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Author’s note: Sorry if there are more errors and clunkiness than usual but my beta still hasn’t had chance to edit chapter 6 so these are still going up raw. Sorry folks.

Haventon Born

Chapter Six Part Two

David had decided that he badly needed to recover his shattered confidence after the events of the last couple of days. He was fairly sure that it was the strength of an elder vampire that had allowed the vampire to trap him two days ago, but all the same he was still badly shaken. So he’d taken out his notebooks and found a target who was obviously only a few years old. He knew that he could destroy the young ones, after all he’d done it before. Once he’d restored his confidence he could begin to think about coming up with a coherent plan to destroy the blonde vampire. Read the rest of this entry »

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Anna walked up behind David as he sat on the same bench as yesterday waiting for her. He was drawing again. How typical of the Order to place her in the care of a second-rate artist with no guts. He would probably deny that the other targets in her notes were vampires. If he did she’d just have to keep her temper somehow. She mustn’t jeopardise her revenge by giving him any reason to be any more suspicious of her. Her dreams of the last few nights would not come true if he-

She broke that thought off with a mental oath. What was wrong with her? Those dreams were incredibly disturbing – especially the way she woke with a yearning for them to be true. She scowled unhappily and glanced at the ground, suddenly ashamed. David’s hunting gear sat in a bag under the bench. The sight of it caused her momentary guilt to disappear in a sudden surge of rage.

“Found a vampire of your own?” she snarled. “Or are you stealing one of mine?”

David jumped and turned around. He’d gone pale. He must not have realised that she was there.

“How long have you been there?” he asked.

“Not long.” She put her hands on her hips. “And you haven’t answered my question.”

“I’ve found one of my own, of course. What sort of a question is that?” He was frowning at her, apparently studying her expression. When she saw him shiver, even though it was a hot day, she wondered what he’d seen in her eyes . He’d looked suspicious yesterday, but it was more noticeable today. He cocked his head at her. “Would it really matter as long as the vampires in question were eradicated? This isn’t a competition, Anna.”

Anna couldn’t suppress the slight tightening of her jaw at his words, and from the way his eyes narrowed, he noticed. She took a breath. “I suppose it isn’t, but you wouldn’t be much good to the Order if you couldn’t hunt a vampire down on your own.”

“I guess that’s true.” His smile looked forced. He was probably thinking she only hunted vampires for fun – which wasn’t a million miles from the truth. It was an outlet she needed. But still, none of this was his fault. With that thought, her guilt returned again and she closed her eyes. She preferred it to the anger; at least it was purely hers-

Wait what? She turned her attention inwards and tried to track down the source of that thought. Her anger wasn’t her own? But whose was it then? If her dream of the last couple of nights was anything to go by, it was a vampire. The thought made her swallow convulsively. If she’d attracted the attention of a vampire, she needed to warn David – even if it probably would get her killed.

“I…” she began but trailed off. Somehow she couldn’t tell him; she wanted to, but something was stopping her. “I…” she said again but once again she couldn’t get the words out. This was not good at all. It just about confirmed that she was right and someone – probably a vampire – was messing with her head. David was looking at her curiously. She wasn’t surprised – her expression must be pained from how she felt.

“You what?” he asked.

“I-I am behaving badly again aren’t I?” She couldn’t tell him but she had to say something to cover her… no to cover “the other” in her head’s tracks. “I don’t know what’s got into me recently.” She forced a smile. “So what’s the verdict? Are the ones I gave you vampires, or am I as stupid as I sometimes think?”

He gave her a long look. “You’re confusing,” he said finally. “But this one definitely is.” He handed her one of her notebooks. She flipped through and realised it was the most obvious one.

“And the others?” she asked.

“I’ll get back to you on them. Perhaps I am being over cautious, but it’s better that than making another mistake, I think.” He paused. “And I had a look at your notes on the guy you hit by mistake. I see why you thought he was a vampire – there’s definitely something fishy about him. You should have waited a bit longer though before striking. Anyway, I spoke to Tanya about it, because since he is human I think that you may have been having a fight with a serial killer.”

Anna stared at David for a moment. A serial killer? She thumped her forehead with the heel of her hand and swore angrily. “I am stupid! That never even occurred to me.”

“Why would it?” he asked mildly. “It never comes up in training, and we do have a lot of vampires around here for some reason.”

“We do and it doesn’t,” she agreed. “But we live in the real world, David. We know what sort of human sickos are out there if we pay attention. I should have thought of that” She sighed. “No use crying over spilt milk. When will you know about the other two for sure?”

“Hmm… Friday, I think. Meet me here again at One o’clock. I work Fridays, and that’s my lunch break.” He picked up his bag, put his sketchbook in it, and nodded at her. “Good hunting, Anna.”

