Chapter 1

Kierann sat at the bar slowly sipping her cocktail, a tinge of residue from her bright red gloss stained the edge of the glass with an imprint of her perfect lips. She scanned the room with elusive eyes. Not much has really changed in the last fifty years or so, she thought to herself as she swallowed the contents of her glass, the alcohol burning in her throat, sliding down slowly –smoothly until it hit the pit of her stomach. The men were still…well…men. Each had their perfections, as well as their flaws, yet none of which had appealed to Kierann in the slightest.

It may have seemed to Kierann that much of the human race had not evolved over the last half century…but kindred, such as herself, had. Things were constantly changing around her –evolving, yet it always seemed as if the humans were stuck on pause. There was a time when Kierann was no longer able to see the light of day, a day that she grew even frailer than she was already, she could no longer be blessed by the golden rays that she had loved so much, the rays that had beat down on her, warmed her silky pale skin. Now… she can walk among the rays of the sun with no deadly consequences.

There was a day where Kierann could only feed on human blood to survive; she never dared to walk with them for fear of being unable to control her urges, leaving a mess behind her for other kindred to clean up. Now she can walk among them, eat with them, just as them, yet not feeding on them. The smell of the humans was no longer something that excited her; in fact, to her, there was nothing more repulsive in the world than the smell of a human.

She looked around the room once more, studying their actions with more scrutiny, listening to their tongue more carefully; she had suddenly become thankful to no longer be one of them, more so than she ever had in the past.

Being thrust into this life at first seemed like a burden, almost a curse. For a long time Kierann wondered why he had chosen her, why she had to be at that park so late at night, why he didn’t just finish her off not allowing for the transformation. Yet as time went by it didn’t seem so bad, she would live forever, be young forever and that didn’t bother her in the least bit.

Of course until she seen families, with their children laughing and playing, enjoying each other’s company, and then it hit her…She would never have that experience. She would never grow old with a husband, or have a family of her own. She would be stuck in limbo forever. Suddenly forever didn’t seem so wonderful.

She threw a twenty on the bar leaving the change for bartenders tip. She knew just how rough the job could be, especially on a Monday night when patrons were usually few and far between.  She swallowed the last swig of her drink as she lifted herself from the stool.

A rumble of “ooooooh’s” and “ahhhh’s” were quickly filling the bar as she planted her feet firmly on the terracotta tiles. She almost thought for a moment that the few people that filled this bar were amongst the last of the humans to know of vampires existence is Los Aniegos, when she glanced over to the neighboring barstool.

Kierann looked down at the woman with braided and beaded bleach blonde hair. She wore thick large sunglasses that hid the top half of her face, and then down at her atrocious attire. She could now hear the incessant clicks of thumbs on cell phones texting away and hushed whispers coming from the back of the bar.

“Oh my god you will never guess who just walked into LB’s…”

“Lady LaLa…unbelievable I know right!”

Kierann rolled her eyes and scrunched up her nose. Filthy imbecile. She thought as she desperately tried to rid of the stench that was filling her nose. She began to  walk towards the exit, her attention still diverted by all the chatter and clicking that she couldn’t  shake, when she was stopped dead by what had appeared to be a wall to her at first.

“I am so sorry Miss…I didn’t see you there.” A soft but deep voice called out through all the jumbled noise.

“Don’t you watch where you’re going!” Kierann scowled before something else had caught her attention. She no longer smelled the stench of the overrated celebrity woman that had sat next to her at the bar, the woman that the mindless drones had been so very fascinated with…no this smell was oddly pleasant and something she hadn’t experienced in years. It nearly had made her mouth water.

She wasn’t sure what to expect when she lifted her head to put a face to the voice that had drowned out the senseless banter around her. All she knew is that what she had seen wasn’t it.

He had eyes bluer than any ocean she had ever seen, and any sky that she had looked into. His hair was as dark as night, slicked back, not a single strand out of place. His skin was creamy and golden brown to perfection nearly completely bare except for the small patch of hair that was trimmed neatly on his chin. His lips were full and luscious. And the smell that emanated off of his body was unlike anything a human had radiated in years. She could feel her fangs sharpening within the walls of her cheeks; salvia was filling the emptiness of her mouth like tidal wave, as an urge that had become so distant to her had finally reappeared –stronger than ever.

