“I’d kind of like to try you. If this clears up, that is.” She pointed to her thigh. “I’d like to figure out what’s going on here first, but maybe once it heals, we can try that again.”
My cock twitched, and I swallowed the lump in my throat. I nodded, then pulled the book from behind my back. Her eyes instantly darkened.
“You went through my stuff.”
“I did. What is this?” I waved it, still closed, but I was fully prepared to read from it.
“It’s none of your business—is what it is.” She tried to snatch it from me, but I opened it instead. I flipped to a random page and began to speak the words aloud.
“Number three-hundred-thirty-five—man in bar alley, attempting to hurt a woman. Number three-hundred-thirty-six—bomber jacket, red baseball hat. Former police officer—Number three-hundred-thirty-seven—”
“Alright! Enough! It’s my people! I had to keep track. Give it back.” I handed it to her, satisfied that I had made my point.
“What do you mean, your people? Are these all the people you’ve fed on?”
I found that odd, as vampires didn’t care about that stuff. A warm vein didn’t have a name. It was just dinner. She shook her head but wouldn’t look at me.
“Okay, then what?”
“You have ten thousand. I have one-thousand.”
“That was your curse. To kill one thousand evil souls?” I asked for clarification. She nodded.
“So you remember. The curse?”
“Bits and pieces. All I know is that one thousand souls and my debt will be repaid. I’ll never be truly happy until I get rid of the curse, and when I got to the last ten, things would shift. Things would become just out of reach.”
“Is this book up to date?” I asked.
She licked her lips and traced the engraved spiral pattern on the book. She knew that I knew what the last page said.
“Seven.” We said together.
“Why haven’t you just gotten it over with?” I demanded.
“Why haven’t you? You’re just as close as I am.” She accused.
“Not quite. I’ve still got a few. I didn’t keep count like that.” I nodded to the book.
“So, how do you know if you’re close?”
“It’s a nagging feeling. I had the same thing. When I got to the last hundred, things would change.”
“And did they?”
Flashes of memories from all the years I killed with reckless abandon hit me all in one go. I flinched. “They did. I had spent so long wanting to break the curse, and now, I’m afraid to. Something in my mind is trying to stop me from doing so.”
“Is yours the same as mine? Do you think we could be connected?” Her eyes looked so hopeful. Aleida suddenly came through, shadowing all thought of the beautiful woman in front of me. The more and more I thought about Aleida’s descriptions, the more I started to believe her. But I didn’t want that to be true.
“Maybe,” I said. A pit of guilt rolled in my stomach as I lied to her. I had asked her to be completely honest with me, but I wouldn’t do the same. I couldn’t burst her fantasy. What if we weren’t the ones meant to be together forever?
Just then, a booming knock came from her front door. We both straightened and stood quickly. I started toward the door when a male’s voice rang out.
“You bitch. I found where you live! Come out and face me! I’m not so weak now!”
I turned to her and saw her eyes wide with fear.
“Go to your bedroom. I’ll handle this.” I turned back to the door. The pounding was still going erratically. I heard the quick pats of her running down the hallway. I waited until I heard her door click close before opening the front door.
