The Supplicant (4 page)

Krysis took her hand and led her around to a more secluded area. She went with him easily, like a lamb to the slaughter, and he was glad that he had found her this night and not some other vampire. She would be an easy bite.

Pushing her up against the wall, he leaned into her and pierced her throat with his fangs.

The moment the woman's sweet, warm blood hit his tongue, his mind rolled over into its more primitive state.

Hunger consumed him, forced him to drink a little deeper from the woman than he'd originally intended to. Luckily, because he was a master vamp, she wouldn't end up a ghoul from such a small take. But as his power swarmed in her mind, he made sure to influence the woman to dump her boyfriend. A nice girl like this didn't need a cocaine fiend for a lover.

Then the woman swooned, and Krysis pulled back and licked the wound on her neck to heal it. He took her out front where a few limos were parked and approached one of the drivers. "I think she's had a little too much to drink," Krysis said, taking out a fifty-dollar bill and offering it to the driver.

"Would you mind taking her home?"

The limo driver took the cash and smiled. "Sure."

The woman was awake but groggy from loss of blood.

She'd be fine once she got home and got some rest. She told the driver her address and got into the back of the car.

Krysis peeled another twenty off a roll of bills in his pocket.

"Stop wherever she wants and be sure she gets something to eat. That'll help sober her up."

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"Yes, sir," the limo driver said, climbing into the driver's seat. "You have a nice evening."

Krysis smiled remembering Sin dozing in his bed at home.

Now that he was full of blood, the night should be much more interesting. "Thanks. I intend to."

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34

The Supplicant

by Michelle Marquis

Instead of sleep while Krysis was gone, Sin decided to look around. She was curious about this man who claimed to have lived so long. Was he telling the truth, or was he just insane?

Determined to find out, Sin let the cop in her take over and began searching. The first place she looked was in his bureau.

Opening several drawers, Sin was surprised to find that Krysis had very little clothing. A few dark-colored T-shirts, two pairs of black jeans, a few socks and underwear, and that was about it. The bathroom was even more puzzling. Oh sure, there was some shampoo and soap, but there were no medications of any kind in the medicine cabinet. No aspirin, no sleeping pills, no prescription meds of any kind.

Next, Sin made her way into the kitchen. There, she opened the fridge and peered inside. On the top shelf was a half-eaten jar of olives, a bottle of red wine, and a brand new liter of cola that looked like it had never been opened. That was it.
Weird,
she thought, even though she knew he was a vampire and none of his meager belongings should be weird at all. But Sin knew that deep down that she was having a hard time accepting that Krysis was a
real
vampire and that she was well on her way of becoming one too.

A further inspection of the cabinets yielded noting of interest. They were as empty as the fridge. Next Sin decided to search for any personal items. That would give her a much better idea of who Krysis really was. In a hall closet, on a 35

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shelf high above, was an ancient leather photo album. Sin took it down carefully and settled on the couch to examine it.

There, among the yellowing pages of correspondence between him and some friends from England, was the truth about the man who called himself Krysis. From what Sin could gather, Krysis had been born Klaus Braun. Copied pages from a history book had a short bio on him that said he was from a small German town and the eldest son in a family of nine.

Klaus had joined the Hessians for the steady pay and a chance at adventure and spent the majority of his twenties fighting wherever the English sent him until he ended up in America. He'd served with distinction and even received recognition for bravery before his untimely death at twenty-nine. After 1781, there was no more correspondence between him and anyone.

Even though she couldn't read German, Sin sat there staring at the letters between him and his family and felt a strange sense of loss. How long had it been since he'd had the love and comfort of family? Of course, Krysis had the other vampires to call family, but Sin got the distinct feeling that they were more like soldiers in an army than close friends, and that made her even sadder. She closed the leather album and thought about her own life.

Before the accident, she had only her boyfriend, Dennis.

