide on her person, she reflected on her vampiric life.

    ''Only one week as a vampire and I''ve killed four humans and four vampires. Shame I don''t remember how my Sire''s head cracked like an egg.'' Calla sighed. The thought that she accidentally overcame her Sire was delightful, unfortunately it was whilst she was human and in great pain. She couldn''t savour it like she had done her later kills. Remembering all of her meals made her smile. ''Only one week as a vampire, and it''s the most fun I''ve ever had.''

 Chapter 08

    The next few nights were very irritating for Calla. Not only had she been unable to get any of the other four newborns, but since she''d listened in on that phone conversation there was marked increase in vampires wandering round. They tried to appear inconspicuous but the whispers warned Calla of the surrounding danger.

    So Calla came up with a new plan, though it was risky. She''d engage one of the newborn pairs in a two on one, using the element of surprise to get the jump on them. She''d been tracking the small and big one as they continued to search for her and discovered that they fed every couple of days in the red light district.

    Knowing where the pair were, she set herself up in an alleyway, arms with her sledge hammer and a couple of knives.She paid one of the prostitutes on the street to come with her and they walked hand in hand to the alleyway away from prying eyes.

    "What do you want to do?" the woman asked Calla in sultry voice, thinking the young woman was probably inexperienced and wanting a good time. Calla had acted embarrassed as she handed over the money to the woman and she kept her eyes lowered as the woman spoke to her.

    "T-take your shirt off." she said shyly as the woman stood with her back to the wall hands on hips. The prostitute chuckled and pulled her shirt off over her head, but as her vision disappeared behind the polyester being drawn up, a blade found its way into her neck.

    She struggled with her arms still in her shirt, unable to scream as the blade was twisted and pushed deeper into her throat. A couple of minutes later she was dead, choking on her own blood. Calla steadied herself and tried to subdue her hunger before retreated into a doorway and keeping an eye on the body.

    The smell wafted out and both the men she was following smelled it. Calla only had to wait a couple of minutes before the newborns were overcome with bloodlust and stumbled upon the woman, oblivious to their surroundings. The blood haze had them snarling at one another and grappling to the floor, neither wanting to share.

    Calla suppressed a laugh as she stepped out from her hidden spot and swung the sledge hammer down. The one on top managed to dodge out the way but the lower one found a new friend in the concrete ground.

    The small one was quick enough to survive and snarled at Calla in a rage. She was small and tiny and his life experience told him that women were much weaker than men. She wouldn''t stand a chance against him.

    Unfortunately that was human logic. Striking out at Calla, she swung her head back to avoid it. She kicked up which made contact with his chin but he held his ground and swiped out continually. Calla in her clear state of mind, was able to avoid the rage filled movements of the bloodlust driven vampire.

    Knocking him back with a kick to the chest she turned and ran and he made to follow, only to realise he had a meal to attend to.He calmed slightly and allowed rationality to seep back in. He crept closer to the dead prostitute, drowning in her scent but he remained cautious.

    The newborn waited and waited until instincts took over and he began to feast on her body in a flash. Calla had crept up to the railings above the vampire and once he began his feeding frenzy she silently leapt over the side and landed on his back.

    He tried to throw her off, thrashing about the alleyway and slamming her into the brick buildings but she tightened her grip and bit hard. He clawed at her hair, trying to get hold of it to throw her off as he continually smashed her into the surroundings.

    Calla groaned as she felt something pierce her side but her mouth clenched tight and continued to drain the small vampire. It took a couple of minutes but his movements became slower and less harsh until he was a twitching mass on the ground. When Calla was finally done with him he was immobile and still.

    She looked down at her waist and saw the bleeding had stopped. Glancing round she saw her blood on a sharp piece of railing and she muttered curses in her mind. Why was this small vampire such a tenacious bastard? Now her scent was spreading. The cut on her waist was still sore but the pain and wound promptly disappeared when she drained the larger vampire.

    Her gag reflex wasn''t even kicking in with vampires these days.

    ''Maybe it''s an acquired taste?'' Calla thought to herself as she stripped off the two men and dragged their bodies to where the sunlight would hit them. She wiped herself off and then groaned again when she realised she''d have to buy new clothes and a body suit.

    ''Don''t think about it now. Move quickly.'' and her idea was met with a hum of approval from the whispers. Calla could be forgiven for what happened next. She was still a newborn and had no idea. As she stepped out of the alleyway, without any detection of scent or movement, the whispers screamed at her and she flung herself out the way.

    Where she had just stood was a lean looking male and female vampire.

    "Turlin." the female snickered.

    "Don''t say it." he said sternly. Calla couldn''t make out their faces, they were covered in whole body coats and completely concealed.

    "But Turlin." she lightly clutched her stomach as she laughed. "You got dodged by a newborn." The man, Turlin just growled at the woman and Calla stood very still. The whispers told her to stay put, running away would make her game. Vampires loved the chase and not running would show them she was surrendering.

    "Hey girl." the woman sauntered up to Calla and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You''re the one we''re looking for. You''ve got a bit of a bounty on your head y''know." she stroked Calla''s cheeks and the whispers were furious but they didn''t make to act rashly.

    "Why?" Calla asked flatly with a tilt of the head, to move it away from the woman.

    "Aww the little one doesn''t know. That little shit Farrow is looking for you." she pulled her hand away sensing that Calla didn''t like the contact. "Now, we Swarmers are very interested to hear what has got him so upset."

    "You don''t want the bounty?" Calla asked cautiously.

    "Meh," the woman responded as she rubbed her stomach. "We want to have fun. Now you''ll be coming with us yes?"

    "You''re not going to compel me?" Calla enquired of the woman.

    "Of course not! I despise the act of taking someone''s freewill. I''m giving you a fair choice right now, come with us or die. It''s as simple as that." the woman smiled as her warm gaze met Calla''s. "You didn''t try to run from us when you dodged Turlin there, so I know you''re not stupid."

    "Okay." Calla sighed and dropped her head, lifting herself out of her protective position. "Do you want to lead or?"

    "Sure thing. Turlin will be behind you though. By the way, I''m Leena."

    "...Calla."Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

    "Well no time like the present, let''s go!" Leena turned around and began stomping off down the street. Calla felt Turlin nudge her shoulder and made to follow Leena.

    They didn''t walk very far but it took a long time to get to the Swarmers'' base, mostly because Leena stopped to flirt with any attractive person she could find. Calla could feel Turlin''s bubbling anger behind her and was worried about her immediate safety.

    Still, they made it to the base without incident and Calla found herself guided into a hallway with a couple of guards. She was made to sit down at a small table and Leena sat opposite her with her legs crossed. Taking her helmet off, Leena gave her head a shake to free her hair from where it had sat for a few hours prior.

    Calla idly noted that Leena was quite a beauty and her red hair and eyes against her pale skin made her appealing. But the whispers soon quashed Calla''s thoughts before they went further.

    "Now Calla. We''re going to have a little chat." Leena said with a smile, sliding a glass of blood before her. Calla inhaled from the glass but didn''t drink and Leena quirked an eyebrow at the newborn. "You''ve good control." she noted.

    "Thank you." Calla responded gently before sliding the glass back to Leena. "But I only drink from my own hunts."

    "Fair enough." Then two other men strolled into the room. One wore the same clothing as Leena, he looked to be in his early thirties with a gruff appearance and black hair. Calla guessed he was Turlin but couldn''t be sure yet. The other man had the appearance of his late twenties, clean shaven and a handsome face. Calla wasn''t sure what it was but the whispers were very afraid and warned her off from offending him.

    "So we''ve got some questions for you and we''re going to start with the basics. And we''ll know if you lie."

    "Please." Calla maintained her stoic face.

    "What age were you turned?"

    "Twenty three."

    "And how long have you been a vampire?"

    "A couple of weeks?" Calla responded hesitantly and Leena''s eyebrows shot up and she looked to the two seated men. The unknown man just nodded and she looked back at Calla.

    "That''s remarkable. Only a couple of weeks old and able to sniff fresh blood and not act like a beast. How do you do that?"

    "Self-control. My mind tells me not to so I don''t. It''s hard but I always manage to restrain myself."

    "Have you actually drunk human blood before?"

    "Yes."

    "Was it frenzied or aggressive?"

    "No?" Calla thought back to her first kill. "When I was turned I was under a bridge, I spent some of the daytime that I was stuck there planning how to go about it."

    "Really?" Leena seemed fascinated and Calla nodded in response.

    "My instincts told me that the sun was dangerous so I have no choice to stay where I was."

    "You must of drunk something." Leena pressed on. "The thirst is nigh unbearable for a newborn."

    "I did drink, yes." Calla confirmed.

    "From?"

    "My Sire." Leena''s eyes went to the side again and confirmation was given.

    "Your Sire let you drink their blood?"

    "No." Calla responded with a shake of the head. "They were already dead."

    "How?"

    "There was an island in the middle of the bridge, when my Sire attacked me and I struggled and we went over the edge. He broke my fall and his brains spilled out." Calla smiled as she remember the scene she saw upon waking.

    "So you drained his body?"

    "Yes."

    "Okay that''s enough." the unknown man interjected. "Leena, whilst I appreciate you wanting to know everything, can you please stick to the topic at hand." Leena pouted at the man before turning back to Calla.

    "Tell us about Benedict Farrows."

    "What about him?"

    "Why does he want you badly enough to put a bounty on your head?"

    "Ah..." Calla started. "I don''t know the relation to him but when I was in Lillypud I met this heavenly little girl and an adorable couple of twins. I took them to where I was stayed and fed from them." Leena''s eyes darkened in anger.

    "The girl''s name?" she said lowly.

    "Lisa. She was so angelic. I''d already had my fill from the twins and figured I could use a portable lunch, so I wrapped her in a bag and drained her slowly, collecting the blood in jars." Calla''s face had a euphoric look at the memory but Leena was disgusted.

    "You''re sick, you know that?" Leena stated with no small amount of aggression.

    "No, no. I''m very healthy. Your thinking is just too human. A young human to me is like a serving of lamb to their kind. So supple and tasty, you really should try it."

    "I take back what I said earlier, you''re a worse beast than those blood lust driven newborns." Lisa''s stance was beginning to become threatening when the unknown man stood up once more.

    "Just to clarify Calla, you did not attempt to attack or kill him or his newborns?" The official premise of the bounty was that she''d gone out her way to harm his interests in a vendetta.

    "Not at all." she replied with a shake of the head. "His men came after me and I fought back. When these two picked me up I was just leaving the alleyway. I''d fought two of his men in the alley which is what caused this wound here," she pointed to her waist which was still covered in blood. "I didn''t want a fight initially but they''ve come after me numerous times. I hope vampire law doesn''t say I have to let myself be killed." she snorted a little but kept her words sincere and not allow sarcasm to seep in. It was true she didn''t want a fight, she wanted a one sided hunt and kill.

    "I can confirm everything you''ve said tonight is truthful and no you haven''t broken any laws. Benedict on the other hand will be required to pay for a false bounty." the man growled and Calla had the desire to lower her head in submission but restrained it. "The Swarmers won''t pursue the matter with you again Calla, you''re free to go."

    "Thank you." Calla stood but Leena began to argue.

    "But Xavier she kills children!" she looked like she wanted to murder Calla on the spot but Xavier had said she could leave.

    "Leena perhaps you should listen to the young girl''s words. You think most vampires haven''t killed a child?" Turlin said.

    "But she does it actively!"

    "Leena." Xavier spoke sternly. "She has broken no laws amongst the vampire race. That Benedict and yourself would get so upset over something as flimsy as human life shows your weakness."

    Leena quietened after being chastised by her clan superior, she could only grit her teeth and give Calla a death glare. Calla wanted to try something but didn''t know if it would net her a benefit or not, but she figured as a newborn she was relatively safe.

    "Erm... can I say something before I go?" she spoke politely towards Xavier.

    "Of course," he nodded, "what is it?"

    "When I was being tracked I also kept track of them. You can see from my contacts and clothes that I''ve gone to lengths to hide myself." Xavier and Turlin chuckled, all three of them had been able to tell but Leena was too pissed to laugh.

    "Anyway, I listened in to a phone call they had and they mentioned something about forest dogs." This got Xavier''s attention and his previous friendly expression became ice cold. Calla thought her heart would of beat out of her chest had she been alive.

    "Tell me every word." he used his compulsion and it settled on Calla. The whispers told her to accept it once again and her eyes became dazed.

    "The small vampire that I got in the alleyway, he said that they''d ceded control of the western buildings to the forest dogs. That''s all I was able to hear." Xavier released the compulsion immediately, seeing no need to hold her under and not being a fan of bending one''s will. The coldness in his voice made the temperature of the room plummet.

    "So, Benedict not only falsely accuses another vampire, he''s even allowed mutts to get a hold in the city. We''ll deal with this problem, and as thanks, we''ll even help you kill Benedict too, if you like?" he said as he faced Calla.

    "If I may say sir," Xavier nodded, "I love the hunt and my instincts and mind demand I hunt him alone."

    "Ahh...newborn instincts are strong aren''t they." he gave a hollow laugh.

    "Yes sir." she gave a half bow robotically to him, to show her station.

    "Very well. You have one week in which to kill him, that is my favour to you. If you don''t....then we''ll be removing him ourselves, regardless of your instincts."

    "That''s more than generous sir." she gave another half bow and left the room.

    "Xavier, Turlin, that girl is dangerous. She''s only a two week old for Christ''s sake. And she has no qualms about killing children and other vampires. It''s not normal." Leena still felt the need to get her point across.

    "You''re right Leena." Xavier said. "It''s not normal, but it''s definitely fun. I wonder if she can really off Farrow, it''d be a great shame on his memory if he were brought down by a newborn."

    Xavier didn''t dally after that and smiled as he walked away. He wondered how much havoc a newborn who lived for the thrill of the hunt, rather than the blood, would bring. Most vampires transition to that after becoming a Childe, yet she was evidently born into their world that way.

    Calla made haste back to the alleyway where she was picked up and was relieved to find the two nude men still on the floor, shrivelled up and dried out. She whipped a couple of black bags out from her hoodie pouch and bagged them, dragging them to her warehouse and laying them down where they would be in full view of the sun. Hopefully no one had seen the blood-drained pair.

    She spent a couple of hours cleaning herself up and was a bit saddened she''d punctured her body suit. She''d have to rely on the masking cream to keep her scent hidden until she could replace the contaminated outfit.

    Calla settled down and welcomed the morning from her shielded corner, by watching her two latest meals scatter to dust.

 Chapter 09

    Over the next couple of days Calla managed to successfully hunt Benedict''s other two newborns much to his frustration. He bunkered down in his home and refused to leave, not knowing that the Swarmers were keeping close watch in case he tried to flee.

    For three days he didn''t move and Calla realised that if she was going to get the kill on him in time, she had to confront him in his own home. But it was dangerous and he still had the physical edge over her, not to mention probably a few years experience.

    The Swarmer guards hadn''t escaped her notice and it only frustrated her more that they were keeping watch. She wouldn''t be able to draw him out and drain him or else they''d know what she was doing.

    She needed to keep him in his own domain and defeat him there. Calla could still detect the two newborns in the apartment block and knew they''d come to his aid, but she had a plan for that.

    Tonight would be a risk and she had to take the chance or lose her kill and the whispers would not accept that. She needed to be worthy, this kill was hers and if she didn''t get it then she would be shamed. She didn''t know why, but the thought filled her with dread. The whispers calmed her and soothed her by speaking to her mind and preparing her.

    Drain. Devour. Grow strong and become worthy. They were more quiet than they''d ever been, yet more fluent and affected her on a deeper level. In a funny way they were her only friends, she''d noted how much she had come to love solitude and just listen to the thoughts of her mind.

    Something about the world was unsatisfying and unfulfilled, except when she hunted and fed. She didn''t know what the problem was, but the whispers told her to grow strong. So that''s what she''d do.

    She silently slipped in the building, able to tell that Benedict was on the fourth level and began to creep up the stairs in full black.Her steps were so gentle even vampires couldn''t hear them. She sniffed out the two newborns on the third level but she couldn''t engage them yet.

    She heard their growls of dissatisfaction as the stench of chemicals from her hair wafted passed them. It didn''t register that she was a vampire and they could now control themselves around humans. They still craved blood but the smell began to travel upstairs and then they knew that the snack was for their Sire.

    Calla smiled at how stupid typical newborns were. Any experienced vampire would know something was wrong by the lack of sound she made. She got to Benedict''s door and knocked, and he knew something was wrong. Still he was very self-confident and answered the door, to be greeted by the sight of a small red haired, blue eyed woman. Calla had decided to redecorate herself but he recognised her instantly.

