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But when Christopher’s new wife shrugged—(I couldn’t believe he had actually already married the little skank)—the motion opened the collar of the white silk button-down shirt she was wearing. And there, winking at me from the hollow of her skinny neck, I saw the necklace. The intricate silver filigree and Royal Purple jewel couldn’t be mistaken for anything else. It was the Jewel of Lolth—my special necklace and he had given it to his side piece!
Suddenly my rage flared out of control. Like a freight train jumping the tracks, I felt the Thirst take hold of me in a vice grip and drive me forward. I’d been fighting it for hours, trying hard not to hurt anyone. But now I wanted to hurt. I wanted to kill and maim and rend and tear and bite!
Lunging for Christopher, I grabbed him by the shoulders and shoved my face into the side of his neck.
He gasped in shock but before he could react and try to push me off, my seeking fangs had found the thick vein pulsing just under his skin. With a single bite, I pierced his flesh and then the fresh, hot blood was flowing into my mouth.
My ex gave another strangled gasp and belatedly tried to push me off. But now that the blood was pouring down my throat and finally slaking the terrible Thirst that had been driving me crazy, I wasn’t about to let go. In that moment I was nothing but a mindless drinking machine—a starving animal fixated on getting nourishment in any way I could.
I shoved his flailing hands away contemptuously. I was much stronger now—even more than I had been earlier. I found that out when Christopher finally managed to wrap one hand around my arm…and I peeled it off, breaking two of his fingers in the process.
He howled and tried to get away from me again, but by this time I had my arms wrapped around him and I was bending him backwards and forcing him down as I sucked and swallowed…sucked and swallowed…sucked and swallowed.
I became dimly aware that his little blonde wifey was staring at the scene with amazement and horror. Her china blue eyes were getting rounder and rounder as she watched me suck the blood out of her “Daddy-bear.” Probably if I let her live, she was going to need all the therapy to deal with this scene.
Not that I cared. I was too busy finally slaking the Thirst. I could hear Christopher’s heartbeat as I drank him dry. At first it was frantic—thud-thud-thud-thud-thud! But then, as I drained him, it began beating slower and slower. Thud-thud…thud-thud…thud-thud…
And then there was one last thud and I didn’t hear it anymore.
31
Lily
The realization of what I had done hit me when I finally pulled my fangs free and watched as Christopher’s limp body slumped to the floor.
His eyes had rolled up in his head and he wasn’t breathing or moving at all. His skin was deathly pale—almost as white as mine. Except for the huge red smear of blood on the right side of his neck, of course—that was colorful. Though surprisingly, I hadn’t spilled much or even made much of a mess. There wasn’t a single drop of blood on my still-pristine Quenching gown.
“Oh my God!” his little blonde wifey shrieked, finding her voice at last. “You killed him! You killed him!”
I bent down and put my fingers to the pulse point on the left side of his neck—the opposite side from where I had bitten. But I didn’t need to touch him to know the truth—he really was dead and I really had killed him.
I had drained my ex—somehow I had sucked out every last drop of his blood and to be honest, I didn’t know how to feel about it.
I knew I ought to be horrified about what I’d done. Was I some kind of a monster now? But actually, killing him had felt really satisfying. Like I was finally getting revenge and closure for everything he’d done to me over the years and especially the way he had treated me after the divorce.
Then I thought of Amy and Chris Junior and started to feel guilty. I loved both of them so much and I never wanted to hurt them. It was one reason I hadn’t called them after Christopher had kicked me out—I didn’t want them to know what a horrible man their father was, because I knew it would devastate them.
Gee, you know what’s even more devastating than finding out your dad is a cheating asshole who kicked your mom out on the street? whispered a sarcastic little voice in my head. Finding out that your mom killed your dad. Finding out that she sucked out every last drop of his blood and now he’s dead. Now that’s devastating.
“Shut up! Shut up!” I shouted. I was talking to the little voice in my head—the one telling me I had screwed up in a way that was unfixable. For a wonder, it worked and the voice went blessedly silent. Also, the blonde twenty-something—who had been screeching and crying bloody murder, (literally in this case)—abruptly shut up too, so that was nice.
I turned to her and took a deep breath. The Thirst was still with me, in the back of my throat, but it was more of a mild craving now than a bone-deep compulsion. Also, I could feel new strength rushing through my body and I knew that I didn’t have to give in to it again. So though I could have grabbed her and ripped her throat out, I made the conscious decision not to.
After all, I told myself, it wasn’t her fault that Christopher had snared her in his spell—just the way he had trapped me so many years ago. My ex was damn charming when he wanted to be. Well…he had been damned charming, anyway, I amended to myself, mentally changing to the past tense.
The blonde girl was still looking at me with huge eyes.
“You…you…” Her voice was a whisper, as though she was afraid of talking too loud. “You killed him,” she breathed.
“Yes, I think you made that point earlier,” I said, trying to keep things calm. “Look, er, Honey-bunny—sorry, I don’t know your name but I’m Christopher’s ex-wife. Or I was his ex-wife. Or I guess it’s more accurate to say that he was my ex-husband…” I was rambling, I realized. Maybe I was more shocked than I had initially thought by what I had done.
“He…he told me about you,” the girl whispered. “But he said you were old and…and ugly.”
“Gee, thanks,” I said blandly and abruptly a lot of my guilt dissipated.
“He said you wouldn’t sleep with him anymore,” the girl whispered. “He said you didn’t love him and it made him feel lonely and sad—that’s why I went with him. I never meant to…to hurt you.”
I opened my mouth to say something sharp to her in return—to point out that it was Christopher who had cut off the sex because, as he’d said, he simply “wasn’t attracted to me anymore.” At the time, that had really hurt.