He reached out to Kierann resting his arm gently on her shoulder.

“I am so sorry, really, can I buy you a drink…” No sooner than he said the word drink, the urge to sink her fangs into the untouched pristine skin of his neck had nearly overpowered her.

“Sorry I have to go.” She said as she bolted towards the door, nearly knocking over a woman on the way out.

“WAIT…” She could hear him calling from behind her. She didn’t look back, fearing that if she had, not caring who was around to watch, she would have ripped him to shreds.

She rushed home quickly, trying to think of anything that would get her mind off of the smell that had enveloped her nearly making her lose control. Her feet hit the pavement hard, she could hear the crumbling of rocks beneath the soles of her shoes, feel the vibrations as they cracked with every step she took. Weaving in and out of traffic, the blare of the horns and obscenities being yelled by the passersby’s didn’t phase her –didn’t make her stop once.

She slammed the door to her apartment behind her once she had reached it, grabbing onto herself as she slumped against the door. Finally she was safe, the smell was gone, and the comforts of her home had begun to calm her.

She bent down –grasping at the hair on both sides of her head before opening her mouth and letting out a shrill cry –nearly deafening to the ears. Just as her rant had ended she heard a knock on the door. She quickly composed herself and turned to open it.

Standing in her doorway was a handsome yet scraggly looking young man with a hand on one hip and the other resting on the frame of her door.

“Yes?” Kierann said as she propped herself against her door.

“Everything okay in here Kierann?” He asked.

“Yes, Xander everything is fine.” She replied in a sweet tone.

“Well by the sounds of what I just heard, everything isn’t fine…can I come in?” he asked her.

“Not tonight Xander, sorry.” She replied. Just as she went to close the door it jammed. He forced the door back open slightly and looked at her.

“Come on just for a little bit…” He said batting his eyelashes at her.

“Fine, but just for a little while.” She said as she held the door open for him.

“How long before your done working on my car Xander…” Kierann asked as she sat down on her couch. Xander joined her, drawing his arms behind his head and stretching himself out –making himself at home.

“Almost done, just waiting for a part, which should be here tomorrow…now are you going to tell me what’s wrong or do I have to beat it out of you.” He said with a coy smile.

“And don’t dare lie…remember you aren’t the only one who can read minds…” He added as he let out a laugh. Xander is one of only a few half-breeds left in existence. He holds some of the powers of a vampire without any of the drawbacks, he categorized himself more as a human than a vampire though. Kierann sighed as she explained the events of the night to him. Xander had been really been her only true and closest friend, in which she shared everything with.

“Do you know how sexy you are when you are unable to control yourself?” He said with a smirk.

“It’s not funny Xander, this is a serious matter. It could be very bad…” She said as she slapped him on the arm. 

Xander then stood up and straightened himself out. He turned his head to the side.

“Drink from me, if you need something to take the edge off, trust me I won’t mind.” He said.

“No Xander I can’t.” She replied quickly.

“It’s not like it wouldn’t be the first time…and I’m sure it won’t be the last” He reminded her flashing her a sexy smile. Xander was what the vampires would call a “Blood Doll*”. Though he only let Kierann feed on him exclusively, he got much more satisfaction out of it than she did.

“Xander, I can’t, you know what happens every time we do this and I am just not in the mind frame for this tonight.” She said slowly backing way. He crept closer toward her, not listening to a word she said, knowing that if he enticed her just enough she would give in.

He gave her one last little push, inching his neck towards her hungry mouth, and she was like putty in his hands. She grazed her lips across the bare flesh of his skin inhaling the aroma, she closed her eyes and concentrated and drew in the scent once more, though this time the aroma she was smelling, was that of the man at the cantina.

She sunk her teeth into his skin, breaking it gently and drawing out the crimson tinged liquid, allowing it to slide slowly down her throat; it was like drawing satisfaction from his veins more than blood and it had nearly satiated her other than the fact that it wasn’t his blood that she was craving, but it would do for the time being…

She pulled herself away before she could draw too much, and in one quick and fluid movement he lifted her up, cradling her in his arms, kissing her, drawing the remnants of his own blood away from her mouth, before kicking the door open to her bedroom and carrying her over the threshold.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

*Blood Doll - A human who freely gives blood to Kindred, and seems to gain a perverse satisfaction from doing so.