    His eyes widened and she just gave him a silent nod and smile.

    "You!" he spat furiously as he lunged forward. Calla threw out a knife from her sleeve which stopped Benedict, causing him to twist and allow it to pass him. He growled as Calla shot back and began ascending the stair way, leaping from the bars in the middle. He began chasing after her as he yelled to the two newborns.

    Calla heard the three men in pursuit of her. Benedict was gaining on her but every so often she flung a knife at him, causing him to slow down. It was a game of cat and mouse and Benedict felt like he was being mocked.

    Calla kicked down the door to the top apartment and fled inside, coming to a stop outside one of the rooms. Benedict was there a few seconds after and stared her down.

    "No where to run now is there? Those rooms either side of you have no windows and you can''t get passed me." he said smugly before letting his expression become cold. "You killed my niece."

    "Your niece?" Calla spoke as though she had no idea.

    "You took away my angel, my Lisa." his teeth grit and the raw sadness that came off him could be felt by Calla.

    ''Why are Childe vampires such humans?'' She rolled her eyes at him and this made him angrier.Hearing the newborns climbing the last couple of flights of stairs she decided to goad him, it was a big risk to take. Her back up plan involved lighting the apartment up and escaping, but she didn''t want to do that yet.

    "Yes I did." she said as she edged closer to the left room. "And you know what..." she opened the door and he tensed. "She was an angel, the way she begged, pleaded and prayed for me to stop. I didn''t touch her with my fangs you know? I drained her slowly, before her eyes. Listening intently as her heart came to a stop." she laughed at him and each chortle sullied the memory of his niece.

    Unable to contain himself he bolted forward and Calla shot in the room. The newborns came into the apartment just as he kicked the door to the room down. Before he registered it, he heard the sound of glass shattering on his chest and looked down to see blood covering his torso.

    "I don''t mind sharing. That''s the blood of your little angel, why not have a taste?" she sneered as she pulled out another jar and threw it at him, in the door way he could move in neither direction and so shattered it with his hand.

    He was completely coated in blood but he only had his eyes on the torture and kill of Calla.

    "You''re going to die," he hissed, "painfully, slowly. I''ll make you wish for death and when I finally give it to you, you''ll be able to look up at my niece in the heavens whilst you plummet into hell." He heard his newborns coming, but he was so consumed with anger that he overlooked one simple fact. They weren''t in full control of themselves yet.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    They tackled him down and began clawing at him to get the blood. Calla managed to worm her way passed and run out the room and Benedict let out a screech of rage that she was escaping. His newborns didn''t let up though, so driven by bloodlust they ended up biting him, only to recoil in disgust. They each roared towards Benedict and wanted to break and kill him. Their instincts towards blood drove them wild and being unable to drink they turned to the next thing they knew, violence.

    "Get off me!" he screamed as he smashed their heads together. "Mindless beasts, can''t even handle a little blood!" With his superior strength, he dazed them and flung them off. He kicked at them and broke their ribs, leaving them whimpering on the ground. But he wasn''t to stop, he lifted each up by the hair and slammed them repeatedly into the wall, making a small dent.

    He broke them, snapped their bones and would have set them alight had they not been in his building. He stripped off his shirt to get rid of the distracting smell before he moved to try and track down Calla. Benedict knew this fight would end tonight, or else she would never have shown up.

    He''d been in the darkness about her recently, only knowing someone had killed the ones he had sired. Calla had taken everything from him. She drained his niece, broke his sister, and killed his followers. He even suspected she''d been the one that had gotten him under investigation by the local clans.

    Running to the stairway he saw the door to the rooftop was open and he crept slowly and cautiously up the stairs. Gently opening the door and seeing nothing on the flat roof. He glanced his eyes upwards, to make sure she wasn''t above him and he saw nothing.

    He smelt the familiar chemical dye waft out from the stairway and instantly turned back and ran in. Benedict reached the steps when he felt something push into his back and push him forward. He tried to grab the centre railing but the force was too much and he fell down a stair level with Calla mounting him.

    His eyes caught the familiar glint of metal and he managed to throw Calla off of his.She tumbled from his throw and ended up back inside the apartment with the two groaning newborns.

    Benedict was instantly on his feet and giving chase, trying to catch her and she slashed at him with blades. She flipped tables and ceramics, anything to obstruct his path to her.But he was much stronger than her, and infinite vampire stamina meant he was barely stalled.

    Where Calla was like a very strong human, Benedict''s prowess was like an Olympian. There was a wide gulf between the pair. It wasn''t insurmountable but their inhuman reflexes made each far more deadly than their homosapien counterparts.

    Calla didn''t tire either, managing to keep a distance through throwing objects and manoeuvring around the pillars. Her mind rapidly tried to formulate a plan, to use the terrain to her advantage, or impale him with a weapon. They were stuck at an impasse when he wouldn''t move, knowing she''d escape through the stairway if she got passed him.

    "Why don''t you give in?" he chuckled as she threw another knife in his direction which he dodged. "You must be out of them by now? The only way you''re getting out of here is when I cast your broken body to the sun."

    "Heh." Calla licked her lips, he was too calm now and she needed to provoke him. "You know you''re under investigation?"

    "Of course. Your handy work I presumed?"

    "Yes. But there''s something else." she gave him a smirk he could just see to the side of the pillar.

    "And what''s that?" he asked.

    "Well." she said as she crouched in her guard. Her hand touched the floor and she concealed a blade within the other. "You''re probably wondering why I came here at all?"

    "It did cross my mind, yes."

    "Well, that Swarmer....Xavier was his name." she giggled a little and spoke mockingly. "He already decided your dead, but he gave me first chance at you."

    If his face could go red Benedict''s would have been completely crimson. Xavier, a Blood-letter, was allowing him to live so a newborn could have a chance to kill him? It would be absurd if it wasn''t so insulting.

    His rage overcame him and he stepped to the side before lunging at Calla. She in turn drew her blade to meet his chest but he knocked it away with his other arm. Her lower dive allowed her to get a grab of his waist and he tried to get hold of her.

    She managed to scurry around his body as she drew another knife which she shot towards his heart. He caught her wrist and she was on his back clinging to him.

    "What are you doing there? You''re not strong enough to break my head with one arm, and if you draw another knife you''ll have to let go. You can''t stake me." his voice was gloating as her hand struggled to keep pushing the knife towards his heart. He slowly pushed her hand away but she sank his teeth into his neck.

    He screeched in agony and began bashing the side of her head with his own but she tightened her grip. And then he made a mistake, instinctive, but still a mistake. He let go of her knife hand to try and force her mouth away from him and it allowed the stainless steel to plunge into his heart.

    His struggling quickly subsided and she drained him. She was completely caught up in the moment as the whispers began to vanish and she felt the blood in her body change. Her body and soul took on a qualitative change, her teeth hardening and her muscles becoming more dense. Her eyes could pick out the dust scattered in the air.

    Childe. The whispers told her before finally vanishing completely, melding into her soul.

    After she was done with Benedict''s body, she made swift work of the two newborns, smiling into the bite as she allowed the other to watch. Watching the terror spark in the other newborn made her giddy and she wasted no time draining him as well. She didn''t get as much satisfaction from the newborns as she did before hand, probably because they were too weak to give her a good meal.

    Benedict though...that was a meal she''d savour in her mind for years to come.

    ''He should be proud. He helped us become a Childe. A worthy stepping stone to grant us strength.'' Calla thought.

    The dried out bodies caught fire quickly, and as she lit them up at the hair, she flung them out an open window to burn outside the building. The Swarmers'' little spies wouldn''t see that she''d drained them, all they would be greeted with was ash.

    ''We need to hide our strength. We can''t let them know we''ve evolved, we must act like a newborn. Bow and scrape beneath others whilst we build our strength. The man, Xavier, he is bad for us.'' Calla''s internal voice sounded slightly fractured. Figuring it was linked to merging with the whispers she shrugged it off, not realising that the way she had referred to herself had changed.

    The night was near its end by the time her battle was done and Calla felt it best to wait the daytime out in the apartment. She planned to visit Swarmer territory the following night to make claim to the building as her residence. Calla had won against Benedict so it should be her right.

    It was located in the poorer part of Sostine but she could make the building secure and fortify it for her uses.At the back of her mind she was constructing plans for a possible war with the Swarmers that may occur in the coming years.

    ''If nothing else we need to be rid of the red head. She''s dangerous to us. But we should wait....hunting her now would be suspicious. Time has to pass before we can capture her.'' Many plans and contingencies were born that day as Calla created all manner of ways to keep herself safe and destroy those who would harm her.

 Chapter 10

    Six years had passed since she moved to Sostine and Calla was pleased with how life was going. The Swarmers had granted her control of the apartment block after her battle with Benedict and she stripped the place bare, wanting to be rid of the scent of other vampires.

    With no need for sleep or rest she made quick work of doing the place up but she needed more money. So for a short time she became a Seeker as the supernatural community liked to call them. She''d find targets that fit the description of clients and deliver them. Want a black, fifteen year old cracked up boy toy or an untouched Asian twenty three year old? Calla would find and deliver. She had no qualms about trading life and she made a very healthy living.

    For her own eating habits Calla continued on as she had before until the Swarmers had told her she could no longer get ones of good breeding. She was relegated to any runaways and strays she could find. To say this angered Calla was an understatement, still she bent her knee and accepted the order.

    In fact it became one of her greatest inspirations. Calla needed a steady stream of human blood and with her money she set about learning construction. Once she had she converted the apartments into multiple rooms. Each one was able to hold eight of her rooms, all with a small bathroom and shower.

    They were all windowless of course and each room had a small caged entryway where Calla would step into once she''d opened the secure steel doors to each one. All of this was to one aim and it took her nine months, working most hours everyday to get things how she wanted.

    Each apartment had a small medical bay and bagging area. The bottom floor was hers, and all the higher floors were completely secure unless one could punch through steel or brick. Blood-letters could, she''d learned, but she just wouldn''t piss them off for now.

    When all was said and done she set out capturing the humans she wanted. She had six floors each with eight rooms, so forty eight slots for the people she wanted. Her plan was simple. She''d become a blood farmer. Taking children from the ages of seven till fifteen or all different colours and backgrounds and siphon off some of their blood.

    The basement floor would act as her storeroom and she''d cater to the niche of child blood. Calla had learned it wasn''t only Leena who found such acts disgusting, it was quite a common view point amongst her kind. But Calla broke no laws and her new idea was easily accepted by the Swarmers as it''d minimise her kills.

    Calla definitely wasn''t the only blood farmer, but she was the only one who treated the humans she drained well. There was a difference in the quality of the blood, vampires could tell and soon demand outstripped supply. But Calla made a healthy amount of money.

    Caring for the humans was quite easy. She caught an older human lady, one she deemed fit for the job, to look after the young ones and made their rooms more inclusive so they were somewhat happy. Calla constantly updated the rooms to keep the humans as happy as she could. All their basic needs and some of their wants were met. The amount she drained from them was little and quickly replenished.

    She even put in an internal intranet with touch screens in the rooms for the humans to talk face-to-face with one another and stave off loneliness. Calla had few problems with her new residents, she''d gone for the more quiet and demure ones.

    Outside of her career, once the whole system had been established, she began to take self-defence lessons every night. She couldn''t use her full strength but she could slowly learn the different forms and ways to move the body. Her instincts were good but every improvement would help her.Learning how to use a gun and different weaponry had also been important.

    Over the six years Calla also learned a lot about how vampires operate and the supernatural world in general. The forest dogs she''d heard of before were actually werewolves, other were creatures existed as did demons and shadows. Calla had heard of angels, pixies and elves also existing but she''d no reputable sources to confirm this.

    The Swarmers, apparently, were only a small fish in the big bad pond of the vampire world. Sostine itself was home to four ruling clans, the Swarmers, the Celina, the Kali and the Dacus. Then there was the moderator clan who sat above all of them, the Valenmour clan. They were a side branch of the ruling royal family of vampires that did not interfere with anything unless it broke strict vampire laws.

    Calla had only heard little about the royal family. Funnily enough, they were called the Lawe clan. The king was Metrix Phens, his queen Sage Merry and their son Calder Augustus. Calla had also heard murmurs off a sadistic daughter called Hylee Veals. She was supposedly very violent and cared little for humans and vampires alike.

    ''Our soulmate.'' Calla had thought to herself with a chuckle at the time she was told.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    So life was good for Calla, but right now she had a problem. Her strength as a Childe had grown very little as she had been unable to hunt other Childe. Newborn rogues did little to help her and if she wanted to keep her tidy apartment set up and blood business she couldn''t just go out and drain another Childe.

    ''What to do, what to do...'' she muttered in her mind as she stalked back and forth on the roof of her apartment. ''We have three roads to choose from; we can try and hunt a Blood-letter, hunt a few Childe or hunt a lot of newborns. We don''t know.'' she groaned as she rubbed her face in frustration.

    ''Maybe we should step up our newborn feeding and hope for a chance of a Childe? That''d be much better than going out and starting trouble.'' Calla pulled her brunette locks, which ran midway down her back, over her shoulder and began to braid them, keeping her hands busy. ''But....there''s no fun in hunting newborns. Too weak.''

    Her mind continued back and forth until she came decision. She''d play a game, a far larger game than anything she''d done before. If she could make the clans fight one another, then it''d be open season for her and no one would look to deeply into those who vanished.

    ''That''ll do...there are places we can hide in the chaos.''

    With a smile on her face she headed back inside. She''d developed an obsession with always wearing a full body suit that covered her from her neck to her toes and she wore it at all hours. She''d changed her initial style though. No longer did she walk around in a hoodie and joggers, keeping her head concealed.

    Rather she went for a very expensive, tailor made, female suit, over which she wore a trench coat. She still kept her boots though, they were plain black leather. Calla had been told more than once to wear high heels, but those were made for the point of sex appeal and not practicality.

    With her small stature and braided hair she looked quite innocent, other than the red eyes and fangs. And walking out of her apartment now, you''d think she was harmless...because you couldn''t see the concealed blades and firearms.There were places in the city that clans didn''t operate and it was where she found most of her game.

    Once she got a waft of newborn in the face, she savoured it. She''d drank it enough that she no longer found it disgusting, and if she drained them and mixed it with human it would react and become bubbly. It was a new taste she''d discovered a year ago and she couldn''t quite describe it. Vampire blood itself lacked life, which was why it tasted so bad, whilst human blood was full of it. But when you mixed the two, you didn''t get a happy medium. Rather it was a violent clash and the vampiric blood seemed to enrage and constantly attack the human. And it created new and wonderful tastes.

    But that wasn''t the plan tonight, it was a simple kidnap kill and drain. Rounding a corner she saw the vampire newborn draining a human in a frenzy.

    "Hi." Calla said with false cheer as she walked up behind the newborn finishing its meal. It span round and hissed in her face before its instincts kicked in and it backed off from the still smiling young woman.

    "W-what do you want?" the man asked hesitantly, he could feel the woman was stronger than he was.

    "Does anyone know you''re here?" Calla asked ignoring him and putting compulsion into her voice. His eyes glazed over and he stared off distantly.

    "No miss. My Sire is away on business and I operate alone." he said flatly.

    "Excellent!" Calla said with a clap of her hands. "You''re coming with us then."

    The man could sense the danger and tried to shake the compulsion off himself but Calla watched him closely and doubled down on its strength. She began to walk away and his mind tried to fight against his body, trying to stall each step and warn his body of the danger it was in. Calla was a few steps ahead of him whistling happily. Tonight was going to be an easy hunt, which upset her in a way. She missed the challenge she used to encounter when fighting newborns.

    About half an hour later they arrived at her apartment and he followed her inside, his insides screaming at his body to escape. But the flow of compulsion from Calla was too great. They entered the first floor apartment, the only one unconverted and Calla sat him down and strapped him into the steel chair. She''d had it specially designed so no vampire would be able to break it, at least below the Blood-letter level. When he was secure she released the compulsion and he shuddered in terror.

    "What are you going to do to me?" his voice came out in barely a whisper. He didn''t want to be here, to be the target of some sadistic vampire. "Are you going to torture me?" Calla frowned at his words.

    "Now why would you think something silly like that?" she asked with a shake of her head.

    "We''re not enemies, you''ve no reason to take me." he responded as calmly as he could. "Unless it''s for information?"

    "Aha." she snapped her fingers at him. "Do you have information we''d want?"

