The Vengeful Vampire by Marissa Farrar

at peace with himself; alone in the night, seeing its beauty for all that it was. Yet tonight, he found peace only came with thoughts of Serenity, picturing her beautiful, haunted face in his mind.

    The air moved behind him and he froze, no longer alone.

    Sebastian turned to find a figure balanced on the steel girders, as he had been only moments before. Moonlight shrouded her face but he recognized her immediately. He could tell by her scent alone; a mixture of blood and darkness and night. Someone he’d hoped to never see again.

    Madeline.

    Pale skin caught the moonlight, long red hair springing around her face in ringlets. Her green eyes glowed in the darkness, taking him in with a knowing, sly stare. She looked good; beauty had never been Madeline’s problem. Her exterior was perfect; doll-like, exotic, but poison churned on the inside. Her heart lay black and still inside her chest. Nothing gave her greater pleasure than messing with people, playing the puppet master. Madeline manipulated everyone to get what she wanted.

    Sebastian knew all about her.

    Long ago, she’d hurt the people he loved. He thought he’d escaped her but now, here she was again.

    “What do you want, Madeline?” he regarded her coolly. “What are you doing here?”

    She gave him a lop-sided smile and glanced up from under her eyelashes, her full red mouth pouting. “I missed you, Sebastian. I thought I’d see if you had changed your mind about me?”

    The sight of her made him tremble with anger. “You’re insane. Get out of here.”

    “But I thought you might have changed,” she said. “I thought you were interested in women again?”

    “You’re not a woman.”

    “Oh, not me, Sebastian,” she said with a light tinkle of laughter. “The other woman.”

    His blood froze. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

    She laughed again. “I think you know exactly what I’m talking about. Dark hair? Big, sad-looking eyes? I would have thought her a bit plain for your liking, Sebastian, but then you never did have taste in women.”

    She stopped and took a step closer, looking at him carefully, studying his face.

    “Wow,” she said, her green eyes wide. “You really care, don’t you?” She smiled again, her false, bright smile. “Well, I guess that makes things easier for me.”

    “What do you want, Madeline?” he asked again.

    She sidled up to him, her long, lean body close, leaving only a sliver of air between them.

    “I want what I’ve always wanted. I want you.”

    Sebastian reached out and shoved her away. The other vampire stumbled back, but didn’t fall. She glared at him, eyes now yellow with fury, burning in the dark.

    “Don’t test me, Sebastian,” she spat. The seductive woman had gone, replaced by a vicious wild cat. “Don’t forget I can always take something away from you.”

    Rage soared through him. “So we’re here again, Madeline?” he said, eyes narrowed with hatred. “The only way you can get someone to be around you is by blackmailing them?”

    She looked at him with scorn, forgetting herself for a moment. “There are plenty of others to choose from. It’s easy enough for me to get who I want, and Sebastian, I always get who I want.”

    Then she seemed to remember herself and turned again, meek and mild. “I just want a companion, Sebastian, you must understand? I get so lonely. I know you do too.”

    “Why me? Why can’t you leave me alone?”

    She placed a hand against his chest and he shuddered at her touch. “Maybe I only want you because you’ve made it so clear you don’t want me. I’ve always loved a good chase.”

    He tore her hand away from his chest and stepped back. Inches from where they stood, the edge dropped fifty feet to the ground.

    “Obviously not clear enough.”

    Madeline turned away, her shoulders sagging. “I don’t know why you hate me so much.”

    He barked laughter into the night. “You did this to me! You made me what I