The Blood That Bonds Excerpts

Excerpt I - Tori

The moon was like daylight to her eyes. The forest, which might have seemed foreboding to a human, barely registered in Two’s mind. Forests in the night were filled with predators, and there were none out this night greater than she and Theroen. They had been walking the grounds for thirty minutes. Theroen did not call for Tori, and it was obvious he knew where he was going. At times he would pause, change direction, and move forward again.

“Tori doesn’t stay still, and she doesn’t know we’re looking for her yet,” He explained. “I could call, but it would do no good. I can sense her, though. We will catch up eventually.”

At length they reached a small clearing. Here, Two saw, were paths carved into the ground from the frequent passage of some creature, like a dog which runs patterns into its yard. From the woods not far away, Two heard growling. The sound was low and guttural, the noise of a large jungle cat.

“Tori. Come.” Theroen said, standing in the middle of the clearing. He gave off no palpable sense of fear, but Two thought she could hear some measure of concern in his voice.

The creature which stepped from the bank of trees in front of them moved in a manner unlike anything Two was familiar with. The changes that vampirism had brought to Tori manifested themselves in a far more physical manner than Two had expected. On all fours, the girl moved with feline grace, sliding slowly into the clearing, eyeing them cautiously and growling. She stopped perhaps twenty feet from them, staring, teeth bared. Two shivered.

“She’s not pleasant to be around,” Theroen commented. He put a hand on her shoulder. “Introduce yourself. Be polite.”

“Hi, Tori ... I’m Two. It’s, uh ... nice to meet you,” Two said. She heard the nerves in her own voice, and hated herself for it. Tori stared at her, then suddenly opened her mouth and howled. Two flinched, but held her ground.

“She’s testing you. Stand still. If she charges, I will take care of you.” Theroen’s voice was a whisper, or perhaps nothing more than a thought on the wind.

Tori moved in a wide arc around them, eyes never leaving Two. She was naked and filthy, her long hair -- blonde like Two’s -- matted with dirt. Her teeth were more pronounced than in the other vampires Two had met, long and curved and deadly. She sat back on her haunches, watching Two. The eyes conveyed an intelligence and awareness far greater than her initial appearance had indicated.

Two sat down in the grass without thinking, meeting Tori’s gaze. She held her hands out, palms up, in front of her. “I don’t want to hurt you, Tori. I want to meet you.”

Tori cocked her head, rolled her body forward into her walking position, and moved a few feet toward Two.

“You’re playing with fire,” Theroen said from behind her. “She’s very fast.”

“If she kills me, she kills me. Maybe that’s how it’s supposed to go.”

Theroen murmured something inaudible. Tori was now only a few paces away, looking curious. Theroen shifted his weight from one foot to the other, and Tori immediately backed up a pace, eyeing him with concern.

“Go sit on that rock, Theroen.” Two indicated by tilting her head slightly to her left. The rock jutted from the ground near the edge of the woods, twenty meters away.

“Two ...”

“She’s not scared of you, exactly, but you definitely make her edgy. I don’t want that. Go.”

Theroen again said something under his breath, but Two thought she could hear a smile in his voice, fighting against his concern. He moved toward the rock. Tori took another step backward, watched him as he went, turned her attention back to Two.

“You’re nothing if not stubborn, my love.” Theroen said.

“Got that right. Now, Tori, do you want to say hello?”

Tori took a few steps forward. Two could see the muscles in her legs, tense, ready to spring or run if necessary. Two continued to hold her hands out, and Tori sniffed them, seeming to relax. She sat back, cocked her head again, appraising Two.

“Hello, Tori.”

Tori made a sound that started low in her throat and became a high-pitched whine. To Two, it sounded like a dog yawning.

“How does it feel, not having to worry, Tori? How does it feel to kill, and eat, and not think twice about it? No guilt. No sadness. No concern. How does that feel?”

Tori looked at her, unable to comprehend. She scratched behind her ear briefly, followed the flight of a bat with her eyes, then looked back at Two.

“Must feel pretty good, I bet. You hungry, Tori?”

Two brought her finger to her new, sharp teeth, and bit it. Blood welled immediately. She held her hands back out to Tori.

“You’re going to give me a heart attack, Two.” Theroen’s voice held more tension than she had heard at any time since her encounter with Abraham.

“Your heart’s strong, Theroen. You’ll survive. Go ahead, Tori.”

Tori moved her head forward, licked Two’s finger once, twice, and then abruptly moved her head away.

“You’re a killer, Tori. Take it. Take what you want. If you’re going to kill me, then kill me. I refuse to be afraid of you, so kill me now, or I guess we’re going to have to be friends.”

Tori looked again at Two’s outstretched hand, then reached up, bit her own finger, and held it out to Two.

“Okay, Tori.”

Two touched her lips to Tori’s outstretched hand and tasted blood, fire on her tongue. Her hunger leapt awake, but she too pulled her head away.

“Just a couple of killers out in the forest, that’s us, right Tori?” Two was smiling, but she could feel tears making cool tracks on her hot cheeks. “Just a couple of vampires getting to know each other ... getting to know who they really are.”

She felt Theroen beside her. Tori glanced at him briefly, but did not shy away. Theroen’s concern had dissipated, and in turn he no longer seemed a threat to her. He sat down in the grass next to Two, and she leaned against his shoulder, still looking at Tori.

“I wish I was like her.”

“Do you?”

“She’s perfect. She doesn’t care. Melissa, Missy ... they’re the same person to her. Who’ll take care of her when they’re gone?”

“I had thought she was not long for this earth, Two. Now? I am not so sure. She seems to have accepted you. Perhaps Abraham might permit us to take her.”

“Good. I understand her. I wish I was like her. Oh, God, Theroen ... how do you stand it? Is it always this much ... tragedy?”

“No, not like this, but there is always some tragedy, Two, and always some joy, and I am sometimes thankful for both. It reminds me of what it was like to be a human. You want to know what you are, Two? You are a killer. You are a vampire. You are a force of nature, like the girl sitting before us. You are cursed, and you are blessed, just like Tori. She will never know the things we know, feel the things we feel. That is her blessing. That is her curse.”

Two smiled at Tori. Tori smiled back, then turned suddenly, loped off through the grass, making high yipping sounds. In seconds she was gone. After a moment more, Two stood. The cut on her finger had already healed, but the thirst still burned within her.

“Let’s go into the city, Theroen. I’m hungry.”

They left the clearing, moving back toward the mansion. Overhead, the moon looked down on them, cold and distant.

* * *

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