    "I''ve been a newborn for a few weeks, I don''t even know the name of my Sire."

    "So you don''t have information we''d want?"

    "Not that I can think of." he lowered his head.

    "Exactly. You don''t have any information we''d want and we''re not going to torture you, don''t worry." she spoke soothingly. What other reason could she want him for? Sex maybe? He was quite attractive after all.

    "Why am I here then?" his words came a little more confidently now.

    "Why do you think?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

    "Sex?" he squeaked out but was met with a look of absolute disgust and loathing. Calla inserted a needle into the newborn''s arm and hooked it up with rubber tubing that was connected to a pump machine.

    "No not sex."

    "So what then?" he enquired meekly.

    "This little darling," she patted the pump machine, "is going to drain you of your blood." The man scrunched his face in repulsion, vampire blood smelled as bad as garlic. He knew the action wouldn''t kill him though, only sunlight and fire could truly kill his kind, or so his Sire had said. The machine began pumping away and after a minute or so he could feel himself growing weaker.

    "W-what happens to me after?" his words slurred a bit at the blood loss. Calla checked her watch and smiled, it was five in the morning and sun would soon rise.

    "You get dusted of course." she smiled as his eyes drooped shut and the machine finished draining him.

 Chapter 11

    ''How to start a vampire war? Vampires love sex and blood, are territorial and hate the wolves. Benedict died when the weres managed to gain a foothold in the city. But they were only found out because we told the Swarmers. So maybe we can teach the wolves how to get in and where they should strike. We''d have to be disguised and make contact....it could be deadly. Their weakest is suppose to be like a new Childe.''

    More than a few times over the past weeks, Calla had wondered if there was something wrong with her vampiric side. She was planning to happily aid the arch-enemy race to vampires all so she could feed on her own kind. Calla also wondered a few times if she could feed on the wolves too, but knew that their blood was poisonous. She didn''t want to risk herself by trying.

    Making contact with the wolves had been remarkably easy. She went to the forests away from the city where they''d last been seen and left a simple note and phone number covered in her scent. They''d talked back and forth and the Weres had agreed for one of their kind to meet her on the outskirts of the city during day time. Calla had to cover herself in thick leather from head to toe with some extremely dense sunglasses. To say she looked out of place was an understatement.

    They were meeting at a small coffee shop that Calla had chosen and had paid to lease out for the day. The owner was all too happy to let her pay upwards of a couple of thousand just to close his shop for one day. On arrival she could smell the wolf and knew he was alone. In his human form she was far stronger than him but if he exposed her she''d burn in the sunlight. Neither side had a strong enough advantage to take a chance, exactly how Calla wanted it.

    She approached the shop around midday and unlocked the door with the set of keys she''d been given. A man, the wolf, soon came up behind her but kept his distance. They both walked in and Calla locked the door. The blinds kept most the light out but she''d not drop her outfit. They sat down opposite each other.

    The wolf was at least six foot in height and was bearded and had black hair. His eyes were a deep brown which signified he wasn''t the Alpha of his pack. Calla figured him to be forty to fifty years old.

    "It''s common courtesy to show the other party your face." his rough voice said.

    "Forgive us." she said softly. "If we removed anything and you chose to dive for those blinds we''d die. We don''t trust you that much."

    "Fair enough." he grunted out, picking up on the strange way she referred to herself. "But that doesn''t explain why you''re covering up your scent."

    "We suppose, but you do realise that by being here we are betraying our race? The things they''d do to us if they knew." she chuckled and he crossed his arms and leant back with a smirk. If she wasn''t being this careful then he''d be less inclined to believe her.

    "Introductions first. I''m Zaros of the Shadowsong pack. I hold the rank of Sentinel and will act as your contact for the duration of this....arrangement."

    "We won''t give you our real name, but for our time together you can call us Redgrove." He let out a grunt of displeasure but knew that what was happening was going to be on her terms. At least she was being civil and not calling him a mutt or dog.

    "Very well Redgrove. You keep saying we, is there more of you?"

    "We work alone. Our speech....it''s a vampire thing." she said with mirth as she pointed to her head. Zaros thought that maybe she had some kind of disorder before she was changed and began to doubt the effectiveness of an alliance. It wouldn''t do to have someone unstable. Seeing the frown forming on his face, Calla knew she needed to speak up.

    "Mr. Shadowsong," she said professionally, "We have a speech issue, nothing more, nothing less." ''We shouldn''t have to make excuses for ourself!'' she hissed in her mind. He was another she''d see dead soon, at the top of her list with Xavier, Leena and Turlin. Xavier for compelling her, Leena for judging her and Turlin for trying to pummel her into the concrete. It had been six years, but Calla knew how to hold a grudge.

    "Well onto business then." Zaros shook away his doubts and decided to see where this venture would lead. "You want to help us gain a foothold in the city, a city which has managed to drive us out each time we have tried to establish ourselves. Why?" It was perhaps the most important part of their alliance.

    "We live a good life in Sostine. But we are unfulfilled, we are....different from other vampires. The prejudices between the races means nothing to us. You don''t smell foul to us like other vampires have described." Zaros'' eyes widened a fraction. "We do not look at you want want to kill you, rather we see the benefits you could bring to Sostine."

    "I don''t see how having werewolves in a city of vampires would be helpful?" he half questioned.

    "We have lived in Sostine for some years now. We''ve had to restrict our lifestyle and make changes because of the clans. We''ve no freedom to hunt what we want." ''Children and vampires.'' she mused in her mind. "Your kind will bring disruption and rile up the clans. Within that chaos we will be able to live as we choose."Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    "Us getting in won''t just ''rile up'' the clans. It will be war and carnage for all sides." he said with aggression.

    "Yet, you still wish to gain a place in the city." Calla smiled under her face cover.

    "We do." he nodded with resignation. "Vampires control the city and thus control the humans. They are forever encroaching on our land and it won''t be long before the forest becomes too small for those who live there."

    "And establishing power in the city will allow you to change that." she coaxed him gently.

    "Yes. But there will be a lot of blood spilled, possibly for decades."

    "And your pack mates would consider it an honour to spill blood for their families."

    "Indeed." he sat up straight and stared right at her sunglasses. "What are you proposing?"

    "You need enough allies that you can withstand the mediators intervening. Like vampires, you can change humans and control them. We''d suggest buffering your forces in Lillypud, it is almost devoid of any of our kind. There is a lot of forest land nearby and you can allow your army to grow. And then, with my help, you can attack and displace the Swarmer clan."

    "It''s not that simple to get new wolves, we''ve forty in our pack and we''d need at least eighty to withstand the following onslaught of vampire clans. Your plan would take at least a couple of years." he spoke as he analysed what she said. Suddenly he felt himself grabbed by the collar and slammed into the floor.

    "Then take a couple of years!" she hissed to his face. Her strength was beyond what he''d thought she''d be capable of. She wasn''t just any rogue. "In that time, we''ll help you gather the information you need. This isn''t like your five previous attempts where you were pushed out after a month, if you plan to create a stronghold you need the numbers!" her voice was low and deadly and fear wormed its way up down his spine and made him shiver. Calla released him and stepped back but left him sprawled out on the floor.

    "Think about our words but be quick. Our offer only stands for so long." She unlocked the door and left, leaving the key in the mail box for the owner to pick up. Calla fled back to her apartments to get a meal and calm herself down. The rage had been sudden and unexpected and she was furious at herself for losing control.

    Zaros lay on the floor for a couple of minutes. Redgrove''s plan wasn''t actually that bad and she was right, they needed the numbers if they wanted to last. The most convincing part though was her strength. He figured she was a Childe vampire just by her confidence, but even a Childe shouldn''t of been able to overpower him so easily.

    He returned to his pack and went to meet the Alpha right away. Avan Shadowsong was a strong man; his pony-tailed black hair and piercing golden eyes intimidated all who saw them. He furrowed his brows in thought as Zaros told him of the encounter.

    "She seemed genuine to you?" he asked his sentinel who was currently bowed before Avan, who sat on a tree trunk.

    "Yes sir. That she wanted us to bolster our ranks, and even take a couple of years to do, suggests that she isn''t looking to trap us." Zaros answered dutifully.

    "That she''d specifically mention the Swarmer clan, implies she has some connection to them. Perhaps a grudge or she''s gone rogue from her Sire." the cogs slowly turned in Avan''s head.

    "Why would going rogue matter sir?"

    "Zaros, vampires aren''t like wolves. If one of ours goes rogue, they are free to move as they please. A rogue vampire is still drawn to their Sire and still susceptible to their compulsion. The blood sucker probably wants to flee, but having her Sire still live means she can''t. It''d give her more than enough reason to want the Swarmer clan gone, especially if it''s someone high up." Perhaps Xavier was her Sire? Zaros said the woman was powerful so she could probably break the compulsion of a Childe Sire, but a Blood-letter? No chance.

    "So she''s using us?"

    "Of course she is. Just as we are using her. It''s a mutually beneficial arrangement. That she wants us to have a lasting presence however....she knows we''ll forever fight with the vampires....there''s something....." but Avan couldn''t quite put his finger on it.

    "She did say something peculiar." Zaros interjected. "She said we don''t smell and she doesn''t want to kill us when she sees us. Other than her outburst at the end, I didn''t sense any hostility from her. She''s not typical, so maybe she simply hates her own kind?" he offered up.

    "Hmm. She wouldn''t be the first. Vampires hold onto their humanity and it fades away with age. She''s probably quite young in vampire years. She''s a Childe so maybe ten to fifteen years? If she advanced quickly. Some can hold onto their resentment for a long time so your idea has foundation. We''ll work with her." Avan decided at that moment. "Send some of the boys to that town she mentioned and spread out to others for good measure. We''ll go beyond the eighty you suggested, and aim to triple our numbers."

    "For the pack." Zaros said before turning away to do his Alpha''s bidding.

    Avan and Zaros couldn''t possibly know, and would of been shocked if they had, that Calla was just under a month old when she became a Childe. She''d managed to hide it from the rest of the vampires in the city, they still thought her a newborn, but her unexplained rage towards the end of her meeting had exposed her to the wolves.

    Calla herself figured this out alongside the fact that she was much too confident in their interaction. But it couldn''t be changed now. She spent most the remainder of the daylight practising her forms and movement. She had a kept newborn in her apartment that she fed to keep healthy, only to douse herself in blood and fight against it. The rage and unpredictability of newborns made them good practice and she could find what moves worked in real life situations.

    Today was the last day that this newborn was useful. It had become too fearful and too well trained which decided it would become Calla''s next meal. After crushing it in a physical battle her fangs penetrated the flesh on its neck, on the left hand side. Three years ago Calla had finally been able to decide that ''left was best'' for drinking purposes. The newborn was completely broken and couldn''t even make the effort to whimper as the last of its blood left its body.

    Calla went to the top of the building to the roof and pushed the body into the sunlight. She still made a point of watching any vampires she fought scattered to dust or burnt to ash. It was one of her three rituals, along with cleaning her human prey in the bath and the gentle conversations she had with those she drained by machine.

 Chapter 12

    A few months into her new project with the werewolves and Calla was beginning to get more than a little ticked off. Like the vampires, the wolves acted too human. Calla had tested the water in meetings she''d had with Zaros and others under his command, hinting at certain acts she''d committed but playing it off as someone else''s doing. And the wolves'' disgust about her actions were evident. Why could so few understand the appeal of blood farming children?

    ''Is it because everyone was once a human and they somehow think children are ''innocent''?'' She raked a hand through her hair and looked over the city, perched on a high ledge. ''It''s not just the Swarmers, the other three ruling clans act the same.'' When Calla had compared a human child to lamb, she truly meant it. They were just meat to her. Sentient meat that could thrill her with their fear, but still just meat.

    Another thing that was winding Calla up was having no way to sate the extreme lust she felt as a vampire. Everyone looked unappealing and she knew she shouldn''t touch herself, the time wasn''t right. In an odd way, she''d told herself that she wasn''t hers to touch, which made no sense, but something was stopping her. She just chalked it up to another oddity about her vampiric life.

    The only upside she''d had in the previous few months was snagging a rogue Childe vampire and gorging herself upon them. She''d felt that once familiar flow of strength work its way into her body. Calla took a large step towards becoming a Blood-letter that day, the tiny iconic flicker of her original eye colour appearing before fading away. She hoped with this plan to bring the weres against the Swarmers she''d be able to feed upon Leena, Xavier and Turlin. If all went right she could off Zaros as well before fleeing with the rank of Blood-letter.

    Calla''s days fell into a repetitive state. By night she had the Swarmers under surveillance and gathered all she could to send to the wolves, who were now more than convinced of her genuineness. By daytime she fought kept newborns in her apartment. She''d began to mix it up recently, fighting two against one or with one arm tied behind her back. Sometimes she felt the thrill of danger during the encounters and it forced her mind to come up with new and creative ways to win.

    The Celina and Dacus were in the middle of a small feud so they were buffering their ranks, which meant more there was more than enough newborns for Calla to take one or two a week. She did feel a pang of regret when she imagined she could be doing her training with the Childe she''d captured. But at the time she was in dire need of a power fix and allowed herself to let go when she smelt the strength of its blood. Calla''s actions hadn''t gone completely unnoticed however.

    "We''re meeting here today to discuss an issue that we''ve only just caught wind of." Roger Dacus, the Blood-letter stood at the head of the table where he''d called a meeting of the clans. His brown locks and deep red eyes, with an amber rim, were not his most recognisable features. Rather it was the scarred number ''97'' that had been carved into his cheek, an old wound not repairable by vampirism. The Swarmers hadn''t shown up to this meeting but the Dacus, Celina and Kali were in attendance, despite on going hostilities.

    "Swarmers didn''t show again I see." Ashe Celina said with a mocking smirk. She had a full figure and enviously silky red curls that reached her waist. Also a Blood-letter, her eyes were still pure red. It stood out as eye colours of vampires changed, re-merging with their original colour as they ranked up. If an Elder was born with blue eyes, then they''d have purple eyes when they attained their rank. That Ashe''s eyes stayed red meant she had them as a human, and she''d be one of the few vampires to have them forever after.

    The other person sat at the table chose to stay silent. Falir Kali was a man of middle-eastern descent and kept himself clean shaven and his black hair short. His eyes were rimmed with a ring of black. He kept a rigid posture as he watched his fellow Blood-letters get on with the discussion.

    "Yes, well...they''ve never been ones to show respect." Roger said with annoyance.

    "Even I''ve attended this stupid meeting, despite your clan''s petty feud." Ashe responded with a laugh.

    "Why don''t I end you now so I can be done with it?" he stood to square off against her and she rose to meet him. They each stared each other down, hands twitching and waiting to strike.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    "You two still haven''t slept with each other?" Falir said with mirth only to be met with a couple of glares. He raised his hands in false surrender. "Hey, I''m just saying. The sexual tension between you two has been unbearable. For years you both make this song and dance about killing each other and never do. So either jump each other''s bones or get back to the meeting."

    Ashe and Roger both looked away from one another and sat down again reluctantly, whilst a smirk spread across Falir''s face. He''d been trying to get the pair together for many years.

    "Anyway," Roger said clearing his throat. "One of mine has gone through the data on vampires over the last few years and we''ve found a marked increase in disappearances."

    "Oh?" Ashe relaxed and now looked interested.

    "We investigated and the increase started about six years ago, along with the fall of Benedict Farrow."

    "The jumpy little upstart in Swarmer land?" Falir asked.

    "The very same. Since he was killed, vampires have begun to disappear at an increasing rate. In the decade before he died there were about thirty vampire disappearances that cannot be accounted for. In the previous six there has been eighty."

    "So..." Ashe started with a now concerned look. "Do we know what''s causing it?"

    "No." Roger shook his head towards the other two before resting his face in his hands. "I think the Swarmers are responsible though."

    "Why?" Falir demanded, it was a bold accusation for a clan leader to make.

    "From our investigations, the ones who went missing have all regularly straddled the Swarmer boundary. I''ve raised the issue with Xavier in the past couple of weeks but he says all his affiliated are accounted for so it''s not his problem."

    "Bastard." Ashe said with a venomous tone.

    "I''ve looked through my membership and since our feud began we have lost a lot more vampires than is typical in such a small battle. About thirty of the newborns my clan has had in the previous six years have vanished, we can guess that a third of the figures are natural due to disagreements etcetera, but that would mean twenty of my own have been disposed of." Roger added grimly. Falir and Ashe made a note to check about who was missing and could not be accounted for.

