The Blood King (Wattpad Exclusive Version)

A Matter of Faith and Trust

August 5, 2004, Miami

I had to come.

Flying long distances, in this case from New York to Miami, so fast always uses up much of my strength. I made it right after 11:00 p.m. In complete silence, I landed in the back of the beach house and immediately found my way inside.

Wearing all black, as I always do when flying, I became one with the semidarkness of the place. My sense of smell guided me to where she was-sleeping on the couch with the TV on. I walked slowly toward, contemplating the expression on her. She looked so sweet and at peace. Then saw traces of eyeliner on her cheeks.

She had been crying, a lot.

I got her phone call that evening, just around half past five. Stephen had broken up with her, and she was very sad and was in desperate need of a friend. After almost three years, I was beginning to think that the guy had changed his ways and had become committed to her. Instead, his insecurities got the best of him, and he had taken to blaming Lucy for things that could only be justified by an immature jealousy. He had dropped the old "I need time by myself to figure things out" bomb, and her heart was shattered. It was hard for me to see her like that.

I was only weeks away from a long-overdue trip to Mexico. I was looking forward to spending the rest of the year over there before returning to Miami when her phone call made me forget everything else and make the leap in less than six hours from New York to Miami. My body was trembling furiously from the effort of challenging gravity, and my brain was going crazy, demanding blood; but she needed me here. I couldn't refuse. For once, the thirst would have to wait.

"Lucy," I called out her name softly.

She opened her eyes. It took her only a fraction of a second to recognize me; and when she did, she immediately teared up. I knelt next to her. She reached out for me and buried her head in my chest, allowing me to hold her tightly. I could feel, as much as hear, her sobbing. I felt dizzy, like my heart was going to stop and faint but no, I couldn't. She needed me.

I could feel her tears seeping through my shirt, and I closed my eyes, wishing I had the power to take her pain away. I felt her warmth and her heartbeat, and I made her pain mine. Slowly, our bodies came back down to the couch. She tried to explain what Stephen said between her cries. Her thoughts opened up to me, sharing her sadness in a way I rarely felt, but easily reminded me of my own. We held each other for a long time. Eventually, she fell asleep. My vampire eyes found her face, and I planted a kiss on her forehead. I held her tight in my arms, wishing with all my heart that I could somehow bring back her happiness.

Hours later, burdened by all the care in the world, I got up from the couch, picked her up, and carried her with ease to her bedroom. Without waking her up, I lowered her onto the bed and covered her with a blanket. Then I walked outside, looking out toward the city, desperate to sate my thirst.

*****

I returned to the house around 5:30 a.m.

That previous night, I needed more than one victim to satisfy my thirst. It took me awhile to find the right people, but I eventually zeroed in on a nice single mother and her two sons over in Cooper City. I went after the kids first, making sure their deaths were quick, then the mother. With her, I took my time, making sure she was completely drained. Now their bodies lay somewhere in the depths of the dark waters of the Atlantic.

How many had I thrown into its depths? Why bother burying or burning corpses when you have the ocean as your accomplice? It took me less than twenty minutes flying east, at least one hundred miles into the ocean before letting them fall. By the time their bodies hit the water, I was on my way back to the beach house. It never ceases to amaze me how easy it is to hide my deeds.