Dead Before Dawn: The Vampire Curse

Chapter 31 - Too Close to Home

Max had another night with very little sleep and this time it wasn't one vampire he sensed, but two at different times. He couldn't explain how he knew they weren't the same one, but he did. At four in the morning, over his second cup of coffee, he finally decided he needed some advice. The simmering anger at interlopers had almost driven him out of the house to search again. He pulled his laptop off the kitchen counter and opened it.

Yulia,
Are vampires attracted to each other, could I be drawing them to me? I've started to feel others when I'm at home, but I didn't before, it's only just begun to happen.
Thanks,
Max

Then he waited, playing some stupid games and poking around on Youtube. It took Yulia precisely two hours to respond.

Max,
I have not heard of vampires being drawn to each other, the opposite is usually true. Vampires create a territory and only allow their own vampire children within it. Some of the old vampires occupy an entire city with all the others in their domain being their creations. Moscow is such a city. In America I do not think the bloodlines are powerful enough for such a thing. It may be your abilities are simply developing to allow you to sense others. They may be no closer than before.
Your friend,
Yulia

That wasn't overly settling.

I don't like it. How can I be sure?
Max

He definitely did not want to spend every day paranoid and ready to explode.

My friend,
If you can I would suggest you avoid interaction with the vampire population. Your bloodline is stronger, as the encounter in L.A. showed, but you do not wish to draw attention to yourself. If you meet another vampire do not back down, you are stronger and news travels fast among the blood suckers, but I would recommend you avoid all contact. Try not to worry about those you feel unless they come too close.
Yulia

It was good advice, not that it solved the problem.

Thanks. M

He closed his laptop and sat back on his stool. The frustrating awareness was lurking at the back of his brain and it only seemed to lessen with the dawn. He didn't like it one little bit. It made his protective and territorial instincts fire in a way he found very uncomfortable. Not sure what to do he hoped it was as simple as Yulia said and he'd just get used to it.

* * *

For three whole days Max did his very best to follow Yulia's advice. He did everything not to think about what he was sensing so clearly at night, but the feelings of the others would not go away. He started to wake up from vivid dreams, nightmares really, in which there was blood and fighting and other things that made his heart pound and further sleep impossible.

Eventually, on the fourth night after his email conversation with Yulia, Max woke up after only an hour of sleep and growled so loudly that Esmeralda ran away. That was it; he had to find out what it all meant. It was driving him crazy.

If Yulia was right and it was his vampire abilities developing, then the vampires were actually further away than he had anticipated the other night. That meant he needed to search further afield.

Climbing out of bed he went to the closet and pulled out a selection of black clothes. Black wasn't really his colour, unless it was a black tie event, but he did have some things. The previous Halloween Cal had convinced him to go to a party dressed as one of his own characters and he had a black, roll neck pullover, a pair of leather gloves and some skin tight, soft black pants.

It felt somewhat ironic pulling on spy gear to go looking for vampires, but it also made sense.

He was just about to head out when he saw the charm Sai had given him sitting on the bedside table. Without pausing he grabbed it and slipped it into his pocket as he made his way downstairs. He almost put it on, but then realised at the last moment that would probably confuse his neighbours. He didn't want anyone to catch sight of what they would think was a stranger coming out of his house.