    "If what you''re saying is true..." Falir offered. "And the Swarmers are unaffected, then they are likely to be involved or at least allowing whoever it is to act unhindered. Losing newborns may not affect our clans much now, but ten and twenty years in the future? It''s a devastating loss of potential and battle power and the Swarmers must know this. If this continues on for another four or even three years, then we''ll find ourselves substantially weakened."

    "And then Xavier will be able to enact his clan''s will on us." Ashe spoke darkly. The three thought on Ashe''s final words for a few moments before nodding grimly towards one another.

    "I''ll need to speak with Bala, but if the pair of you want to go down that route, we will be behind you." Falir spoke at last.

    "We''ll truce for now Roger. We should start skirmishing the border and seeking information." Ashe said.

    "Agreed." Roger replied with a grin toward Ashe. "Whatever is cutting into our ranks is on Swarmer land, and if they won''t help us then they are complicit. I''ll say now though, if we''re going to war with them then we do it to the end."

    "Yes." Falir nodded. He really did dislike the rudeness the Swarmers had shown him on more than once occasion. "I know Bala has some unresolved disputes with them, not that I''m privy, and has been itching to be rid of them for years. They don''t keep the city safe enough either, of the past eight werewolf infiltrations, five occurred in their territory and they tried to cover up two of those."

    "Perhaps we should toast our new alliance with a glass of female?" Roger said as he went to the cupboard and pulled out three glasses and a beaker of blood. He poured it evenly between the three and offered them up to Ashe and Falir. They clinked their glasses together and took a deep breath of the blood.

    "Mmm." Ashe hummed. "Virgin, fourteen, black." She licked her lips before taking a sip. "Oh my. This blood is so....alive." Roger smiled at her as he began to sip at his own.

    "Roger, where did you get this?" Falir asked.

    "I ordered it from an adorable little blood farmer in Swarmer land. She''s unaffiliated of course, and knows to have me at the top of her list for new products. I hear the taste is so good because she treats her cattle well, televisions, bathrooms and all that."

    "I''ll have to get myself some of that." Ashe murmured towards her glass before swinging her head towards Roger. "You have her number?"

    "Of course. Her operations are limited so you may have to wait some weeks for your fancy though."

    "Keep supply low and demand high." Falir smiled into his glass as he finished it off. "Give me her number as well and the next meeting will be my treat."

    Despite that they came from opposing factions, they had all known each other for years. They were sort-of-friends and Ashe and Roger a sort-of-couple. And they spent a few more hours debating blood and the oddity of the small blood farmer who treated her stock well.

    Calla knew she was stirring up a storm in Sostine, she just didn''t know how large it was going to be, or how soon it would come. Her actions had inadvertently changed the playing field and death was sure to come in droves. But for her, ignorant of these new happenings and how rapidly the city was to change, she was just content to receive two bulk orders from Ashe Celina and Falir Kali.

 Chapter 13

    A couple more months passed before Calla noticed something was wrong. She had no inside knowledge of the clans and their workings but her mind couldn''t shake the feeling that something big was going to go down tonight. She picked up her phone and scrolled through the contacts until she reached Z, and called.

    "Hello." a tired voice came from the other side.

    "Zaros." Calla said lowly and she heard him shift quickly.

    "What is it Redgrove?"

    "Something big is going down tonight."

    "What is it?"

    "I''m not sure, but you should get all your available pack ready at the forests edge, I''ll phone to update you once I have more information."

    "Okay." he sighed into the phone. "I''ll alert the Alpha and we''ll be ready in a couple of hours."

    "Bye." she said flatly before cutting the connection. She didn''t know what was going on, but a thrill ran down her spine.

    ''We wonder....we wonder....what''s going on.''

    Climbing the highest point she could find, which kept view of the four clans'' lands, she concealed herself and patiently waited. In boredom she''d taken to twiddling with her fangs using her index fingers and thumb, it was a pleasurable sensation of flesh on tooth. It was all she could do as she needed her senses sharp and her wits about her so she didn''t miss any detail.

    It was three hours before she spotted movement. Vampires from the Celina, Dacus and Kali converged onto Swarmer land. They were quick and nimble, a well planned assault. The vampires were armed with blades and the occasional handgun and quickly dispatched any Swarmers or unaffiliated in their way. Better to kill a hundred innocent men than let a guilty one go free was the logic Calla thought they were using.

    She couldn''t suppress the Cheshire grin that spread across her face, dialling Zaros back.

    "Zaros." she spoke in the quietest of whispers.

    "It''s Avan. Why''d you call us together Redgrove?" the obviously cranky Alpha growled from the other side.

    "The clans are in open war. At this moment, the Celina, Kali and Dacus are attacking the Swarmers."

    "What!?"

    "It won''t be an easy victory for the trio, but if your people play it right you''ll be able to sweep the lot of them this very night and take control of the city."

    "....How many blood suckers are there?" he asked as he weighed his options.

    "Three maybe four hundred." she stated calmly.

    "We can''t fight that." he snarled. "We have sixty of us."

    "It won''t be all against you, they''ll mostly be fighting amongst themselves. If you go now you''ll be able to pick off those on the edges without endangering yourselves."

    "It''s too risky."

    "Oh come on!" she hissed down the phone, no longer concealing her voice. Her eyes looked around and she knew she was safe. "Grow a back bone, before this nights over we''ll be claiming at least three heads." ''Four if we can get a hold of Zaros.'' "Don''t your people enjoy a good fight against the leeches? Or maybe you really are scared and want to live the rest of your lives muzzled."

    "....." Calla heard muttering on the other side.

    "Fine. We''ll come but be warned little blood sucker, we won''t be checking identities before we rip heads off." With that the line went dead and Calla couldn''t contain a secondary hiss.

    ''Threatening us!'' Her red eyes shimmered in the darkness and she grit her teeth, tensing her whole body. ''Five. Before tonight is over there''s definitely at least five of you all dead!''

    Calla moved swiftly and under the radar, ambushing a couple of Kali newborns and draining them. She stole their insignia arm bands and wore them herself, setting their bodies alight as she left. With them she easily moved into the heart of Swarmer land and watched as opposing parties hacked and slashed at each other. She had her targets in mind, the rest of them didn''t matter.

    That thought lasted up until she found a one armed Kali Childe in an alleyway.

    "Are you okay?" she ran up to the Childe who took an offensive stance, preparing to strike out with a cleaver. Seeing a small red eyed vampire wearing his clan''s insignia made him relax a bit.

    "I''m fine, I just lost my arm."

    "Where is it sir? Do you need me to find it?" she asked seemingly in panic. A newborn he thought. He used compulsion on her and saw her eyes become dazed.

    "I''ll regrow it soon. Come, we have enemies to kill." It was a poor decision to drop his guard. He was a new Childe and didn''t realise his compulsion was incomplete. As he turned to face away he felt his arm twisted behind his back as he was pushed to the ground. Calla wasted no time drinking from him and his screaming gained no attention tonight. There were many such screams.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

    After burning him Calla simply couldn''t believe her luck. The satisfaction of devouring another Childe was amazing and she made sure not to waste a drop.

    ''It''s a bit like an all you can eat banquet.'' She giggled to herself as she ran out from the alley, trench coat billowing back, refocusing her mind on the ones she needed to kill. ''Xavier, Turlin, Leena, Zaros, Avan....decisions, decisions.'' She knew she couldn''t actually go after Xavier and Avan just yet, they would break her easily. She needed to break through and become a Blood-letter before that and she hoped that Turlin and Leena would be enough to reach that goal.

    But Calla knew it wasn''t a sure thing, so any unburned vampires she found on the ground she drained. They were usually helpless, missing limbs or even decapitated.

    ''Thinking about it, there doesn''t seem to be an upper limit that we can consume. What happens to the excess?"

    It was another hour before she managed to track Turlin''s scent and he was fighting animately with another Childe, each with two newborns to aid them.

    "I want to know what happened to my son!" the Celina Childe screeched at Turlin as she tried to hit him with a handgun.

    "I don''t know!" Turlin shouted back as he dodged the bullets, trying to close the gap between them. "We already told your Clan we have no idea."

    "He went missing on your territory! You said he''d be fine!" She emptied the clip at Turlin before throwing the gun away and drawing a dagger. "Give me back my son!" she lunged at him, ignoring the newborns beside him as her own engaged them.

    "Dammit, he was my son too!" Turlin yelled as he caught her and they tumbled to the ground. Calla quietly crept closer and focused solely on the pair of Childe. "You think I''m not upset!" he yelled right into the Celina Childe''s face as he pinned her to the ground. The newborns were cutting into each other in a frenzy, too afraid to engage either of the Childe. Which left Calla a clear path.

    "B-but Turlin!" the female Childe said with sobs. "You promised me he would be fine." she finished meekly.

    "Sarah." he said softly. "We really don''t know who is responsible for these disappearances. And we won''t find out if you destroy our clan."

    "Then what should we do? Ashe told us you must have been in on it." she glared up at him and his expression became angry again.

    "It''s always that damn bitch. Ashe this and Ashe that. She can make mistakes just like regular people!"

    "She''s my Sire!" Sarah screamed in anger.

    "Just listen to me-" his grip tightened round her wrists but before he could say anything else he saw her eyes grow wide, looking behind him. It was his parting image as his head was cleaved from his body. Sarah screamed and pushed his body from hers, trying to stand in a flurry. But a heavy kick smashed her back into the ground. With a foot on her chest Calla stood above her and swept down, straddling her and pinning her arms as Turlin had done.

    "Well, hello there." she said softly as she gazed at the dirty Celina Childe. "Sorry about your..." she looked towards Turlin''s head. "Boyfriend? Sperm donor?"

    "E-Ex-boyfriend." she said as she realised she couldn''t even struggle against the hold on the small woman. The woman sat on top of her just smiling, not seeming to be in any hurry to move.

    "W-What do you want?" Sarah asked as she wriggled on the ground. She was fearful but also hopeful once she saw the Kali insignia.

    "Well," Calla locked her wrists above her head with only one hand and brought her other to Sarah''s face, stroking at her cheek. "you''re quite beautiful."

    "T-thank you?" she squeaked as she recoiled from the touch.

    "And you have a beautiful voice."

    "....."

    "And a beautiful scream?" Calla''s mouth widened into a grin. "Let me hear it?" As her fangs pierced Sarah''s neck, the screaming began.

    ''There really is nothing quite like a female''s scream.'' The newborns had stopped fighting and stood horrified at the visage of their makers. One lying headless and the other screaming and flailing. In her mind, Sarah begged and pleaded but the words never passed her lips. Only her shrill screams of pain echoed out. Calla was so lost in the draining that she didn''t realise the presence of another Childe until they were close up. She released Sarah and rolled away as a foot slammed down where her head had been, smashing Sarah''s to pulp.

    She hurriedly got on her feet and wiped her mouth and stared at the intruder. A familiar red head stood before her. Keeping her eyes on Calla, Leena moved towards Turlin and placed his head back onto his body, it quickly rejoining and bringing him back to consciousness.

    "Leena?" he asked from the ground.

    "Get up Turlin." she said sternly.

    "What happened?"

    "That''s what I want to know." she fixed her glare firmly on Calla who had adopted a much more casual posture.

    "I was speaking to Sarah and then....nothing. Leena what happened to Sarah?" Leena stared at the shrivelled up body without a whole head. She was about to open her mouth when Calla lit a lighter and threw it on the body.

    "She died Turlin." Calla said softly and Turlin turned to face her. "And we were having so much fun."

    "What are you...what did you do to her?" Leena trembled with anger. The scene she saw wasn''t pretty.

    "The same thing we do to all those kiddies who disappeared." Calla smirked and rolled her eyes like it was obvious. "We consumed her."

    "That''s impossible....you can''t drink from a vampire." Leena said in disbelief as Turlin looked destitute at Sarah''s death.

    "Why?" Turlin shook in sadness and anger.

    "Why what?" Calla tilted her head and played with the tassels on the front of her trench coat.

    "Why Sarah?"

    "Oh!" Calla gave a small clap. "Don''t worry, she wasn''t special. In fact, you''d of been the second course." Her eyes moved over to Leena and scanned her up and down. "If dessert here didn''t interrupt."

    "You planned to eat us too?"

    "You and Turlin are at the top of our meal list." she said matter-of-factly.

    "You think you can take us both?" Leena snarled and prepared to make her move, the four newborns having already fled. "We''ve both been vampires for decades."

    "And so? Are we going to fight? Maybe you can dedicate our death to Sarah''s memory, eh Turlin?" Unable to contain himself Turlin shot forward ignoring Leena, lashing out and consumed with rage. Calla dodged as she backed away and turned to flee into an alleyway. The two Swarmer Childe gave chase as Calla snaked around the streets. She fled onto a main street and turned round the corner with Turlin close behind. As he rounded the corner he was met with the barrel of a gun and swiftly ducked as a bullet was fired off, killing a passer-by.

    Calla round house kicked him and he went to block with his arms, but the force knocked him back into the alleyway and into Leena. Calla spun and fired off a couple more shots, hitting Turlin in the shoulder. Leena kicked off the ground holding Turlin and twisted back into the alley. She hoisted him over her shoulder and ran as it was Calla''s turn to play the cat.

    "Turlin, get those bullets out of your shoulder so the wound can heal."Leena managed to dodge a couple more shots from Calla as Turlin buried his fingers into the wound, drawing out the metal.

    "Leena I need to drink." Turlin murmured quietly. He''d lost his head once and been shot twice, that kind of damage required a human-draining to fix.

    "Shit." she whispered back as she tried to keep track of Calla. "What should we do?"

    "We can''t get away from her with me so tired, we either try and fight her together or you flee alone. If we fight, you can''t try and protect me, you''ll only get yourself killed."

    "Grr.." Leena growled as she tried to make a decision. "I told you that woman was a monster."

    "You did." he replied with ananxious smile.

    "We''ve been partners for a decade and a half, you''re like a brother to me. We''ll fight her."

    "Get to the park, appeal to her pride. She''s a hunter. And true hunters like to kill with their hands."

 Chapter 14

    Calla''s mind was in hyper-drive as she followed the two Childe to an open air park without any vampires nearby. They came to a stop in the middle and faced her head on.

    "Realised the futility huh." She smiled at the pair. Another two minutes and she''d of caught up enough that she wouldn''t miss.

    "You could say that." Turlin said with a shrug as he calmed the urge to lash out. "You know, you''re quite troublesome for such a mousey thing."

    "It''s one of our better qualities you know." she smiled at him innocently as the barrel of the gun was pointed at the pair. "A lot of vampires are quite stupid and hold onto their human notions. They don''t think a small woman like ourself is capable of great violence or overpowering them. Leena is one of those still affected by such thoughts."

    "Fuck you. And why are you speaking like that?" Leena ground out but Turlin raised a hand to stop her. Calla slightly shifted the gun to point at Leena as her gaze sharpened.

    "She wasn''t being rude Calla, she was just curious."

    "Oh." Calla said as she slightly lowered the gun. "It''s just how we are. We came together and now we are one." Leena glanced at Turlin with a confused look but he just shook his head.

    "Anyway....Calla, do we have to fight?"

    "Well you don''t have to we suppose." she said with a frown. "But we''ll be killing you either way."

    "With a gun?" he said mockingly. Calla just stared at the firearm for a moment before her gaze flickered to Turlin. "The cowards way." She just gazed at him silently before he decided to push further.

    "I''m at half strength and you think yourself stronger than us. Why don''t you prove it?"

    "Okay." she smiled at him once more. "We''ll let you manipulate our pride." She discharged the gun into the air, released the clip and threw the clip and body in separate directions.

    "Nice one Turlin." Leena whispered to him and he felt a tad proud of himself. Before them, Calla stripped herself of her trench coat, boots and suit. She stood before them in a tight fit whole body suit that completely covered her up to her neck. She lifted up her coat and stuffed her hands in the sleeves, drawing out four knives. She flung two in front of Leena and Turlin. They slowly picked them up, the knives themselves being about eight inches of stainless steel, and ran their fingers along the blade.

    "Do you always carry so much weaponry?" Turlin asked with a raised brow only to be met with an expressionless Calla. She tore a tassel off her coat and tied her brown locks into a bun before placing one knife in each hand.

    She shuffled closer to them in a half crouch and they did the same, until only three meters was between them. Calla''s mind was moving a mile a minute as her eyes ricochetted from side to side, taking in every detail of the pair. The world seemed to still as she immersed herself in the coming battle and she blocked out her surroundings. Usually it would be dangerous to do so but she''d detected no other vampires or wolves.

