The Shattering of Souls

(Chapter 3) Kaly

I grabbed the girl by the back of her head and drew my knife across her throat. It was the purest kind of delight I could feel as she went from moaning my name to choking on her own blood.

"Come on, Kaly," Simon complained. "That's the third toy you've broken this week."

I gingerly turned the small brunette over and brushed the hair out of her dead green eyes. "She was too fragile. She wasn't going to last anyway." I leaned in and lapped at the blood streaming quietly from her neck.

"At least save some for me," Simon simpered. I inclined my head to peek at him, and saw the thirst in his dark eyes. Torn between caring for him and enjoying the sweet, sticky fluid, I wiped my mouth. Then, carefully, I passed him the girl.

He latched his mouth across the wound on her throat, making quiet slurping sounds as he drained her.

"Simon, hurry up," I sighed impatiently. "Tia will worry if we aren't home soon."

"It's barely four in the morning," he whined. "It won't be light for another two hours, at least."

"Let's go. Two hours or not, I don't want to get caught out at daybreak." I picked up the limp form of our victim and placed her in the trunk of my car. Slamming the hatch, I hopped in the front seat. Simon followed.

I drove to an abandoned warehouse by the lake, and lifted the girl from the trunk. Tossing her body on the pyre by the door, I lit a match and threw it on the pile. The wood there was already soaked with gasoline, and the other bodies from our coven's night of hunting were piled there, as well.

"Always the last to return, Kaly," a soft voice nearby whispered.

"Tia, my love," I laughed, turning and sweeping the tall red head into my arms. "Was your night a success?"

"Yes, it was. I recruited three new males, and one new female. They're resting," Tia purred.

"Excellent. I'll go hunting tonight, and bring home eight new bodies." I entered the warehouse and looked at the new kin. The males were tall and attractive. They would be used for recruiting. The female was hardly more than a child, with a sweet face. She would be used to build trust. They were all sleeping soundly.

"Simon, fetch yourself a blood bag from the kitchen," I said softly. "You hardly fed tonight."

Simon gave me a quick nod, his brown curls bouncing like an eager child's. He hurried off, and I began to circle the room to greet the new vampires in our ranks.

I approached the men, and they all stayed cautious but polite. "Not very bright, are they?" I asked Tia.

"Unfortunately. It was a slow night. I grabbed them from the gym." Tia looked at them in distaste. "But at least we reached the quota. Ryn will be pleased."

"As long as he has fresh young, he doesn't care." I shook my head, frustrated. Slowly, quietly, I approached the girl. Her dark lashes parted at the sound of my approach, eyelids fluttering open to reveal an intelligence hidden there. She appeared to be no more than six. She had soft, doll-like features. Dark black curls, and the bright red eyes of a young vampire. Eventually they would fade to black, but not for a few months.

"What is your name, young one?" I asked kindly.

In a voice as soft as the rain, she whispered, "Lynn." She blinked her wide eyes, and I saw an intelligence there.

"Lynn, do you know what you are?"

She seemed to ponder a second, then shrugged. "A vampire."

"Very good," I said, chuckling. "You will fit in well."

I turned, glancing in a mirror, and saw a blank space staring back at me.

Vampire, I reminisced. And just then, my phone rang. I flipped open my phone.

"Hello?"