Dennis, who'd cheated on her and treated her more like a cash cow than a mate. Dennis, whom she had fought with almost every day since they'd first moved in together. Why hadn't she kicked him to the curb? The sad truth was she just 36

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couldn't give him up because she was afraid of ending up alone.

But Krysis had been able to be alone. He'd probably been alone a very long time, and he'd withstood it. Oh, how she envied him.

Then a new thought occurred to her. What if she wasn't so much afraid to be alone as she was afraid of looking for real love? That made a lot of sense because Sin hadn't exactly grown up in a loving and nurturing home. Sin's father had left them when she was eight years old, and in her depression, Sin's mother descended into alcoholism. Most of Sin's childhood had been spent fending for herself and avoiding a drunken tirade from her mother.

"Checking up on me?" someone said, slithering into the darkened living room like a jungle snake. Krysis emerged from the hallway humming with arching power.

Sin slid the album off her lap and placed it on the glass coffee table. He had recently fed and was full of blood. She could smell it under his skin. "I'm a cop. I had to make sure you were telling me the truth."

"And what have you decided?"

Sin stood up, the hunger in her rising to a fever pitch. "I guess you're on the up-and-up."

Krysis peeled his shirt off his muscular torso. "Hungry, darling?"

Before Sin could even gather her thoughts, she was advancing on him. Her mouth watered uncontrollably, and her stomach growled. "Yes," she whispered hoarsely. "I believe I 37

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am." With her heart pounding in her chest, Sin flung herself at him.

Krysis gathered her in his arms, holding her back from biting him in the throat. With gentle force, he lowered her to the ground and kissed her.

Krysis dragged kisses along her cheek until he reached the soft, tender flesh of her lips. There, he lingered, teasing her mouth with his own and enflaming her desire. In the very core of her being, Sin could feel her bloodlust rising, tearing away the delicate fabric of her sanity. She wanted his blood, needed it like she needed air to breathe. Her hands feasted over his body, caressed the hard muscles of his broad shoulders and back. Then she lifted her head and touched her lips to his throat and felt the steady pulse of his main artery.

Krysis stiffened like someone was pointing a loaded weapon at him.

He pulled back and stared into her eyes. Those crystal blue eyes cut through the darkness like diamonds reflecting a far-off light. He was unspeakably handsome, a young god fallen to earth, and just the sight of his chiseled jaw and full lips made her heart ache with desperate love.
Love?
Yes, a love so wild and feral that Sin knew there was nothing like it in the mortal world.

"I want to taste you," she said. Her words came out sweet and melancholy, like a prayer.

"You will," he replied in a voice full of authority, "but you must wait until I tell you it's okay. Don't ever take from me without permission."

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Sin looked away from him to hide her frustration, her stomach doubling up in anguish.

Krysis continued with his seduction, caressing his lips and tongue along her skin as he stripped her naked one garment at a time. As he worked, Sin's unhappiness drifted away, blown into oblivion by the delicious notes Krysis was playing on her wanting flesh. Hunger, desperate and fierce, roared to life inside her. She wanted his blood
and
his body in equal measure.

"Krysis," she whispered, running her fingers through his light blond hair. "I want you inside me."

His reply was a cruel laugh as he continued to do as he pleased. Then his mouth and talented tongue touched the aroused flesh of her pussy. The contact was delightful, making her jump in surprise by how intense the pleasure was.

Sin leaned her head back and let out a long, tortured moan.

Encouraged by her lust, Krysis pushed his tongue deeper, lazily venturing into the moist creases and swollen nub of her clit. Bolts of white-hot pleasure electrified her, made her gasp. Sin touched her tongue to her teeth and noticed her fangs had gotten wider and longer.

Pure joy filled her.