    ''He''s the only one to escape us. We need to hunt him again. He''s weak, we should deal with the child-lover first. No no, dispatch him and then her....slowly.'' Calla''s mind cycled a lot of possible scenarios as the tree rotated each other.

    She saw the subtle signal of eyes between the two and Leena lunged at her but as she went to counter and respond Turlin threw his knife. Calla twisted and parried Leena''s blade, using the force of the clash to distance herself from the woman and dodge the incoming projectile.

    As she went to move, Turlin was already headed there and made to tackle her. His experience had given him a good idea of where she''d move to. Sensing the danger of being held down she threw out her own knife towards Turlin, who dropped to the ground to dodge. Calla''s eyes glanced back to Leena who had already changed directions and placed her on the back foot in retreat as Leena''s blade slashed near her face.

    She knew a tree was close behind her when she was backing up and back-flipped with her hands so she was crouched against the side of the tree, before pushing herself forward in a lunge. The tree bark cracked from the force of her legs'' thrusting her forward. Leena was caught off guard by the move but was knocked to the side by Turlin who took a deep cut to the side of his stomach as Calla dived through them. She rolled forward when she landed and got back to her feet, whipping herself round to keep them both in sight.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

    "Turlin how is it?" Leena enquired quietly and he looked down.

    "Not good." he said with a heavy smile. "She''s very different isn''t she?"

    "How do you mean?"

    "When the fight started, she became so serious. Look at her now. She''s like a statue." Leena realised he was right. Calla was devoid of expression, no anger, resentment or happiness. It was a far cry from the taunting woman who had engaged them to begin with. "She''s probably manifesting an ability."

    "Is that bad?" Leena murmured under her breath, giving Turlin a glance every so often.

    "The worst." he said with a resigned smile. "She must be close to the level of a Blood-letter, I''ve seen some of them do similar things."

    "Well fuck." Leena cursed. "What do we do?"

    "Listen to me closely." he heaved a sigh of resignation. "This wound....I won''t be able to fight much longer and then you''ll be on your own. I''ll engage her and you flee, otherwise we''re both going to die here."

    "Turlin no-" Leena started but Turlin cut her off.

    "If you survive, you can get Xavier to stop her. If you don''t get away, we''ll die and have achieved nothing. At least if you escape you can avenge me." He smiled and gave her a pat on the shoulder.

    "Fine." she managed to spit out through gritted teeth. She looked angry but saw the sense in his words and was overcome with sadness at the fate of the man she called her brother.

    "Give me your knife." and she did. "I''m going, don''t hesitate for even a second. Head straight to the stronghold." She nodded and at the signal of his nod he shot forward whilst she turned and fled back.

    Calla dodged his lunge and snapped his arm in the middle. At the same moment she spotted Leena fleeing and was infuriated. She went to throw her knife only for Turlin to swap knife hands and stab into her arm. Calla winced before headbutting Turlin square in the face, knocking him to the ground. She span back around only to discover the red head had gone.

    Her previously empty gaze turned deadly as she looked back down to Turlin.In a vengeance she brokeand beat him, repeatedly, until he was little more than a bloody mass on the floor.

    ''They tricked us. Denied us.'' She screeched in anger at nothing in particular, only to hear Turlin laugh at her. It was soft and light but she definitely heard it.

    "We know you can hear us." she said as she swooped close to his face. "Child-lover has escaped for now but we''ll get her later. And you will help us."

    "I don''t think so." he managed to squeeze out.

    "You will. We will devour you. Consume you." She bit into him and began to drain him, and released him when he was just on the cusp of consciousness. "We can feel it. With your life, we will become a Blood-letter and then we will hunt down the child-lover."

    ''What do you mean?'' he asked in his head. ''How will my death help you become a Blood-letter?''

    Calla was too angry to really enjoy her meal, but soon after she started drinking from him again, she felt the feeling. Her body and mind were changing, evolving and becoming something greater. The rims of her irises turned light blue which stood out against the angry crimson inside them. The muscles in her body became even tighter and her bones became like iron. The miniscule imperfect cracks that had been on her skin disappeared and became smooth to her vampiric vision.

    ''Blood-letter.'' She thought with a sigh. ''The world is so clear.'' She looked around with an expression of awe.Scents were more distinct and her eyes took in so much more. She pulled the knife out of her arm and it quickly healed over thanks to the freshly consumed blood in her system. Returning to her clothes, she quickly dressed and took a lighter from her pocket, and set Turlin''s dry body alight.

    ''First Turlin and then Leena. That''s two escapes in one night.'' Her mood was feeling a bit down when she thought that she''d failed twice. ''She''ll flee to Xavier now, probably to warn them about us. It won''t be long before the news of a vampire-draining vampire gets around and the different sides start to put two and two together. We won''t forget but it''s time to cut our losses.''

    Taking her phone from her pocket, she dialled up Zaros to get a status update.

    "Redgrove." he said curtly.

    "How''s it going Zaros?" she asked softly as she began to walk towards some ongoing battles.

    "It''s going well on our side. Like you said, the vamps are wiping each other out, you get many?"

    "Three Childe and some newborn." she said without any pride.

    "Really?" his deep voice came through in disbelief. "Damn."

    "Zaros, we need to speak to you in person if that is acceptable? It''s important."

    "One second." he paused and she heard muttering in the background. "Alright, where?"

    "Outside the cafe? We will meet you in an hour."

    "Okay, see you soon Redgrove."

    Calla made haste to her apartment and got her old duffle she still had. She went to the basement and filled it with a couple of her body suits and as much blood as she could stuff inside. She rearmed herself, and got a new handgun. Calla grabbed a couple of bottles of cream body spray she had to disguise her scent and put her duffle out the front. With a cannister of petrol she kept to hand, she scattered it around the basement and all over the first floor and lit it without hesitation when she got outside. The flames would destroy anything they might use to learn about her.

    She ran away from the building with her duffle slung over her shoulder but the screams of the burning humans seemed to carry on for miles as she smiled. She was soon at the cafe and found Zaros waiting outside. But before he could even turn to face her she punched through his chest from behind and ripped out his heart. The strength difference she now felt as a Blood-letter was amazing.

    Calla drew her hand back and crushed the heart, leaving Zaros to breath his last breaths without even knowing who killed him.Running out of Sostine and down the highway she couldn''t stop her bubbling laughter as she was once again free from a stupid society of self-important vampires who wanted to control her.

    She''d managed to kill two of the five on her list and knew that sometime in the future she''d be back for Leena, Xavier and Avan. Her instincts demanded survival first when the chance of winning became nil.

 Chapter 15

    The meeting happened two days after the battle had ended.

    "Glad you could all join us." the man at the head of the table, Eleus Valenmour, stated. He dressed in robes of black and green and had his grey hair slicked back. His shallow beard and deep purple eyes gave his face a strong feeling. And all those present knew he was strong. The head of the Valenmours, the moderator clan of Sostine City, was an Elder. And he looked the part too, as he was changed in his late sixties.

    Today, at the meeting, he was surrounded by the heads of the four clans of Sostine who had recently gone to war with one another, and a Childe of the Swarmers.

    "Perhaps the Dacus would like to start as to why a meeting between them, the Celina and the Kali, ended with an assault on the Swarmers?" he voice was gentle and aged. They all knew he was a fair man but that didn''t stop them feeling fear towards him.

    "Sir." Roger stood with a slight bow before addressing the table. "A couple of months back myself, Ashe and Falir met to discuss about an issue over which we were concerned. The rates of vampire disappearances in the city increased drastically in the previous six years. They were also all going missing near Swarmer territory. As a result I called a meeting which the Swarmers refused to attend but Ashe and Falir did so. I sent many requests for discussion to Xavier but they were all rebuffed. Naturally, with our forces growing weaker and the Swarmers only growing stronger, we came to the conclusion that they likely had a hand in the issue. However, we now know that not to be the case and can only apologise and offer restitution to the clan." Roger sat back down after saying his piece.

    "Clans have gone to war for much less and far less obvious reasons. I think that your reasoning is acceptable but we will require the Dacus, Celina and Kali clans to offer up payment to the Swarmers for damages." Xavier said. "We don''t wish to pursue this too deeply, rather we want the one responsible for not only causing the clan war, but also aiding the werewolves in infiltrating our city."

    None of the leaders seemed in disagreement about the consequences they''d suffer. They were decades old and this was only a mid-level war. The news about Calla stopped it escalating into something more severe.

    "Ah yes, the girl." Eleus said with a chuckle. "You''ve brought a Childe of your clan here Xavier, you wish her to speak on the topic?"

    "If you would allow her to do so, yes."

    "Very well." Eleus gestured to Leena who was currently a bundle of nerves. She stood up and began to address the table of Blood-letters and the Elder.

    "We first happened upon the vampire known as Calla approximately six years ago, coinciding with the increase in missing vampires, though we had no reason to suspect her until during the battle. We first apprehended her under a false bounty set by Benedict Farrow. When we met her she had only been turned for a week and was twenty three years old; Xavier''s gift for lie detection confirmed this."

    Leena paused and Eleus raised an eyebrow to Xavier who nodded back. Leena then continued.

    "She was an amazing newborn, despite the sickening acts she spoke of. In our first meeting I offered her a glass of blood but she merely sniffed it before pushing it back towards me. It was an act of great control. She exposed a werewolf infiltration to us in Farrow''s land and we dealt with it, but she requested the chance to go after Benedict herself to settle the grudge between them. Xavier gave her a week to do so before we would move on him. As a newborn she managed to achieve killing him and two newborns by herself. We don''t know how, but we know no firearms were used. Later on we heard little about her, she took over Benedict''s home and began blood farming with children as the product. Most of you will have consumed some of her product as it was incredibly popular but also quite rare."

    "Myself, Ashe and Falir all bought from her, though we didn''t know her by name." Roger added.

    "She lived a very solitude life and it wasn''t until the battle when we had contact with her again. When I found her Turlin had been beheaded and she was feeding from another Childe vampire called Sarah."

    "My Sarah?" asked Ashe with wide eyes and Leena just nodded.

    "Why was she feeding from a vampire?" asked Bala from the side. She shared her brother''s looks but had much longer hair that was tied up in a braid. Her black rimmed eyes seemed even darker than his.

    "We don''t know but her strength was definitely that of a strong Childe. She was pinning both of Sarah''s arms with only one of hers. This meant she went from a fresh newborn to the upper levels of a Childe within the space of six years. Me and Xavier discussed it and we think she may have an in-born ability, one that allows her to grow stronger by feeding off other vampires. After me and Turlin faced her later on, she referred to him as the second course and me as dessert, implying she was going to feed from us both."

    "How did you get away?" Roger enquired of her.

    "We were going to lose, we could feel it. But Calla fancies herself a hunter and got rid of her firearm to meet us in hand to hand combat. Turlin wasn''t at full strength since his beheading and he invited her to prove she was stronger than us both. Halfway through the fight though, Turlin noticed her complete change in demeanour." Leena was getting upset at recanting the story.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    "Childe, explain that for us please." Eleus coaxed patiently.

    "Her eyes were empty and she was devoid of any expression. She''d started off by having fun taunting us, and to see her look so....dead, was unnerving. Turlin thought she was manifesting an ability early, as a precursor to becoming a Blood-letter. So he told me to run and notify Xavier, as he was likely to lose his use soon and I''d be unable to match her in a one on one. I don''t know what happened to Turlin, but he blocked her from following me." Leena finished.

    "Hmmm. What she did is a probably the common ability called Battle Focus, almost all Blood-letters have it but the weaknesses of it stop it being widely used. Abilities can appear when one is on the cusp of advancement. If your first assumption that she has an in-born ability that allows her to consume vampires for strength is true, then with Turlin being consumed she may have already become a Blood-letter." Eleus said. "Did you notice anything peculiar about her?" he asked Leena and she took a few moments to think.

    "Yes actually." Leena started. "The way she talks about herself. She said ''we came together'' and spoke of herself in the plural. It was never ''I'', it was always ''we''."

    "Her in-born ability is completely unique, I''ve never heard of it before. Perhaps she is suffering mental side effects from her power." Eleus mused.

    "Are you saying she became this way because she was turned?" Xavier asked him.

    "I don''t know the girl so it is impossible to say. Have we looked into her background yet?"

    "We''ve begun enquiries. After we dealt with the wolf Alpha we captured some of his men. Through creative questioning we''ve determined that Calla helped them to bolster their forces and infiltrate the city. Apparently she went by the name of Redgrove, this information is new but I''ve got a couple of men searching both names to see if we get a result."

    "Thank you Xavier." Eleus nodded to him and Leena took her seat behind her clan leader. "I''ll be raising the issue with the royal family and Calla will officially be declared to have worked against our race. The royal family does not like to pass judgement without one''s presence so all efforts must be directed to bringing her in alive. They will also be interested in her rather unique power and whether we can harness it for vampire kind in general." Eleus said as he rose to his feet. He smoothed out his robes and began to leave. "I want every person you can spare on her trail."

    The next day, during the daytime Eleus headed towards a grand manor, about a hundred miles north of Sostine. He couldn''t stay out in the sun for long, but he spent as much as he could, as he''d been denied the light for over a century before he became an Elder. When he did reach the manor gates he looked into the intercom video camera and the majestic electronic gates opened up.

    The manor, which sat isolated, surrounded by miles of wilderness, was of comparable size to a traditional palace. It wasn''t quite so archaic though, the building was regularly updated to keep up with the times. Entering the manor, Eleus'' face held a smile. It had been a long time since he could bring something interesting to his friend. He headed straight for where the lounge should be, feeling glad when he found it.

    ''At least they haven''t moved all the rooms around this time.''

    In the middle of the room, sprawled across a leather couch was two middle aged looking vampires. One male and one female. Busy playing on the games console with funny headware, they didn''t even turn to look at Eleus.

    "My King and Queen." he said formally with a bow and mock seriousness. They turned to look at him with a light of humour in their eyes. The man tossed his controller and headset to the side and moved to hug Eleus.

    "Eleus. How are you?" the woman enquired as she stood.

    "Metrix, Sage. I am well." Sometimes it still surprised Eleus that these two were his rulers, and that they''d allow him to be so informal. Metrix Phens Lawe, the king of vampires on the continent, was a rather attractive man with blonde hair and blue eyes. But his physique was small and he chose to wear fake lens glasses to make himself look weaker. He didn''t need physical appearances for people to know he was powerful, people just knew. Eleus himself was well aware that the man before him, who''s real age was unknown but had lived for millennia, was at the highest vampire rank of Lorde.

    His wife of similar age, Sage, was the queen and it was well known that Metrix doted heavily on his Kindred. She and her children all shared the same traits as her husband, blonde and blue. She was half a head smaller than Metrix and the pair just seemed to fit together. They had found each other in human life, and they, along with their children had all changed. Unlike Metrix, she didn''t radiate power, but that didn''t make her any less deadly. In years past it was known that she was vicious and you were lucky to walk away if you met her. Both her and Metrix had mellowed with age, and when humans began to change rapidly in the last three hundred years, they moved along with the times. Their home showed this, as it was both ancient and modern as renovations on the property were made every decade.

    Eleus knew he was fortunate to know these two well. It conferred a protection on him that prevented other moderator clans from interfering with him. As an Elder he was the weakest head of a moderator clan. Most were Reagents and a couple were Ancients, vampires who could kill him with a sweep of their hand. It was genetic luck that that Metrix had sired him over a century ago. He looked very similar to Metrix''s birth father and that had caused Metrix to open up to him. Despite living millennia, it seemed some vampires still held onto issues they had as humans. Sage had welcomed him into their inner circle despite his weakness because Metrix grew to love him as a kind of surrogate father, despite being many years his junior.

    "Fancy playing a game with us El?" Metrix asked him with a gleam of anticipation.

    "What is that?" Eleus pointed to the controller and headset.

    "It''s a new human device. Virtual reality they call it. You wear one of these and it feels like you''re in the game." Metrix said excitedly before sighing. "You have to reduce your senses though, otherwise it looks too grainy to our eyes."

    "They''re moving fast aren''t they? The humans." Eleus said and Metrix nodded.

    "And they''re getting faster." Metrix added with glee. "Another hundred years and even my vampire sight might not be able to distinguish the realness of VR."

    "Metrix." Eleus coughed. "Can''t you see I''m too old to be playing games?" he pointed to his greyed hair and beard. Metrix grinned before disappearing and reappearing on the couch. True vampiric speed.

    "This isn''t a social visit then?" Metrix asked as he started up the games console and picked up his controller.

    "No, it''s not."