Anna watched him leave. The dark other inside her head seemed strangely smug at his thought that the human she’d nearly killed was a serial killer, which was a bit odd. Why would he care either way about her mistake or what the Order thought of it?

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Haventon Born

Chapter Five Part Three

When Michael woke that evening, Sarah was sitting at his kitchen table making notes in a very familiar leather-bound notebook. He frowned and was about to snap at her about it when she looked up and smiled.

“I’ve invited my brother over for dinner tomorrow evening,” Sarah told her employer Michael when he woke up that evening. He stopped and frowned at her. He bit back a sharp comment about it and forced himself to respond to what she’d said instead. Read the rest of this entry »

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Haventon Born

Chapter Five Part Two

Anna slammed plates around in the sink as she washed up that night. She’d intended to go after her confirmed target that afternoon, but she’d been so jumpy that she’d decided – reluctantly – that it was too risky. She couldn’t afford for anything to go wrong this time, so she needed to work out her stress some other way. The clattering was so loud it drew her brother Jason’s attention from the lounge, and he came into the kitchen.

“Let me do that,” he said. “before you break something.”

“It’s my turn,” she said. Read the rest of this entry »

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Haventon Born

Chapter Five Part One

The sun was starting to set when Leisa realised how hungry she was. Resisting the sun did that, especially on a bright day like today. The sleepiness decreased with age but the ravening hunger brought on by the sun’s kiss remained the same.

She went into the kitchen and stared at the bottles in her fridge unenthusiastically. Cow’s blood was so insipid, but it was too close to her last visit to feed on David again. She didn’t want to hurt him accidentally. And with his mind in such a hypersensitive state, it would be hard to make him forget again. Anyway, it was his move.

Leisa winced at the thought of hunting. Hopefully it wouldn’t be necessary for much longer. Having only just moved back to Haventon, she wasn’t sure who to trust yet. A few more months and she’d have gathered the network of trusted friends which would rid her of the need for it. She liked her food to be consenting – but she had to be careful. A mistake could prove fatal.

But where to hunt tonight was the problem.

It would be easy enough, if she wanted, to pick up a homeless person or prostitute. It was amazing what desperate people would do for money. But it was a last resort. Not only were they often ill or strung out on booze or drugs which marred the flavour, but it made her feel grubby. Or she could pretend to be a prostitute, but trading sex for blood – even when the client didn’t know – made her nauseous.

Which left the pubs and clubs. She didn’t like them either, all noise and flashing lights. Sometimes she really hated the 21st Century.

She sighed and decided to head for the Town Centre. It was a fair distance away. She could have walked it easily but a human couldn’t, so since her car was off the road she decided to catch the last bus. Maybe she’d find someone at the bus station.

* * *

This was not a good hunt, Leisa decided after about an hour. Not only had she failed to find a suitable meal but she was hungry enough to be eyeing up homeless people to see if they looked healthy enough to feed on – never a good sign. Worse, she’d gotten the distinct sense that someone was following her, but no one was there when she looked backed. No human would be that good, so either hunger was making her paranoid or her stalker wasn’t human. She suspected the latter.

She slipped around a corner into a dark alley, ducked into a doorway, tightened her shields to the point where her stalker wouldn’t be able to sense her psychically and waited. About five minutes later a young vampire woman, probably no more than two or three years turned by the look of her entered the alley and looked around, frowning. Leisa waited until she passed the doorway where she was hiding and then stepped out behind her.

“Are you following me?” she asked mildly.

The girl jumped and gave a strangled squeak. She turned and gave Leisa a wild-eyed look.

“You were, weren’t you?” Leisa continued. “You’re good, but you’ll need to get a lot better before you can sneak up on an elder vampire, kid.” She studied the girl thoughtfully; she bore a noticeable resemblance to David. “Ah, I see. You’re Emma Carter, aren’t you?”

“I- yes…” The girl hesitated and then visibly steeled herself. “I don’t want you to hurt David.”

“Well, that’s good, since I don’t want to hurt him either,” Leisa said. She turned and walked out of the alley, pausing at the exit. “Come on, kid. Let’s go somewhere more comfortable and talk about this. Hopefully somewhere I can find something to eat.”

“You’re really not going to hurt him?” Emma asked hesitantly as she followed her.

“If I hurt him, it’ll be self-defence. And I’m good enough that I can defend myself with hurting someone.”

“Oh, good.” She looked down. “I-I know someone who’ll probably be willing to feed you if I ask.”

Leisa turned and gave her a warm smile. “I wouldn’t object if you don’t mind sharing.”

