would be.
She turned away from the mirror.
Dominic gave her a single nod of approval. “Nicely done.”
Leesa smiled. “Let me do it with your shirt again,” she said.
Dominic smiled. “Be my guest.”
12. FEEDING
T hat same evening, Jarubu and Melissa reached the outskirts of the Hartford area. They had fed the night before, up near Springfield, but they were both feeling hungry again. Jarubu had noticed he felt stronger and more powerful since drinking Josef’s foul blood. His thirst also seemed to have grown more powerful than normal.
The farther south they went, the deeper the snow had become. In southern Vermont and Massachusetts, it had finally become deep enough to be an obstacle even for a vampire. They had been forced to leave the cover of the woods and travel in the open along the shoulders of the roadways, which slowed their pace considerably. Whenever there were no cars or buildings in sight, they moved at vampire speed, but when there was any chance they could be seen, they slowed to a walk.
Melissa possessed some slight familiarity with Connecticut. She had lived here with her husband more than one hundred and fifty years ago. He had gone off to fight with a Connecticut regiment in the Civil War, leaving his young wife behind. A marauding vampire had come across Melissa, alone in her home. Enamored with her beauty, he had decided to turn her rather than merely feast on her blood. When her husband returned from the war, his wife was long gone, happily roaming New England with her vampire master. Her master was long gone now, having been trapped and burned by a vengeful mob. Melissa had escaped to the north, where she had eventually fallen in with Maier and his coven.
Much had changed in a hundred and fifty years, of course, but the general lay of the land would be the same.
“South will be more populated than west or east,” she told Jarubu. “It’s much less hilly. Perhaps we should slake our thirst somewhere to the west or east before we continue south.”
Jarubu thought for a moment. He felt so invincible since drinking Josef’s blood he thought it hardly mattered where they fed, but a part of him recognized the wisdom in Melissa’s words. He planned to take up temporary residence in a more populated area, where they could feed whenever they so desired, but it made sense to satisfy their thirst one more time in a place where their handiwork would be less likely to be noticed.
“Very well—west it is, then,” he said. “But not far. Just until we feed.”
It did not take long to find what they wanted. The old, two-story wooden house sat a few hundred feet back from the road in the middle of a large, isolated lot. Lights shone from two windows on the ground floor. The rest of the house was dark. A long driveway led to a detached garage. The plowed drive provided easy access to the side of the house without leaving footprints in the fresh snow.
Jarubu and Melissa moved silently up the driveway, stopping alongside a dark window. Jarubu listened carefully and sniffed the air.
“Perfect,” he said. “There are two humans inside.”
Melissa understood immediately what Jarubu meant. With only two humans here, there would be no chance someone else would have time to raise an alarm when the vampires attacked. The ready availability of almost instant communication via cell phones and the internet was something that had become necessary to plan for in the last few decades.
They walked up to the front door and listened carefully once more. The muted sounds of a television reached their keen ears through the walls.
“Both humans are in the room to the right,” Jarubu said. “Are you ready?”
Melissa nodded yes, her eyes bright with anticipation of the coming meal.
Jarubu placed both his palms against the heavy wooden door. He gave a quick shove and the door gave way easily before his vampire strength. The two vampires swept in through the doorway.
The middle-aged couple
She turned away from the mirror.
Dominic gave her a single nod of approval. “Nicely done.”
Leesa smiled. “Let me do it with your shirt again,” she said.
Dominic smiled. “Be my guest.”
12. FEEDING
T hat same evening, Jarubu and Melissa reached the outskirts of the Hartford area. They had fed the night before, up near Springfield, but they were both feeling hungry again. Jarubu had noticed he felt stronger and more powerful since drinking Josef’s foul blood. His thirst also seemed to have grown more powerful than normal.
The farther south they went, the deeper the snow had become. In southern Vermont and Massachusetts, it had finally become deep enough to be an obstacle even for a vampire. They had been forced to leave the cover of the woods and travel in the open along the shoulders of the roadways, which slowed their pace considerably. Whenever there were no cars or buildings in sight, they moved at vampire speed, but when there was any chance they could be seen, they slowed to a walk.
Melissa possessed some slight familiarity with Connecticut. She had lived here with her husband more than one hundred and fifty years ago. He had gone off to fight with a Connecticut regiment in the Civil War, leaving his young wife behind. A marauding vampire had come across Melissa, alone in her home. Enamored with her beauty, he had decided to turn her rather than merely feast on her blood. When her husband returned from the war, his wife was long gone, happily roaming New England with her vampire master. Her master was long gone now, having been trapped and burned by a vengeful mob. Melissa had escaped to the north, where she had eventually fallen in with Maier and his coven.
Much had changed in a hundred and fifty years, of course, but the general lay of the land would be the same.
“South will be more populated than west or east,” she told Jarubu. “It’s much less hilly. Perhaps we should slake our thirst somewhere to the west or east before we continue south.”
Jarubu thought for a moment. He felt so invincible since drinking Josef’s blood he thought it hardly mattered where they fed, but a part of him recognized the wisdom in Melissa’s words. He planned to take up temporary residence in a more populated area, where they could feed whenever they so desired, but it made sense to satisfy their thirst one more time in a place where their handiwork would be less likely to be noticed.
“Very well—west it is, then,” he said. “But not far. Just until we feed.”
It did not take long to find what they wanted. The old, two-story wooden house sat a few hundred feet back from the road in the middle of a large, isolated lot. Lights shone from two windows on the ground floor. The rest of the house was dark. A long driveway led to a detached garage. The plowed drive provided easy access to the side of the house without leaving footprints in the fresh snow.
Jarubu and Melissa moved silently up the driveway, stopping alongside a dark window. Jarubu listened carefully and sniffed the air.
“Perfect,” he said. “There are two humans inside.”
Melissa understood immediately what Jarubu meant. With only two humans here, there would be no chance someone else would have time to raise an alarm when the vampires attacked. The ready availability of almost instant communication via cell phones and the internet was something that had become necessary to plan for in the last few decades.
They walked up to the front door and listened carefully once more. The muted sounds of a television reached their keen ears through the walls.
“Both humans are in the room to the right,” Jarubu said. “Are you ready?”
Melissa nodded yes, her eyes bright with anticipation of the coming meal.
Jarubu placed both his palms against the heavy wooden door. He gave a quick shove and the door gave way easily before his vampire strength. The two vampires swept in through the doorway.
The middle-aged couple
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