    "Eleus." Sage said with a frown as she went and sat beside Metrix. "Please tell me your not here for all that boring royal nonsense."

    "I''m afraid so." he responded and the royal pair groaned. "However I think this is something you might actually enjoy. It''s something that''s never happened in my life, and I''ve seen no texts about it either."

    "Oh?" Metrix sat up and stared at Eleus, setting his controller aside. "Do tell."

 Chapter 16

    "A vampire that feeds off vampires?" Sage asked in surprise. "I''ve never heard of that before. Sure, some have tried but firstly, it tastes bad, and secondly, it doesn''t benefit our bodies."

    "This is what I thought too. However the woman, Calla, has only been a vampire for just over six years and we believe she has become a Blood-letter." Eleus responded.

    "Eleus." Metrix said as he appeared to ponder. "Tell us how long it takes for one to reach that stage. It''s been too long."

    "To become a Childe, even at a fast pace, takes a minimum of ten years. And the quickest known vampire to reach Blood-letter, that I''ve found in records, took thirty four years."

    "My.." Sage said in awe. "How long do you think until she becomes an Elder?"

    "Honestly? Under a decade if she isn''t captured or killed."

    "If it''s anything similar to the Soul Swallower ability then progression will be faster the stronger the target. I think if she consumes newborns alone then she''ll be stuck at Blood-letter for a very long time. Whereas if she consumes other Blood-letters, she may be able to become an Elder within months." Metrix said.

    "It is possible." Eleus responded. "She also seems to have some mental issues which the Swarmer clan thought might stem from the ability. From what I gathered, she lives in complete solitude, only interacting when necessary."

    "That''ll slow her down then." Sage said gently as Eleus looked at her inquisitively. "If she works alone then it''ll be very difficult for her to capture and drain other Blood-letters, most of whom surround themselves with Childe and newborns."

    "Eleus, this child..." Metrix said as he thought it over. "I want her alive. Draw in the moderator clans from other cities if need be. Whether they be Elder, Reagent or Ancient, I want them to bring the girl to us. Go." he stated with no room to question.

    "My King, my Queen." Eleus said seriously when he heard Metrix''s change of tone, as he bowed and left the manor.

    "You''ve given him an ugly job Met. The higher ranks aren''t going to like him treading on their toes." Sage spoke with a small chuckle.

    "Yes, well, they''ll have to get over it. This is a vampire that willingly allied itself with werewolves and is gaining strength by killing our own kind. We''ll be able to manage her whilst she is still a Blood-letter or even an Elder. But if she becomes a Reagent, able to walk and move around unhindered in the daylight, it will be much harder to pin her down."

    "That she could engage so many Childe in Sostine without anyone else knowing shows she already knows how to hide herself. Maybe she can already move through the light?" Sage suggested with a grim expression.

    "I certainly hope not. Not like it matters anyway, as she grows in power she''ll need to consume stronger vampires. Her strength will plateau and only grow with time once she hits that wall. And she isn''t a worry for our society in general, as a loner she could never hope to overthrow the balance that''s been here since time immemorial." Sage smiled at Metrix knowing what he said was true. She did wonder, however, how many lives would be lost before the child was captured.

    Elsewhere, Calla was dealing with her own issues.

    ''We decided we didn''t need to hunt them yet. We''ll get them later, we can''t go back now.'' In her hole with her duffle back beside her, Calla was hiding from the sun. ''We want to go back, but we can''t.'' she thought sadly. The euphoria of achieving Blood-letter and the danger she was in led to her quick decision to abandon Sostine. But now that the positive feelings had gone away and she had time to think, as the sun was out, she was beginning to regret the decision. ''Maybe we could of got the child-lover. We could have chased.'' Shaking her head, she tried to clear her mind. ''Don''t dwell, we''ll get them later. For now, we must go forward.''

    When night rolled around Calla hopped out of her self-made hole, covered in dirt, and cringed as she looked at herself.

    "We''re dirty." she said aloud with a pout. She only had one trench coat with her and she didn''t know where she was at the moment, other than it was a forest. "We forgot a map, we forgot our phone." She pulled her duffle out the hole and set it down beside her as she crouched and hugged her knees. Calla buried her face in her thighs as she rocked herself back and forth.Things seemed to be going wrong lately. Her snapping at Zaros for no reason, her failing two hunts and now forgetting important equipment she needed.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    "We''re stupid." she grumbled lowly as she stood and patted off her knees. She was suffering a bit of sensory overload since becoming a Blood-letter and she found it a bit disorientating. This was because her mind was being forced to adapt to her Blood-letter abilities far quicker than was normal, but she was unaware. All it felt like to her was that her brain was moving a bit slower than usual.

    "The feeling is stronger." she said as she placed a hand on her heart and looked up dazed. Since being a lowly newborn she''d always had the feeling of being connected to something or someone on a much more base level. It was the feeling that drove her to cover up and spur others'' advances. The feeling that stopped her from sating her own lust and drove her to feel sick at the images that sometimes fleetingly crossed her mind. She picked up her duffle and began to walk nowhere in particular. She didn''t know where she was. The question of direction swirled round her mind and she tried to stop thinking, let her instincts take over. A pulse hit her and it rippled across her conscience hinting where she should go.

    "It''s pulling us." she said with wonder as she looked down at her chest where the feeling had been. Never one to second guess her instincts she broke into a sprint, following the elusive feeling that had become much clearer. The forest became denser and the tree wood darker as she tried to keep a hold of it. But to her dismay, after two or three hours chasing it, it faded into obscurity and she was left more lost than she had been before.

    ''What should we do? Keep going straight?'' she narrowed her eyes at the trees before her. Suddenly she caught the scent of wolves. ''Two...no, three. Shit.'' she thought with a frown. They had triangulated around her and she stood still, her eyes flicking and all her concentration going into her hearing. A snap of a twig was all it took for her to dash left and throw out a punch, only to be met by the firm hide of a tiger.....her eyes opened wide with shock.

    "A tiger?" she muttered as she recoiled away from it as fast as she could. She looked back at the beast and could tell that neither of the others had moved. The tiger before her seemed to have a smug smile, which was impossible because it was a tiger. "Tigers aren''t that strong....a weretiger?" she asked the creature with genuine curiosity.The big cat merely snickered at her before jumping and swiping at her with its claws.

    ''Fast. It''s faster than us.'' she thought as she managed to back away but still taking a small scratch down her forearm. When the tiger landed it just watched her back away and tilted its head in amusement which caused Calla to let out an involuntary growl. She quickly drew her handgun and shot at the tiger, only for it to dash away and the bullets to find themselves in soil and wood. It landed next to Calla and threw its upper body down making Calla duck under and slip round the back of it. She shot a couple more times, both of which made contact. Calla smiled as they did but the tiger simply looked where it had been shot and tightened its mouth. It wasn''t bleeding and Calla was at a loss what to do as her previously smiling face dropped.

    "We don''t want to fight." Calla said as she changed tact and put her gun away, raising her palms. The tiger looked....disappointed and Calla couldn''t prevent her eye twitching at its pitying expression. Swallowing any lingering anger she tried to put forward her case. "We were just running and ended up coming this way."

    "You are lucky," the tiger growled lowly. "That we are tigers and not wolves. And that we know you coming here was an honest mistake."

    "Yes, yes." Calla nodded in agreement. "We are very sorry for trespassing and will be on our way?" she requested as she began to slip by the tiger. It said nothing as she went back the way she had come from, its glassy black eyes following her every movement.

    ''Stupid stripey cat, we''ll get you later.'' she licked her lips and her tongue grazed her sharpened fangs as she moved into a sprint. She didn''t go back directly the way she came, that would be a waste, she changed the angle just a little and after a few hours came out of the forest without seeing the tigers again. ''Oooh.'' she smiled and her eyes squinted in mirth. It was pure chance and Calla considered it a happy coincidence. The place she saw before her was her home town, the place where she became a vampire.

    ''We forgot about him.'' Calla''s thoughts turned to her father. ''What would he say if he saw us now?" Checking her watch, she saw it was four in the morning and frowned. ''If we want to have fun with him we need more time...we''ll get him tonight.'' Because she was still in her dirty clothes Calla retreated a few tens of meters into the forest and quickly dug herself a ditch. She lay in it with her duffle, using her trench coat to cover herself, and reburied herself with dirt. The trees in this forest were much too thin for her to hide behind and she didn''t fancy using the spray she had when she didn''t need to. ''We can also get that Sandra bitch too.'' her mind added darkly.

    Although she had become a vampire in body and mind, she still lived as a human for twenty three years. And deep down she resented the lack of love her parents had given her. It didn''t often rise up but the spite and anger was definitely present. With no need for sleep she often found time to reflect on the past but these feelings could be deadly. They were too human, harmful to her vampiric self. Yet she couldn''t always stop them. ''Were we so unlovable that our mother and father had to ignore us?'' she thought with a frown. ''Even vampires consider us scum. But that''s not our fault. They are vampires, why do they act so human?'' her thoughts swirled. As she waited for day to pass so that she could tie up her final connection to the human world, one thought kept returning to her mind. ''If we are such a monster, who will love us?''

 Chapter 17

    When night finally came, Calla was emotionally drained. It was a strange feeling for her, who was usually so logical and stoic. Her mind fought furiously with itself as it tried to get rid of the small inkling of humanity she was feeling, that inkling of weakness.

    ''Sentimentality makes us weak. We need to be strong. Be worthy.'' she hissed to herself. ''Worthy of what though? We devoured, we grew strong, but we are not worthy enough. We don''t know how we know, but we know that we know.'' She stamped the ground in fury as she tried to process her feelings. But she had conflicting vampiric and human sides. When she had changed she lost most of her humanity, like vampires do, but her mind scattered and split apart. The different strands became the whispers she used to hear. But as she was a vampire, the whispers that spoke to that instinct were strongest, that''s how she could be so detached and calculating.

    But she became a Blood-letter, and the feeling she''d felt since she was a newborn, that connected to another, grew extraordinarily. It became a much greater part of her and the feelings associated with it connected back to her human side. Her humanity wasn''t strong and paled in comparison to her vampiric instincts. In fact, no feelings of happiness or joy were attached to them. The thoughts that came to her were sad and depressing. Her parents lack of love for her hadn''t been an issue since she was turned, precisely because it was cut off. But now it was coming back full flow and the unfamiliar flood of emotion was preventing her from thinking clearly.

    A desire for the love of another was a concept she had long abandoned and forgot about. But now that it was back, it wormed her way into every part of her mind. Vampires still had emotions, so however much she tried to quash the ''humanity'' of it, it was a fruitless effort.They could love and care like any other sentient creature and part of Calla now felt herself longing for it, warping her vampiric beliefs.

    ''Why won''t they stop?'' she groaned in mental agony as memories and feelings of the past came unbidden and overflowed. ''We don''t care about this. They are nothing.'' she hissed as images of her father and his other lover, Sandra, flittered through her mind alongside her drunken mother. But she knew they weren''t ''nothing'', they were a part of her, even if it was from the human side she loathed. It was a whirlwind of emotion that threatened to consume her.

    "Enough!" she shouted aloud as she clutched her head. But the images kept coming, all her sadness and all her weakness were laid bare for her and the repressed emotions became too much.She fell to her knees with a wail that would put Banshees to shame and repeatedly smashed her forehead into the ground. Any pain was preferable to what she was feeling. She wished she was unconscious, but short of cutting off her head or stabbing herself through the heart, it was impossible for a vampire.

    And then her saving grace came, a beacon to help her through the pain, something to focus on other than her own fragility and deficiencies.

    ''Our connection.'' she thought as a familiar feeling spread through her soul. It wrapped her mind in a glow of warmth and held off the onslaught of emotion. And Calla abandoned all thought of her human life, her vampiric life and everything in between. She forgot herself as she dashed off in pursuit of the link, grasping hold of it and refusing to let go. Calla was like a fish on a line, constantly being reeled in with little control over her own fate. But she didn''t care because what she wanted, what she needed, was to follow the connection to its destination. It was the only thing saving her from her creeping humanity and weakness.

    She wasn''t sure how far she''d ran but just before daylight rose, the connection disappeared and she regained herself. She was still solely focused on the link, but was unable to pinpoint it. As the cloud that had wrapped her mind disappeared, Calla became ecstatic. There was no sadness, no resentment or sorrow attached to her human memories. She still felt a desire to be loved, but the connection had sated it for now and it no longer threatened to break down her mind. She marked the direction of the link, and the direction she would soon travel, but for now she had to hide and wait.

    That day was much better than the previous. No sentimental attachments to her human life existed any more, they''d been wiped clean. Thinking of the warmth that surrounded her mind, Calla felt the sensation was superior to even that of drinking blood and devouring others for strength.

    ''It was so nice.'' she sighed in her mind as she hid. The place she''d ended up was a small village and she was currently sat in an old shed she''d found. ''It was like it allowed the memories in whilst stripping them of the painful emotions. We don''t even want to kill our father any more. Well, we do, but because he is a human and not because of how he treated us.'' she debated with herself. ''We forgot our duffle and we need to eat. We hope there is a child or two around here.'' It was always annoying when she left Sostine for a couple of days only to stumble upon a village without any children to feast upon. ''Hmm?'' Calla''s eyebrows raised at nothing in particular as she thought about drinking from kids. ''We no longer want to do our ritual?'' she felt it in her mind as she imagined the bathing, the cleaning and the drinking. The lingering connection was extremely possessive and it grew more so, forbidding Calla from her usual hunter feasting ritual. ''Why?'' she asked herself.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ''What''s the connection doing to us?'' she questioned as she conjured up images of all her kills. The screaming, the crying and the pain from humans and vampires alike came to her mind. But she found them all....distasteful. Memories of Lisa''s and Sarah''s screams no longer brought her pleasure, just indifference. ''It''s changing us.'' she hissed to herself. ''Why!? Our memories, our hunts, our joy.''It was incredibly scary for Calla and her rational mind told her to stop following the link, sever it and run away. But her instincts and soul told her it was fine. What did it matter if only the connection brought her happiness?

    ''No.'' her mind ground out.

    ''If this goes on we''ll forever be dependent on another.

    But we''ll be loved and cared for.

    But we''ll cease to be ourself.

    We''ll be happy.

    We''ll be a slave!

    We''ll be complete.''

    Her mind argued back and forth but the allure of the connection proved too much. And when night fell, she hunted a random passer-by, the first time she''d ever drank from a human adult other than her mother. Then she was off in a flash, pursuing the ever growing connection.

    She continued in much the same fashion for several days. Chasing, waiting, feeding and then chasing again. But on her journey she was stopped.

    "Well, well. What''s this?"the male who stopped Calla in an open field said.

    "Think its the one they''re looking for?" the second one said.

    Calla looked between the two men. ''Blood-letters.'' she thought as she saw the coloured rims of her eyes and knew she had no way of winning a two on one. She had just attained the rank and hadn''t consumed any vampires since.

    "I''d say it is brother." the first one looked up a picture on his phone. "Yup. Definitely the Cannibal."

    ''Someone''s looking for us? But we must be hundreds of miles from Sostine. And what''s with the nickname?''

    "Sirs, we think you''re mistaken." Calla said pleasantly with a smile. Even her joy of fighting had dwindled, all she wanted now was to follow the connection to the end.

    "I don''t think we are. You''re Calla right?" the second one said rhetorically. "Calla the Cannibal."

    "We''ve never heard that nickname before." she said with a frown as she looked for ways to escape the pair. They''d never have gotten this close if she wasn''t immersing herself in the euphoria of the link. She shoved her coat up at the back and reached for her handgun, only to remember she hadn''t reloaded it after shooting the weretiger. ''Shit.'' she cursed her own foolishness.

    "You didn''t know? You''re kind of a celebrity in our society." the first added with a laugh. "They''ve attributed over ninety missing vampires in Sostine to your feeding."

    ''So it''s out, but this is bothering us.'' "Only ninety?" she asked flatly which caused the pair''s eyes to widen and glance at one another.

    "So you are Calla."

    "No we aren''t." she said, though knew it was futile.

    "Yes you are. You''re even doing that funny way of speaking." Calla just furrowed her brows in confusion as she looked at the man and he saw she didn''t understand. "Small brunette who likes to wear a trench coat and talk about herself in the plural. And we''ve got a photo of you." he smirked as he flashed the phone screen towards her. Calla growled, hating when anyone couldn''t understand that that was the only right way to refer to herself.