“I don’t.” Emma fished out a mobile phone, flicked through some numbers and then speed dialled someone. A brief murmured conversation later in which the word blood didn’t come up once, Emma ended the call with grin. “He says yes. Come on, he lives in that new apartment block by Morrisons.”

* * *

“Thanks for this, Ian was it?” Leisa said as she examined the young man’s wrist to check the bite mark had healed. “You taste good, you must look after yourself.”

“You’re welcome.” He smiled at her. “I’m just glad Emma is finally finding some friends of her own kind. She gets lonely on her own.”

Leisa turned and looked at Emma, who was sitting on the sofa hugging her knees. “You’re alone?”

“Yeah.” The girl hugged her knees to her chest. “You’re the first vampire I’ve got to talk to.”

“The first? Really? What about your blood master?”

“Him?” Emma gave a snarl that made Leisa blink. “I feel him in my head sometimes. He doesn’t want anything to do with me. I wasn’t supposed to happen. He wanted one of those zombie like things – he keeps them as pets. But I fought back and must have somehow ended up swallowing some of his blood. I didn’t realise.”

“He keeps revenants as pets? That’s sick.” Leisa felt like snarling as well. “If you didn’t know you’d swallowed his blood, he probably didn’t either until you turned fully. But he shouldn’t have abandoned you; accidental turnings happen. Then again, anyone who deliberately makes revenants is obviously lacking ethics.” She gave Emma a bright smile. “But you’re doing really well on your own, though perhaps you should have left town since your brother is searching for you.”

Emma pulled a face. “I’ve tried several times, but somehow I always end up coming back here. I just can’t settle anywhere else.”

“Ah, yes, that happens sometimes. Most affected people don’t get it quite so badly, though. There’s something about the area draws supernaturals to it. I usually end up spending a few decades here every couple of centuries.” She paused. “A group of us get together on Saturday nights at one of our homes. Why don’t you join us? There’s safety in numbers.”

Emma studied her hands for a few moments and then nodded. “I think I’d like that.”

“Good! Now, what are we going to do about your brother?”

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Haventon Born

Chapter Four Part Two

After he put the phone down, David sat in his sitting room and considered something he didn’t want to face. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to cope with going to the cemetery for his father’s funeral. He hadn’t been there since the night after Emma’s burial. The night Tanya had taken him there to show him what his beloved sister had become. Read the rest of this entry »

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Haventon Born

Chapter Four Part Two

Leisa frowned as she watched the girl David had been given charge of leave the park. She’d gone to watch the meeting only on a hunch, but she was very glad she had. This could be very bad. Someone was messing with the girl’s mind; she’d been able to pick that much up before the girl left. She’d need to take a more thorough look soon, to see if she could identify the culprit. The mental fingerprints were familiar.

Whoever it was, they were planning to use Anna as some sort of weapon against the Order. If the girl was lucky, it might just be as a spy, but Leisa doubted that. Not with the anger she’d sensed being stirred up. Read the rest of this entry »

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Haventon Born

Chapter Four Part One

The summer breeze carried the children’s laughter to the bench near the entrance of Haventon Park where David waited. He wasn’t sure how long he’d have to wait, so he’d brought his sketch pad and pencils with him and was busily drawing a happy toddler and her parents feeding the ducks on the small lake. He liked to sketch such mundane but happy things. They reminded him why he’d vowed to kill vampires when he joined the Order. Read the rest of this entry »

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Haventon Born

Chapter Three Part Two

George curled up in the corner whimpering desperately. Ragnar had taken less than a pint but he’d taken his time over it and made sure the fool was thoroughly terrorised. His pleas for mercy he didn’t deserve, and would never receive, amused Ragnar. He knelt down by him and lifted his head by the hair so he could stare into the terror- glazed eyes. George whimpered again and soiled himself.

“You really are a pathetic little traitor, aren’t you?” he said. “If I didn’t need your services so badly, I’d kill you now for betraying you own people so easily.”

“Y-yes, Master,” George said in a despairing tone.

“And yet you’ll do anything I tell you to, no matter how depraved, in order to live a day longer, won’t you?”

“Y-yes, Master. I don’t want to die.”

“And you don’t even feel guilty about that, do you? Sometimes, I think you enjoy your work for me too much. Don’t think I haven’t noticed that you always bring home the same type.”

George was silent in response to that, but Ragnar sensed the sudden surge in his already panicking mind before his internal shields slammed down. He hadn’t realised that the vampire suspected he enjoyed watching the girls succumb to despair.

