For Love of a Vampire

Chapter 38

Helen and I parted ways. I was sulking through the woods on my way to the main part of the estate with Elizabeth still in company. I felt so let down to have been denied giving Margaret her just desserts. It was clear that when her soul left her body it wouldn't be pretty, which was why Isabelle insisted I leave and take Helen and Elizabeth with me. Even so, it wasn't enough. I wanted her demise to be by my hands, not her own. I really felt cheated.

"Vampire blood works strangely in humans," Elizabeth said softly.

I stopped and stared at her as if for the first time. In truth, I'd been so absorbed with my woeful thoughts that I'd forgotten she was with me.

"How so?" I asked.

"It makes the gentle quite aggressive," she replied knowingly.

I nodded my agreement and continued walking. She was probably right. Even though Duncan was a gentle vampire, it didn't mean that his blood wouldn't react in my body differently. After all, I had the genetic make-up of a human, not a vampire. I excused myself for my barbaric thoughts and forced the gentler side of me to the forefront.

"It looks like I didn't even need the vampire blood. Margaret did the job quite nicely on her own," I said quietly.

"You still need it," Elizabeth said as she pointed to my left.

I looked through the trees at the two men she was pointing to.

"Are they...?" I began.

"Aye, they are my murderers," she said shakily.

Although I'd intended to make sure Elizabeth's murders saw justice, I'd been so focused on Margaret that I hadn't yet devised a plan of action. I certainly hadn't expected to have to deal with them in the middle of a deserted forest with only a newbie ghost at my side. I looked around for a place to hide, but it was too late. They'd spotted me and were heading my way.

"Well, well, what have we here?" the larger one said.

He clearly knew my identity and just as clearly resented my existence.

"A fine bit of fun, if you ask me," his companion said.

I shuddered as the words slipped past the rotted teeth of his shorter and far uglier companion.

Did they seriously think they were going to rape me? Although I'd been forcibly taken by Rufus, it somehow didn't seem to compare to the dread and outrage I felt at the thought of these two, smelly, disgusting creatures rutting over me. Oh no. That would never happen. I'd die first. Besides, I'd had my fill of being taken by force. Enough was enough.

As those two disgusting and foul smelling, poor excuses for men circled around me, I made ready for combat. I was grateful for the self-defense lessons Duncan made sure I had after that attack in the alley. That knowledge, combined with a healthy dose of vampire blood and some cheering from Elizabeth was all I needed to beat those bullies to the ground in style.

As I stood over their swollen, lifeless bodies, I doubted they were truly dead. I didn't bother to finish the job. It suddenly didn't matter that they still lived. There was some punishment that was even worse than death. In a day where machoism was everything, they'd have to live with the knowledge that they'd had their butts handed to them by a lone, one-hundred-ten pound, five-foot, four-inch woman. That in itself was gratifying. I looked at Elizabeth. She seemed happy with the outcome as well.

Feeling sufficient justice was dished out to Elizabeth's killers, and knowing that by now Margaret's soul was in the hands of the devil, we walked away from the scene of the battle smug and satisfied. It was time to find Duncan and get back to the future.