    "What else does it say here...." the first man seemed to be concentrated on reading something on the phone. "Child blood farmer, possible mental instability or even insanity..." Calla snarled but that only made the man''s grin grow. "I don''t know why they say ''possible'', anyone who eats their own kind obviously has issues." Calla tried to rein in her growing anger and pursed her lips.

    "So what do you want with us?" she said dully.

    "Well," said the second man whilst scratching his bearded chin, "they''ve put out a large bounty on you."

    "Why?" she quizzed. "We drained some vampires; we don''t know of any laws against eating our own kind." she admitted with a shrug.

    "Mmmm, maybe not." the first man sounded amused before his tone turned cold. "But assisting mutts against your own kind is."

    ''Shit.''

    "We don''t know what you mean." Calla retorted sharply.

    "Really? Because some of them were quite adamant that a vampire female named Redgrove was helping them out."

    "Well, before they were executed." the second sniffed.

    "Indeed. Your little rebellion force didn''t achieve much once the clans stopped warring. Not only was the pack wiped out, apparently they even levelled the surrounding forests after." the first gleefully inserted.

    ''So Avan''s dead then? One less for us to do away with.'' She wasn''t that upset her chance to kill him was denied, all that mattered now was the connection.

    "We don''t know a Redgrove." Calla didn''t even sound convincing to herself. And not to the men either, if their raised brows meant anything.

    "Calla Redgrove, disappeared six years ago, age twenty three along with her mother." the first said. Wanting to taunt Calla he added. "It was quite a stupid alias you know. Once it was out, people simply put two and two together, or first and surname." he snickered. "They found your dad too. Hear it took them half a day before they took mercy on him and his girlfriend." The news that someone else she''d wanted dead was gone was very surprising to Calla, but the man didn''t get the rise or grief he was hoping to. Instead Calla just smiled sweetly.

    ''It''s because people spend too much time needlessly posturing that opportunities arise. Though it doesn''t look like luck is on our side today. No terrain advantage, number disadvantage. We have to flee.'' She shuffled her feet back silently, knowing every inch counted. But before she could move further, she found two guns pointing at her.

    "We heard you were a hunter. Well we are too, though we don''t care by what means we put our target down." They both took aim at her. "You''ll be coming with us."

    "Okay." she said simply as she raised her hands in surrender. The second lowered his gun and stalked towards her with a chain, ready to bind her. ''We can turn this round, when they are near we''ll-''

    Her thoughts were cut off by a bullet through the head.

 Chapter 18

    Calla felt horrible when she woke up, and tried to gather her bearings.

    ''That''s what a bullet through the head does.'' she groaned as she wiggled around. ''We don''t like it, it feels disgusting.'' As her mind processed, she realised she was bound in incredibly tight chains, with her neck anchored to the floor and her arms behind her back. The room was plain and dark, a wide open and empty hall. Except at its head, where four chairs sat, the two centre ones slightly elevated and all four made from pure gold with a scattering of jewels. ''More like thrones.'' she snorted before her brain made the connection. ''Thrones...royal family...'' She half wished she could go back to unconsciousness, her life would be decided by these strangers and she was powerless to stop it.

    She was helpless and she needed control and in her mind she resolved to say nothing. She''d already been handed a death sentence if they knew about the wolves so why give them anything else.

    Calla wasn''t sure how long she waited before a procession of people walked into the hall. The two at the front, a blonde haired, blue eyed man and woman moved beyond her senses and appeared on the thrones.

    ''Impossible. Bad. Very bad.'' she thought as the power radiated off of the pair, and the man in particular.

    A few other people came into the hall, at human pace, and Calla had to bite her tongue when she saw Leena, Xavier and the other clan leaders from Sostine in attendance. An elderly purple eyed man led them all to the side to sit down and watch. And a final man suddenly appeared before her, with orange eyes and hair. Unlike the two who sat on the thrones, the aura this man gave off was pure dread. He was dressed in a knight''s regalia and looked ready to draw his sword at a moment''s notice.

    "My King, my Queen." the orange man bowed to the couple on the thrones. "And the gallery." he motioned to the people sitting at the side. Calla''s gaze flickered over and she noticed there was eight people she hadn''t seen walk in.

    ''It''s not just these three.'' her mind said as she glanced at the orange man and blonde pair. ''Every one of those eight people could kill us with ease.''

    "And Calla." the orange man finished as he looked down at her. "I''m Interrogator Virgil, Ancient rank." he did her the courtesy of an introduction.

    "Calla do you know why you''re here?" he asked sternly.

    "No." It wasn''t a lie. She didn''t know exactly the reason she was here or where here was.

    "I see." he nodded. "You''re here because you have been accused of knowingly assisting the werewolves in attacking vampires. A traitor to our kind if you will."

    "Okay." she said dully.

    "Okay?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "You have no defence?"

    "We didn''t say that."

    "I didn''t say that." he said.

    "What?" she asked confused.

    "You''re referring to yourself. It is ''I'' and not ''we''." She responded in a low hiss as the gallery chuckled at her expense. Except Leena, who was throwing her a murderous glare.

    "We," she emphasised, "didn''t say that."

    "Oh? Is there more than one of you?" Calla squirmed her way up so she was kneeling and then furrowed her brows in confusion. Her eyes flickered around and she glanced at nothing in particular.

    "We don''t know." she finally responded with a shrug. Virgil looked doubtful but he shared the same gift as Xavier, the ability to tell lies, and he could tell that she was being true.

    "Interesting." he murmured and nodded at the royal pair. "We''ve got a lot of time, so why don''t you tell us about yourself." he requested but Calla didn''t open her mouth. "Tell us!" he compelled.

    It was the first time she''d been compelled as a Blood-letter and the man before her was an Ancient. The pressure was suffocating, trying to make her follow his orders. The royal pair and Virgil watched with wonder as Calla''s eyes glazed over, only to snap back to normal a second later as she tried to fight the compulsion off. The weight of his command had her warring for control of her own mind, and this time she didn''t have the link to aid her. When her eyes did finally glaze and hold, more than five minutes had passed.

    "Our name is C-Calla R-R-Redgrove." She shook her head viciously after saying the sentence, releasing a hiss towards Virgil. It was tiring her out, and the only reason she could fight it at all was because the command was so vague.

    ''We can let the compulsion take hold, but control what we tell them....No, it''s dangerous to let it take full hold, hard to shake off....But we are worthy now, we can do it if it goes too far, we must conserve our strength for now.'' Calla went completely rigid and her eyes glazed over once more. Virgil felt the compulsion take full effect and released a huff.

    "Finally. I wonder if her craziness is what held it off?" he murmured as he inspected her closely. "So Calla," he said as he sat down before her with crossed legs, "tell us about your childhood."

    "Our childhood?" she asked blankly, confirmation could be sought under the compulsion.

    "Yes. Tell us, how did you grow up?" Calla momentarily shook before going rigid again and Sage, from her throne, found her will admirable.

    "Unloved." It was a personal thing Calla didn''t want to divulge but she saw no reason to really fight.

    "Hmm. How was your relationship with your parents?"

    "Mother was a drunk and father had a second family." she tilted her head. "We had no love between us. The closest we ever got to our mother was after we became a vampire."

    "That''s unusual. What happened?"

    "It was the first night we were a vampire. During the day we were stuck under a bridge and couldn''t move. When night came, mother was the first human we found." Calla appeared lost in her memories. "We coaxed her, gently, sweetly, into having a bath with us. We sat behind her, washed her, cleaned her, especially the neck. Then we consumed her." A few jaws dropped at Calla''s admission. Intentionally killing a parent wasn''t too rare amongst vampires, but for a newborn to do with such patience was unheard of.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    "You became strong very quickly for a vampire. We know you''ve become a Blood-letter, your eyes tell us that. But no-one seems to know when you became a Childe. Tell me how and when you did so?" The Sostine group watched with curiosity.

    "We were a week old vampire when we reached Sostine, In Lillypud we drained this little angel called Lisa, we bagged her and stabbed her, letting the blood fall into jars." Calla, wanting to mock Leena a little, turned to face her without breaking the compulsion. "It was when we first entertained the idea of blood farming children....there was something so satisfying. Anyway," she faced Virgil again, "the little angel was the niece of Benedict Farrow. We later killed him and he became a part of us, letting us become a Childe." Calla heard the sound of a chair pushing back as Leena stood and shouted.

    "But that wasn''t even a month after you arrived in Sostine!"

    "Sit down!" Virgil shouted at her, the force of which knocked her back into her seat. "Calla, is what she said true? Did you become a Childe less than a month after turning."

    "Yes." she responded emotionlessly.

    "As a side note, do you like to feed from children?"

    "No."

    "Pardon?"

    "We said no."

    "But you did."

    "Yes."

    "What changed?" Virgil asked in the hope that maybe the small vampire had developed a conscience and could be guided on the right path.

    "It is selfish." she said simply.

    "What is?" he asked her but she pursed her lips and shook her head. "Tell me." he used the full weight of his compulsion only to find it shaken off by a trembling Calla as the daze was wiped from her eyes.

    ''We won''t tell them about it. We won''t. It''s ours.''

    "Virgil," Metrix spoke up, "whatever she is hiding won''t be brought out by questioning. I grant you permission."

    "My King." he responded with a bow.

    ''Permission for what?''

    Virgil placed a hand on her head and she felt a sudden intrusion in her mind. It felt like worms crawling through her skull.

    ''What''s he doing? Get him out of us! Out!'' her thoughts became frantic and chaotic and Metrix and Sage could see Virgil grimacing in pain as he delved deeper into her mind. Calla could feel him fighting through her memories and soul, trying to reach the thing she held most dear.

    ''Out! Out! Not yours! Never yours! Ours!''As the words screeched out in her mind Virgil recoiled and took a couple of steps back and gasped.

    "My King." he said as he straightened his clothing, coughing to suppress his embarrassment. "Whatever she''s hiding is something fundamental to her, the closer I got the more jumbled and messy her thoughts became before she pushed me out."

    To say Metrix was surprised was the understatement of this century. A Blood-letter able to throw off the compulsion of an Ancient and stop their ability. He kept his gaze firmly on Calla who had fallen back onto her backside and buried her face in her knees.

    "Ours. Not yours. Ours." she whispered quietly as she rocked back and forth. The connection had become her obsession and she would let no one touch it. It was hers, it belonged to her and was the only thing she lived for now. The possessiveness of the link was all encompassing and had taken away a lot of other things she found joy in.

    "Dear." Sage spoke up as she too looked at the girl. "Let me question the girl?"

    "Go ahead." Metrix said, indicating for Virgil to step away. Sage walked down and crouched before the rocking young woman.

    "Calla." she spoke softly and Calla felt something. "Can you put your knees down and look at me please?" Calla did so and glared strongly at Sage for being treated like a child.

    "I''m not going to command you. You and me are going to have a talk." the several millennia old vampire said.

    "A talk?" Calla asked. Vampires didn''t normally talk, and whenever Calla had met one stronger than her they had tried to compel her.

    "This thing you''re guarding in your head, it''s important to you?" Sage queried to be met by a nodding Calla. "And you won''t talk about it?" A shaking head told her no.

    "Do you want to talk about anything?" Her voice was soothing and heavenly to Calla. Something about it called to her.

    "Your voice is very pretty." Calla stated matter-of-factly.

    "Thank you."

    "It likes it." Calla said as her connection seemed to hum. ''The connection is linked to this woman? But it is not her. It knows her. Deeply. Eternally. It like it when she makes me happy. It lets her make me happy.''

    "What likes it?" Sage tried again only to be met by Calla once again shaking her head. "Do you like anything else?"

    "We did." Calla said with a bit of melancholy.

    "What did you like?"

    "Hunting, draining, screaming, fighting, feeding....growing stronger." Calla finished quietly.

    "And you don''t like those any more?"

    "No."

    "Why not?"

    "Because it is selfish." That she used the same words again was not lost on anyone in the room.

    "So it won''t let you do the things you like?"

    "We can still do them."

    "Then what''s the problem?"

    "We don''t like them."

    "You mean it stops you liking them?"

    "Yes. If it doesn''t like it then it stops us liking it." Everyone bar Leena, who was personally affected in the war, felt a pang of pity for the girl.

    "Calla, does it control your emotions?" Calla just looked confused before shaking her head.

    "No, it just stops us liking things."

    "So what do you like right now?"

    "It and your voice." Calla said softly.

    "My voice? Why would it let you like my voice?" Sage looked at Virgil who indicated the small Blood-letter was telling the truth.

    "It likes it when you make us happy."

    "And my voice makes you happy?"

    "It lets your voice make us happy." Calla corrected. "It likes you." she murmured.

    "Does it ever make you do things you don''t want to?"

    "No. It sometimes stops us doing things we want to."

    "But you said it didn''t stop you doing things." Sage sounded genuinely confused.

    "We said it didn''t stop us doing things we like. It has stopped us from other things."

    "Do you mind telling me?" she coaxed and began to run one of Calla''s shins, which Calla didn''t react to.

    "We don''t mind." she responded sounding a bit lost at the strange sensation of contact. It was the first time she''d been touched outside of a violet capacity since she was a child. "It likes us to cover up. We wear this body suit because it doesn''t want us to show any skin."

    "That sounds a bit old fashioned, more suited for someone of my age than yours." Sage smiled at Calla and her mouth twitched in response.

    "We can''t have sex. We''ve never had it." Vampires were quite famous amongst the supernatural for their lust and this made the onlookers pity the girl more. They were selfish creatures, lives meant nothing. But to be denied a basic instinct for so long was appalling. "We tried, we pictured but we felt sick. Man or woman, vampire or human, we felt sick at the image. It told us it was wrong, we knew it was wrong. So we didn''t. We could only be nude in front of children, we liked to feed nude." she clarified, which explained to Sage her preferences. "We couldn''t, can''t, relieve ourself. We have to wait and be worthy, untouched and unseen."

    "Calla that doesn''t sound very good. Why do you listen to it?" Sage asked.

    "It is possessive and it is selfish. But it is ours." Calla seemed to give a genuine smile as she looked down at her chest. Sage stood and walked back to the throne where Metrix was with Virgil and they spoke in hushed whispers.

    "It''s a rather sad case." Sage closed her eyes and put her face in her palms.

    "Indeed my Queen, but from her words we can determine that whatever It is did not make her ally herself with the wolves."

    "He''s right dear. It''s just a shame she''s so remarkable. If she can achieve such mental prowess as a Blood-letter imagine if she were a Reagent or an Ancient." Metrix was upset too, but the law in such cases was clear. "We have no way to control her, and whatever It is can manipulate her entirely. The amount of harm she could cause if given the time to grow would be unrivalled. And there''s no guarantee we could harness her ability either, if whatever It is, is linked to it then the drawbacks are too high."

    "My King, my Queen. Who shall deliver the verdict?" Virgil asked quietly as the pair turned to face the empty looking woman sat on their throne room floor.

 Chapter 19

    "Calla." Sage started soon after her and Metrix had reseated. "We have reached a decision over your punishment." Calla gulped and looked at the couple but her eyes became unfocused. The link pulsated and grew stronger by the second.

    "There is simply no way that we can allow you to roam free, especially since you aided the wolves against you own kin." From the look on her face, everyone thought that Calla was resigned to death. But she wasn''t and the connection continued to grow, enveloping her mind in warmth.

    "It is a great loss that one of your potential should have to lose their life so soon, but without any ability to control you, we have no other option."

    ''It''s coming. For us.'' she mused in her mind, no longer registering her impending death. She began to smile and a few people exchanged glances at the oddity.

    "Before we enact the sentence," Sage said softly, "do you have anything to say?" Calla''s eyes homed in on hers, her smile growing. She didn''t know if it would save her, but being able to meet the object of her obsession would make her death worth it. Calla didn''t speak.

    "Well then," Sage sighed as she went to deliver the sentence, "death by fi-"

    Before she could finish the doors of the hallway were kicked open and a chirpy young woman appeared.

    "Hi Dad! Hi Mum!" the voice echoed around Calla''s mind and she lost herself in it. It soothed her and made her happy. She turned to face whatever creature had such a beautiful voice and became lost in the visage. There was a young woman of similar age, appearance wise, to her though the woman was half a head taller. She had curly golden locks that just reached her shoulders and a glimmering blue eye that reminded Calla of the ocean. Her other eye had a golden iris surrounding the pupil, sitting on a backdrop of pure black. Calla''s mouth dropped in awe and her eyes began to glow.

    ''She is the connection.'' Calla''s eyes were wide as they roamed every part of the other woman''s body, taking in the perfectness of her skin and the way her blue dress clung to her.

