Chapter fifteen: Atonement
I paced back and forth waiting for the sun to go down.
I had smelled Lavinia outside of Summer’s apartment last night; not a good sign. Whenever she caught up with me she caused trouble, and if she found out about Summer there was no telling what she would do.
I wanted to get to Summer, and make sure nothing happened to her. I should have brought her here; I shouldn’t have left her alone. I would kill Lavinia if she did anything to Summer, and this time, I would do the job right.
How little I had known in those first few years, having no one to tell me about being a vampire. My first and biggest mistake was thinking I had disposed of Lavinia Jenkins; to my unending horror, she was turned.
She came after me three nights after the incident, claiming that we would be together for eternity now that nothing was between us.
I thought I was being punished for something I had done wrong in my life; why else would she come back to haunt me? I ran as fast and as far as I could away from her; my never ending nightmare.
I glanced at the screen on my TV; it monitored the suns decent from a video camera on the roof of the warehouse. Five more minutes and I would be safely able to make my way across town to Summer.
I continued my pacing, cursing the sun for having so much control over me.
I heard the pigeon’s on the roof settling in for the night; noisy creatures that disturbed my daily slumbers. I was half tempted to exterminate them all, but they were here first; even if I had killed them, more would take their place, and I had better things to do than to hunt down the winged rats.
One minute until the sun was completely obscured by the horizon. Maybe if I stuck to the shadows I could leave now? Not likely, the front of the warehouse faced into the setting sun, I would be scorched for sure.
The last minute dragged like hours, I was anxious and on edge. When the sun had finally set, I dashed out the doors, and onto the road; I stopped, dead center street. It was like hitting a brick wall of scent, the demon I had been chasing for so long was near.
I inhaled deeply, mingled in with his dingy aroma was a smell that was unmistakable; Summer. He had Summer, but how? Was it a coincidence that he just happened upon the one thing that mattered most to me? Was he sent, like before? Was Lavinia still incapable of doing her own dirty work?
Whatever it was, I had to stop him, I wasn’t going to let him take everything from me again. My legs moved of their own accord, before my brain had told them to follow. I ran faster, intent on the scent trail he had left behind.
I followed it around town, through the park, half way up the Rocky Mountain Range, and around Lake Tahoe; he was obviously aware I was following him, was that his plan?
It didn’t matter, I had to catch up with him, Summer’s life depended on it. Around and around we went, like a cat chasing a mouse, only this mouse was an expert at evading capture.
He was heading back to town, towards the river, towards my warehouse. What was his motivation in going there? Was he planning to face me? To have me watch like before? He was in for a surprise if he thought I would stand by and watch him destroy my heart.
He once told me I didn’t possess the strength to kill him, but that was then; we would see how he fared against one of his own. I ran faster, praying I wasn’t too late.
When I was within half a mile I could smell Lavinia’s scent, and the strong smell of fresh blood, Summer’s blood. I cursed and growled as I forced my feet to move faster. There would be death tonight, but by fang and by claw, it won’t be Summer.