Ragnar snarled and smashed George’s head against the concrete floor, careful not to knock him out. “You aren’t just pathetic, you’re disgusting!” He kicked him in the ribs and stalked away muttering about finding a replacement as soon as possible. He didn’t want this twisted creature near his prey any longer than necessary.

He grabbed a bottle of pig’s blood and mixed it with some wine in a carafe. Animal blood was tasteless at best, and the sharpness of the anticoagulant made it unbearable without something to mellow it. Then, he headed into his garden to think. It was a lovely clear night and the waxing moon was beautiful. He bowed his head to her, wishing he could remember the rituals his long dead wife would have used, and poured a libation from the carafe. Then he sat down with his own glass and considered what he’d seen of the young hunter in George’s mind.

She was a pretty little thing, but she had a core of inner fire. He could probably use her, but it would take a lot of work. She was neither weak nor tractable and wouldn’t willingly betray her own people like George had, unless she was first poisoned against them. It should be possible. George had detected some emotional instability in her.

He would have to search her mind for levers he could use to turn her against The Order. They must be destroyed before humanity as whole rediscovered the existence of vampires. They had knowledge which would give the humans an edge in the inevitable war. If his kind were to survive, The Order must be destroyed and soon. Only a vampire victory would allow both races to survive. Vampires needed humans, but humans didn’t need them. They’d never tolerate vampires.

But could he use this Anna? He had to check. If she was in range, he should be able to find her via the mental image he taken from George, and he had a very good range.

Ragnar reached out, scanned the area for the girl and located her mind about a mile away. George was right. For how close she was, her signature was surprisingly weak until he homed in on it. How strange.

She was asleep and not dreaming, so he need have no fear of her realising what was happening, but her mind was incredibly hard to read. She didn’t have shields or anything that suggested a latent psychic power. It was more like her mind was somehow on a slightly different frequency to most humans. It was like getting static. George, being human himself, would not have been able to filter it out but Ragnar could and would.

He carefully filtered out the noise, and her mind slowly came into focus. Oh, yes! She would be perfect. How stupid of the Order to punish this fragile girl so harshly for her error. He was glad they hadn’t looked closer at her failure. They would surely have realised George was a procurer if they had, but the stupidity of it offended him. Anna was far too unstable to be forced into a hunting role. Most hunters were… Damn it! The Order made him angry. They hurt everyone. The only tolerable ones were those who hunted the moon-cursed. Once the war with humanity was won, his kind would have to deal with the werewolves once and for all.

As to Anna, revenge would be his lever. They’d alienated her and her conscience was her only restraint. He set to work enflaming her anger and damping down her guilt.

There’s nothing to feel guilty about, dear Anna, he whispered in her mind. You’re right to want revenge for how they’ve hurt you. It’s better than they deserve. They do more damage than to the vampires they claim to fight. Help me destroy them.

Her mind tried to reject his alterations, but he overwhelmed her easily, implanting images of The Order being punished for mistreating her and the certainty that it wasn’t just her. He smiled as he realised that the thought that they had mistreated others was a better lever than their treatment of her. How sweet.

You see, betraying them will be just. Enjoying watching them plead for the mercy of death will be ecstacy. He told her. Again, her subconscious fought him. Again, he forced the change in her mindset.

She was remarkably strong. He would have to reinforce these changes every night until they became permanent. If she survived being his spy with both her life and sanity intact, he would have to turn her. He needed a lieutenant for the coming war, and she had what it took. Especially since, hidden so deep in her mind she would never notice it, was the fantasy that one her victims would overpower and turn her. A nightmare common to hunters; Anna was ambivalent about it instead of sickened. An even better lever!

He pushed the thought closer to the surface and nudged her ambivalence towards desire. Then, he wove her a dream of being seduced and turned into a vampire while those she had betrayed looked on as part of their punishment. She would dream it every night until she sought him out and begged to help him.

As a final precaution he embedded commands to stop her warning anyone what was happening even if she realised, and traps which would contain her mind until he could rewrite it if she did.

She shouldn’t realise that she no longer cared to warn anyone, but it paid to be cautious. Once the mind-work was complete, she’d be grateful for what he’d done to her. It wouldn’t be long before she came to him. He would look forward to it.

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Haventon Born

Chapter Three Part One

Ragnar didn’t waste any energy yelling. Under the circumstances, his calmness would terrify his slave far worse than any display of anger. He’d know it was being saved until he was off guard. For his failure the young fool deserved a full measure of anticipatory terror before the hammer fell. Ragnar was almost tempted to wait until he knew it was only months before he would move on again. Then he could punish the young fool for the rest of his stay in Haventon instead of just killing him quickly and painlessly as he usually disposed of his slaves. A whimper indicated the psychic had heard that thought. Read the rest of this entry »