    "Hylee." Sage reprimanded. "You can''t just barge-" but her daughter stepped passed her and met Calla''s eyes. None had been paying attention to Calla once Hylee stormed in, but now they could see that both women''s eyes were alight.

    "Oh my oh my." Hylee murmured. "What do we have here?" She circled Calla who was still chained to the floor and looked at her with glee. "How interesting, how beautiful." she whispered as she passed Calla''s ears.Metrix, Sage and Virgil could feel a headache coming on. Of course the strange girl had to be the Kindred of their princess.

    ''No, you''re beautiful.'' she spoke in her mind as she licked her lips and gulped in nervousness whilst Hylee inspected her.

    "Mum, who''s this?"Hylee asked and Calla wanted to answer, but she was too nervous to get the words out.

    "That is Calla," Sage said with a huff as she began to massage her temples, "the vampire that feeds on vampires."

    "Really?" Hylee asked with wide eyed glee. "She really is perfect." she muttered. "So why is she chained up?" she challenged her mother with a disarming smile. "Although I think I like you chained up." she hissed quietly into Calla''s ear which made a shudder run down her spine.

    ''Anything for you.'' her mind chanted like she was hypnotised, and she supposed she was.

    "She is guilty of helping werewolves infiltrate one of our cities." Sage replied calmly.

    "And why would she do that?"

    "We don''t know, but it doesn''t change that she did."

    "And her punishment?"

    "Death by fire." Sage said with a cringe.

    "Absolutely not." Hylee responded firmly. "Choose something else. There''s no way you''ll be killing my Kindred."Some in the audience look aghast at her words that completely contradicted the Queen. Sage though, knew carrying out the sentence would also result in her daughter''s death, only after she had killed them all of course.

    ''Why did Hylee have to show up now? If they hadn''t met each others'' eyes then the connection could of broke without issue.'' Sage thought to herself, only to feel something click.

    "Calla. Is Hylee the source of It?" she asked the seated woman only to see her lost in the sight and scent of her circling daughter, who still hadn''t looked away. Hylee briefly glanced at Sage.

    "Perhaps, mother, I can ask the questions?" Sage nodded and Hylee crouched in front on Calla, looking her dead in the eye.

    "My little Blood-letter," Hylee cooed, "what does my mother mean by ''it''?"Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    "The connection. What we feel to you. We always have." Calla said, still in awe of the blonde. "Everything we do is for the connection, for you." she beamed with tenderness and a loving look in her eyes.

    "What have you done for me little one?" Hylee closed the gap between them and tucked some of Calla''s hair behind her ears before walking her fingers up and down her cheek.

    "We stayed unseen, untouched." Calla was lost in the intimate sensation of Hylee''s actions and her words made Hylee''s gut clench tight with possessiveness.

    "Very good." she hummed. "So you''ll be completely mine?" It wasn''t a question that needed answering as they both knew the answer.

    "If you''ll have us." Calla breathed.

    "Mmmm. Mother, father, I''ve decided a suitable punishment." Hylee mocked and they all knew it was a front. Leena grit her teeth hard as the rest watched on with apathy. "I''ll be moving back here and I will take responsibility for supervising and teaching my Kindred. I''ll also be taking her on culls, so she can repay her debt to our society." Hylee turned back to Calla and smirked. "My little cannibal, you won''t turn against myself and my family would you?" Calla furiously shook her head, she couldn''t even contemplate betraying the goddess in front of her.

    "Fine." Sage said lowly as she watched her daughter interacting with her Kindred. "At the request of Princess Hylee Veals Lawe, the sentence is commuted to repatriation and confinement, to be served with the princess herself. Calla, we''ll revisit this in thirty years time and judge your character then." But the young brunette didn''t even spare her a glance, completely enraptured by her daughter. Leena''s feelings had been bubbling under the surface and she no longer held herself back.

    "You can''t!" she shouted ignoring Xavier''s warning glance. "She''s an evil sadistic bitch and she can''t be allowed to live! How many does she have to kill before people realise this?!" The room went deathly still and those in experience knew what to expect. Hylee''s eyes glanced over to Leena and her blackened eye''s golden iris began to glow and spin. A wisp of white shot out and latched onto Leena''s forehead, dazing the red head and making her stagger before falling down completely. Hylee was a Soul Swallower and she was a Lorde, alive for almost as long as her parents. A Childe like Leena wasn''t worth her mention, but that she''d insulted her Kindred made her a target.

    Xavier caught the falling Leena and saw the emptiness of her gaze as the white wisp retracted. He was dumbfounded and didn''t know what to say. And became even more so when the body in his hands disappeared in a flash. Looking back in the centre of the room Hylee stood before Calla holding the husk of the Childe.

    "My little Kindred, you''ve been eating these things?" she held Leena''s body before Calla and asked.

    "Yes, devour and grow strong for you." Calla mumbled.

    "I don''t want you eating these filthy things any more." Hylee said as she sniffed the body before she tossed the shell of a red head away. "You''re mine. Every part of you. From the smallest cell to the entirety of your soul, you belong to me." she hissed in Calla''s face, who just nodded. Hylee drew a nail across her wrist so it was bleeding and didn''t allow her body to heal. "You''ll feed from me and no other." her words left no room for doubt and she pushed her wrist into Calla''s mouth. Calla didn''t bite, refusing to cause her Kindred pain.

    "You''ll bite me." Hylee whispered into her ear. "I want you to feed from me. There is sometimes pleasure in the pain, as I''ll teach you later." Calla growled and tried to restrain her own lust. It was harder to deal with than ever, having the object of her desires before her yet still chained and unable to touch. Her Kindred wanted it and Calla obliged. Fangs pierced Hylee''s wrist and she began sucking greedily. It wasn''t like other vampires, where she got used to the horrible taste and eventually grew to tolerate it. No, Hylee tasted delicious and satisfying. It was better than any human she had ever had and her eyes rolled back in their sockets as she was overcome by waves of pleasure.

    Despite the onlookers, Hylee was taking great joy in Calla''s reaction to her blood. She''d be the one to feed her now and for all eternity. It wasn''t long before Calla stopped though, the potency of Hylee''s Lorde blood much too potent for her. But those of the Ancient rank and higher could feel the small Blood-letter''s strength shoot up. Hylee grabbed the chains that bound Calla and crumbled the front to dust with a clench of her fist, freeing her Kindred. Free and unbound, Calla tried to grab Hylee only to find herself holding air.

    "Ah, ah, my little cannibal." Hylee said as she watched the marks on her wrist heal and scar, letting Calla''s fangs mark her. "No touching until you''ve cleaned yourself." Hylee scrunched her nose in disgust as she looked over her dirty Kindred who was covered in mud. It was caked on her coat and in her hair.

    ''She can''t be serious.'' Calla thought in disbelief. She''d waited to meet the source of the link for many years, and now that she had, she couldn''t touch it. Because she was muddy. Still, Calla tried to reach out again only to have her hand slapped down. Hylee saw Calla''s expression of hurt.

    "Let me make something clear." she hissed in fury, grabbing Calla''s chin and pulling her face close. "You may be my Kindred, and I may even love you, but you''ll do as I say without question." Calla flinched at the angry tone but then nodded and began to follow Hylee as she walked out the hall.

    ''She might love us.'' her mind wandered dreamily as she fell into step being her Kindred. Feeling giddy, she giggled audibly and did more so when Hylee just looked at her curiously.

    The rest of the hall was silent, unwilling to say anything whilst Hylee was still around. But a flurry of conversation broke out when she''d left.

    "Met." Sage said softly and everyone heard it. Her husband turned to look at her and his eyes asked what was wrong. "Do you think death might have been preferable to a life as Hylee''s Kindred?"

    "Probably." he answered without hesitation. "She''s very controlling. It appears Calla could feel the bond even as a newborn and that confused her greatly. She didn''t know what it was but she described it as selfish." He wondered how strong a soul had to be in order for a newborn to feel such a bond, without having met the other party.

    "We''ll have to do our best to counter her negative influence on our new daughter-in-law." Sage mused. "If I can convince Calla we may even be able to rope Hylee into having a ceremony." As a royal of a few thousand years she got over the small things quickly. She didn''t actually care about the wolf scenario, it was more about establishing order. Though now her punishment had been changed, no one who knew Hylee would think the Blood-letter got off easy. Even if they were Kindred. Metrix was of the same mind, but now that he knew his daughter could control Calla, who looked like a love-sick puppy as she followed Hylee out the hall, he might be able to study and harness her cannibalistic gift.

 Chapter 20 - End

    After getting out the bath, feeling clean and fresh, Calla practically skipped out into Hylee''s room that her Kindred had decided she was sharing with her. She felt a flitter of disappointment that she hadn''t been able to feed whilst bathing but she intended to ask Hylee if she''d join her next time. Calla adored some of the products she found whilst washing. They were custom made and smelled clean and scentless, removing foreign scents from her body without leaving any lingering smell of their own.

    Back in the room she found a new body suit in her size, though she didn''t know how Hylee could of gotten one so quickly. She dressed and sat on the bed, humming softly as she waited for Hylee to return.

    ''Will she help us settle our scores? She''ll take care of us so we hope so. We need to get rid of Xavier and the two that captured us.'' her thoughts turned dark at the memory of a bullet hitting her head before she fell to black. ''We have to leave Virgil be, he acted on order of our new mother and father.'' Calla quickly adopted Hylee as her fianc¨¦e/wife and took her parents as her own. She and Hylee were Kindred after all.

    Hylee''s room didn''t have much in it. There were wall cupboards that Calla dared not look into without permission, but other than that there was only a large bed, which she was currently sat on. It was a strange thing for a Vampire to keep, considering they couldn''t sleep. Calla resolved to add it to the things she wanted to know about. Her mind was wandering when Hylee walked back in, decked out in a fanciful blue dress and high heels. Calla went to stand but Hylee reappeared before her, sitting her back down by pushing her shoulders.

    "Hmm. Nice and covered up." Hylee made no attempt to hide that she was checking out Calla''s body and let her eyes roam free. Calla found herself lost in Hylee''s eyes and became tongue tied. She raised a hand to touch Hylee''s face.

    ''We''re clean now, it should be okay?'' Calla''s hand moved slowly but before it could touch Hylee, the blonde grabbed her wrist and Calla found her arm completely unable to move.

    "Strong." Calla mumbled as she looked at the hand holding her.

    "Yes my Kindred. I''m very strong." Hylee smiled sweetly. "You tried to touch me." Calla''s face became confused. Of course she tried to touch her, she loved her. Hylee''s face became serious and she glared down at the young vampire. She felt like a child beneath the stare of blue and gold irises and knew she had done something to upset her angel.

    "We...we are not allowed to touch?" she asked hesitantly, looking up with a hopeful gaze that her words were wrong.

    "Did I give you permission?" the millennia old vampire didn''t let up her glare.

    "N-no." Calla shuffled her bum on the bed, feeling uncomfortable. She looked anywhere but Hylee''s face as she did not want her anger directed at her, but her eyes always found their way back. Finally, Calla hung her head. "We''re sorry." she spoke glumly.

    "I''ll let this one go, but if you want to touch me you have to earn it."

    "How?" ''Aren''t we already worthy?''

    "If you can follow all my instructions for the next twenty four hours, I''ll let you choose between two options." Hylee''s smile returned. "Either I can pet and hug you for an hour, or you can do the same to me for ten minutes."Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ''That doesn''t seem fair.'' Calla frowned. ''We want to stroke and hold her for an hour too.''

    "It''s not debatable." Hylee said when she saw Calla''s expression, knowing the small woman had the same twisted feelings she did. "And, if you fail to follow my instructions, you won''t be allowed to come within five meters of me for forty eight hours." Calla''s eyes bugged out a little and she wore a panicked expression. Upon seeing this, Hylee smirked.

    "Let''s get you dressed." Hylee hummed as she walked to a cupboard and pulled out a similar looking dress to her own. Calla went to grab it but Hylee pulled it away. "We''re going to do this together." She crouched down and held it out for Calla to step into. "Come on now." she cooed. Calla stepped into the dress and Hylee slid it up her body, very slowly, as she watched how it clung to Calla''s body in all the right places.

    "There we go." she said as she stepped behind Calla and pulled the zip up. "Time for dinner." she smiled at the brunette and offered her arm. Calla looked at the stuck out elbow and her gaze flicked to Hylee who nodded in response. Calla giggled and took hold of her arm with with both of hers and pushed their bodies together.

    Hylee had to make a conscious effort to keep her speed down as she walked to the dining room attached to Calla. Her mother, father, Virgil and Eleus were already seated and she rolled her eyes in annoyance. She didn''t know why her father kept the old-looking bastard. He was weak, only at the rank of Elder and her father let him speak too casually. Sure, her Calla was only a Blood-letter, but she wasn''t even a decade old. By the time her Kindred reached a century Hylee would make sure that she was a Reagent, and she expected no less as she fed her Lorde blood. Eleus though, she''d make sure to kill him when she had the chance.

    Hylee pulled a chair out for Calla and sat beside her. Calla seemed saddened by the loss of contact but Hylee entwined their fingers under the table which brought a smile back to her face. Before long dinner was served in the form of beakers of blood with jars full to refill. Everyone began drinking their fill and, seeing this, Calla reached to grab her own only for her bones to crack as Hylee tightened her grip on her hand. Calla winced and looked at her Kindred whose eye twitched in anger.

    "What did I say earlier?" she asked lowly whilst the other four were chatting.

    "That we drink only from you." Calla responded.

    "Yes. I''ll let it go this time, but don''t let it happen again." Calla slunk in her seat at being denied her meal and Hylee''s heart softened a fraction. "Do you want a drink?"

    "Please." Calla said hopefully. Hylee raised their joined hands and bit into her own wrist, letting her blood flow. She kissed the back of Calla''s hand and then offered her her blood. Calla wasn''t so hesitant this time and bit into the open would but refusing to release Hylee''s hand.

    "Mmmm." ''Ours. All ours.'' Calla''s response was no less intense than the first time she drank from Hylee and she moaned into the bite, sending a shiver of pleasure up Hylee''s spine. She finished after a few seconds, feeling stuffed for the first time ever since she was a vampire. Between the two times she drank from Hylee, only a few hours had passed and dissolving Lorde blood would take a long time. ''So nice...we can probably drink from her once a week and stay fully sated.'' she thought as she licked her lips and fangs, making sure no blood was lost. ''But it''d be nice to do it daily....''

    She hummed happily as she was lost in her thoughts. It was a soothing sound for Hylee who was choosing to exercise patience with her Kindred. She knew she could throw Calla down on the table now and take her, and the brunette wouldn''t refuse. But she made herself wait.And she''d drag it out, torturing herself, because the feeling of looking forward to something for the first time in millennia was exquisite.

    Anticipation was important and was half the game. Hylee would let Calla grow and evolve, let her become a Reagent. Then she would indulge herself, and mark her Kindred, repeatedly, viciously. She wanted Calla to become a Reagent because only then could her body heal quick enough for the onslaught of passion that Hylee, a Lorde vampire, was sure to deliver.

    Only her parents had gotten close to the depraved core of Hylee and they had no wish to go there again. And for Calla, who would be eternally bound to her, they could only feel pity.

 Authors Note

    And so it comes to an end, most of the story tied up but with scope for expansion later on if I make a sequel. I wrote this story to it''s natural conclusion, the direction my mind took me, and felt it was a good place to end.

    This is the first fiction I''ve wrote and personally, I''m okay with it. I wrote it in four days, putting in a large share of my waking hours. I know I have a lot of improving to do, I imagined numerous ways I could improve the fights, the general build up and how the characters express themselves. My planning and story lining can definitely use some work.

    When I was writing the story I just let my mind go and that was the path Calla ended up taking. When I reached the end however, I realised what Calla''s future with Hylee would become. She became so dependent on her, to the exclusion of everything else. Hylee, being possessive as she is, inadvertently influenced the link, and would forever cage the much weaker Calla and Calla would find her sole joy in Hylee.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    The way I envisage their future lives is Calla being akin to a decorated prisoner who is unable to leave an abusive Hylee, because she finds happiness even in that abuse. And it would mostly be solitude, Hylee cutting Calla off from any connection to prevent her forming bonds that could draw her from Hylee. I may look to expand the story in the future, but I''d want to look more into how dependancy in abusive relationships develop so that I could incorporate it.

    Anyway, thanks for reading. If you enjoyed it great, if not, well I''ll try and do better next time.

    Bye for now.

    - WordOfA

    (Calla - 20 Chapters, 44,852 Words)