Page 2 of Salvation
“I was raised to be a good Catholic. It’s an old habit, I suppose.” She moved beside Lilith, and they started down the sidewalk.
“Your God did not help you when you needed him most. Seems he turned his back on you, and it was I who came to your rescue.”
Lilith couldn’t have spoken any truer words. Aurora had been about as low as one could get––she was a shell, hollow and starving, her insides gnawing away at her like rats in a cage. The hunger in her gut had blinded her, making her desperate when Lilith found her. She had been curled up in an alleyway, covered in blood and dirt, with a drained, naked man next to her. His skin had been pale and clammy, completely void of warmth or life. Lilith had gotten Aurora to her feet and hauled her back to her place, where she cleaned her up. Had it not been for Lilith taking Aurora under her wing, she wasn’t sure what would have happened to her. No, she didn’t pray anymore; instead, she begged for forgiveness with every breath she took. Lord only knew how many she had killed before Lilith had found her. The scent of copper and death still lingered on Aurora's hands, no matter how hard she scrubbed them raw.
“I owe you a debt I can never repay.” The situation was almost laughable. Her life had been taken from her by a vampire, a man she had trusted and given back to her by a demon.
“You are one of us, Aurora. I couldn’t very well leave you to your own devices since your sire walked away.”
She tried not to think about her past because it caused a pain so deep in her chest she swore it would kill her. Her life was gone. Ended by the Red Death that claimed her entire family. The only reason she was still alive was because of him. Did she curse him for turning her into a bloodthirsty creature, or thank him for saving her life? With each passing day, she changed her mind on that matter at least a million times. Tonight? She missed him so much her heart threatened to stop beating. There were moments she swore he was still here with her, but when she would look over her shoulder, he wasn’t there. What had happened to Michael Owens? He vanished from her life, but she liked to believe he was still alive. After all, he was a vampire and one of the toughest men she had ever known. He was too stubborn to die, but why had he left her to her own fate?
“You’re thinking of him again.” Lilith seemed to keep pulling Aurora from her thoughts tonight, which was probably a good thing.
“Yes. I can’t help but wonder where he is.”
“He could be anywhere. I mean, it has been several seasons since your turning.”
“A year today. Maybe that’s why I’m so emotional tonight.” Her mind drifted back to earlier when she had awoken. The calendar stared back at her, the page marked with an inky “X”—one year since she’d been turned into a monster. She had run her finger over it, remembering what felt like an eternity of pain. She had wanted to scream and cry, yet all that had come out was a muffled whimper. Even though her heart was heavy with sadness, within her soul there simmered a rage that almost made her glad for what the man she loved had done to her. He made her a survivor.
“I need more candles.” Not that she couldn’t see in the dark, she simply hated sitting in the pitch blackness that came every night. Electricity was a thing of the past, and what was once a vibrant city of lights was now swallowed by blackness. The occasional fire could be seen, but she avoided any area that had one as it was likely occupied by demons and not the friendly kind like Lilith.
“You also need to feed.”
She let out another sigh. Aurora hated feeding and pushed herself to the brink of weakness, which in this world was insane. Drinking blood, though, shoved her libido into overdrive, and there had been many occasions she had given in to her weakness. She had fucked strange men in less-than-desirable places––not that the men cared since they were under her mind control. Once that side of her was satisfied, she experienced regret. It was not the type of person she had been, but apparently it was who she was today. There were even times when Lilith had been the only blood she could get, which had also led to some experimentation. Drinking from Lilith was like sucking on jet fuel. The demon’s blood burned her throat and continued all the way to her gut before it heated her entire body, and she wanted Lilith to do very dirty things to her. Apparently, demon blood held some intoxicating properties. It also left her more satisfied than any human had.
“I don’t sense any humans close by, do you?” Sometimes her friend had a better grip on what was going on in the city than Aurora did.
“I’m afraid the small community in Chinatown has moved out tonight. Perhaps they are seeking shelter elsewhere.” She wrinkled her nose. “The place is disgusting.”
“That says a lot coming from you.”
Lilith slid in closer until Aurora felt her heat. “You know I will never deny you, and we happen to be right next to the park.”
Aurora turned to look and found they had indeed stopped next to what had once been a grand park. She hadn’t realized they had walked that far already. With her fangs descending from the anticipation of a meal, she grabbed Lilith’s hand.
“Let’s go.”
CHAPTERTWO
Acrid smoke burnedhis nostrils and left a metallic tang on his tongue even though it was several blocks away. It also was in the direction they were heading. Chinatown was one of the few places they had yet to scout because of the distance, but tonight… It was finally time. He had already sent vampire and human scouts east toward the river. There was a lot of area that had yet to be explored in that direction as well. Plus, they needed water. Electricity was a thing of the past, which meant the pumps that brought water into the city were long ago silent. They had a few generators they used sparingly because gas and oil had been pillaged all around them. He was hopeful his team might come across some tonight. When the humans had gone out earlier in the daylight, they had reported discovering a car dealership in the distance. There was every chance the tanks had been emptied, and just as much chance they had not.
They had just run past a local park when Wolfe stopped suddenly. He inhaled. The scent of rain filled the air, but it was mingled with a distinct aroma that was spicy and earthy, with a hint of citrus. He frowned. There were no storms in the sky and why did the smell of pepper berries seem familiar to him?
“I smell it too.” Xavier wrinkled his nose. “Smells like demon.”
Wolfe searched the park from where he stood but saw nothing. “You don’t smell the rain?”
“No.”
The soft cry of a female’s pleasure reached him, as did the scent of arousal. It was evident at least two females were somewhere in the park and having a good time. Unlike him, they wouldn’t need to worry about procreating.
“My dick is hard as fuck. We either need to move on or join the fun.” Xavier adjusted himself.
“We move on.” Though there was a big part of him that wanted to stay. The scent of rain pulled at him, but he shook it free, and he took off on a run again. Vampires had superior speed, which was another reason he and Xavier headed to Chinatown. They could eat up the two miles just to reach the border in no time. He only hoped they would fill their backpacks with some good stuff like ammo because they were low on that as well.
Once they reached the border of Chinatown, they slowed to a normal pace. At least normal for a vampire, but still faster than a human could ever walk, let alone run. He inhaled deeply and filtered out all the scents that bombarded him. Demons definitely lurked in the darkness, but they were low-level creatures that were too fearful to come out and bother a vampire. He didn’t sense trouble, so they pressed on until they made it to the center of town where they finally slowed.
“Fucking Christ!” Xavier covered his nose with his arm. “The stench is ungodly.” Even more so since vampires seemed to have scenting capabilities equal to or better than a dog.