Krysis rolled onto his back pulling Sin over him to straddle his hips. Like a child with a new toy, Sin eagerly grabbed his huge cock and placed it against her drenched pussy. A moment later, he was gliding into her, stretching her, hurting and pleasuring her at the same time. The love inside her soul possessed her as she slammed herself down onto his cock over and over again. But Krysis, chuckling softly, slowed her 39

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frantic pace and pulled her down onto his chest. There, he moved his head to one side and let her nuzzle the glistening, pale flesh of his throat.

With his cock still buried inside her, he said, "You may bite me now."

Sin stabbed her fangs into his throat and hit the artery immediately. Hot, salted blood filled her mouth, and she drank greedily. The sexual pleasure joined with the carnal pleasure of their union and sent her into a silent cocoon of unmatched bliss. Never before had she known such complete and total satisfaction. Everything was so surreal that she almost felt detached from her body, and somewhere in the miasma of her consciousness, she felt Krysis fill her body with his seed. Her womb thrilled with renewed sexual excitement.

Then Krysis pulled her off his throat and forced her off him.

Sin resisted at first, but he was firm and gentle until she sat next to him on the tile floor panting. She watched the wound on his neck heal right before her eyes.

"What's wrong?" she asked, breathless.

"You've taken enough," he said. Krysis got up and drew the curtains, and Sin noticed for the first time the horizon glowing bright with the approaching sun. "We need to get some sleep." He held his hand out to her, and Sin rushed to him like a lovesick schoolgirl. Then they slipped into his bedroom, curled up on the bed, and Krysis pulled a clean white sheet over their dead bodies.

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40

The Supplicant

by Michelle Marquis

Dennis sat at the kitchen table playing with the insurance package in front of him. The document was a copy of Sin's life insurance policy from the highway patrol, and he wasn't listed anywhere on it. It had taken two whole days to get a copy of this damn thing, and now Dennis wished he hadn't bothered.

Everyone else was listed as a beneficiary, though, Sin's great-aunt Candy; her best friend, Jill; even Sin's favorite dog rescue, but not him. She must have done this long before she'd kicked him out because she certainly wouldn't have had time to do it before her death. But then there was a lot about Sin he didn't know, apparently.

A flash of rage spiked his blood, and he leaped to his feet, grabbed the paperwork, and shredding it to bits. Small pieces fell to the floor like snow on a winter evening. After two years together, he thought the woman would have left him
something.
That's just how mean and vengeful she was. But even in the face of this cold betrayal, he still missed her.

That's how deep his love was.

He bent down to pick up the papers strewn about the floor when the doorbell rang. Deciding to leave the cleanup for later, Dennis went to the front door and opened it. There standing before him was a tall, skinny, sick-looking man who looked like he belonged more in the grave than on the street.

Dennis figured the man was a bum looking for a handout.

"I don't have any money," he said, starting to close the door in the man's face.

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The bum stopped the door with his hand. His eyes seemed to blaze with infernal light. "I'm not looking for money, Mister Peoples. I just need a few minutes of your time."

Dennis had no idea how this man knew his last name.

Perhaps the creature had been digging through his trash and had picked it up from a discarded bill. "We can talk right here," Dennis said, making a mental note to call the police on the unfortunate creature as soon as it left his door stoop.

The bum didn't look upset. "As you wish, sir. My name is Henry Glib, and I have certain information about your girlfriend, Sin Miller, that you might find interesting. Perhaps you might even find it alarming."

Now Dennis knew this was a scam. He tried to push the door closed again. "My girlfriend died in a car crash two days ago. She's dead and buried."

Henry stopped the door a second time. "Perhaps dead, sir, but not buried."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about vampires. Real-life vampires, sir.

Vampires that have taken your girlfriend and turned her into one of the undead," Henry said, his red-rimmed eyes growing large and round.

"You need to go sleep it off," Dennis said dismissively.

"I can prove every word I've said to you."

"How?"

"With pictures, of course." Henry reached into his pocket and pulled out several night pictures of the crash. In the first photo, the angle was of the crushed driver's side of the police cruiser with Sin's bloody hand reaching out. In the next, she 42