Kiss Me Deadly - 1. Chapter 1

John 6:53 “If you do not eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have no life in you.”

* * * *

He stood staring, in the early morning hours, at the decaying tree in the middle of the Garden of Gethsamane. The branches were bare, stripped of life and twisted into ugly forms, reaching out in many directions in a cry for help. Perhaps they begged for possible redemption or relief from a slow agonizing death? The hot dry wind swept across the rocky terrain, making his robes flutter. The tree reminded him of himself: decaying, rotten on the inside, and useless.

He was Judas Iscariot, the betrayer, the one who sold Christ out for thirty pieces of silver and betrayed the Son of Man with a kiss on the neck. He never thought things would go this far. Jesus was supposed to save himself, work some miracle, do something, to save himself… prove to the chief priests and scribes that he was indeed who he said that he was.

But no. As Judas stood in the crowds and watched in horror, Jesus was beaten, nailed to the cross, and killed. Three days later rumors abounded that He rose again, but Judas was lost in his own world of grief.

What have I wrought? Judas thought, desolate.

Standing on the rickety stool he brought for just this purpose, he looped the rope over the tree branch, fixed the noose, and fitted it over his neck. Next he tied his hands in front of him, then stepped through his tightly tied hands so that they were fastened behind his back. For a heartbeat the terror and shame of committing an unforgivable sin tore through him.

He cared about Jesus, looked up to him, loved him as a brother and Jesus loved him well, never withholding favor from Judas. In return, Judas brought about the death of Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. What was taking his life in comparison to something like that? There was no forgiveness, no absolution for one such as Judas.

A vision appeared before him clad in flowing, pristine white robes. Golden light beamed from the figure, sparkling around his head so brightly it created a halo. The peace and love that flowed from Him immediately soothed Judas’s troubled soul.

“Brother, do not be uninformed,” Jesus appealed, holding out his hands as if in a plea. “Suicide is not a sin to be forgiven.”

“My teacher, you truly are risen,” Judas said, the guilt on his face distorting his features. “My shame knows no bounds for I let greed lead me into temptation, rule me. Turn thine eyes from me, for I am unworthy.”

“Incline thy ear, and hear. Open thy eyes, and see,” Jesus appealed. “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. My brother, I love you.”

Another vision filled his sight. Dark smoke curled out from the Satan, the fallen angel, creeping across the ground and killing all it touched. The sickening reek from the sulfur fumes stung the nose and brought tears to the eyes.

“Yes, open thine eyes and ears. Their flattering lips speak with deception,” Satan taunted. “It was God’s holy plan that his Son die on the cross, but they needed a scapegoat and you were chosen. Your love of silver is well known, Judas. All the guilt that hath been suffered was planned. They call you the betrayer? Oh no, you were the one betrayed, and used.”

“No,” Judas whispered, his eyes searching for the truth in Jesus’s face. How could one who was so pure deceive him thusly? It couldn’t be true. Judas trembled, horrified that the pain and grief over his actions might have all been preordained. “My teacher, please… Tell me this is a falsehood! I am forsaken by all now! Why me?”

“Listen not to the twisted half-truths of the Great Deceiver,” Jesus begged.

“Why you? Thou are weak and easily temped by sins of the flesh. If there is a man who lies with a man as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act,” Satan whispered softly. “Finish what you have started and I shall reward you, give you the means to exact revenge for their rough use of you, Judas. Trust in me.”

“Why should I trust in you?” Judas asked.

“What have I to gain in all this? It has come to pass now. Only they were served by your actions. I gain nothing,” Satan replied. “I shall not condemn you for your sexual desires, Judas. Instead I will promise you the means to be strong and powerful, unable to be used again.”

“And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. Believe him not, Judas,” Jesus cried. “Believe in me, and live out what is left of life in God’s love.”

“God’s love?” Judas yelled, pain twisting his features. “I see only a means to an end and that was me! I was led like a lamb to slaughter, with no choice given in the matter. Used and left to bear the punishment for the death of… you. I choose power!”

Kicking the stool away, his body dropped and the rope snapped tight around his throat, cutting into the tender skin under his jaw. But his neck didn’t break. His body swung in the breeze, struggling, helpless. Agonizing pain cut into his throat from the rope and blood dripped down his neck.

His legs kicked uselessly and lights flashed in front of his eyes. Gasping for air, hands restrained behind his back he thrashed, his body’s own weight tugging the rope tighter, but not enough to finish the job. Twisting, turning, his body dancing at the end of the rope, he slowly strangled to death. The last thing he saw as life left his body was Jesus standing in front of him, hand outstretched, and tears in his eyes.

“You, Judas, rejected the blood of Christ that was offered in the Last Supper and on the Cross to save you from sin,” Satan cried gleefully as Judas died. “Since you rejected Jesus’s life-giving blood, you are cursed to drink the life-giving blood of others to stay alive. You will be a plague on all the innocent children of the world!”

Satan rubbed his hands together. “Be it known unto you, O Son of Man, I will have my revenge through this, your own Apostle; a revenge the likes of which this world has never seen.”

Three days later, in a twisted replication of the Resurrection, the first vampire rose from his death. And his thirst for blood would drive him to terrorize the world.

* * * *

Judas stood staring at the cage that held the young man. The prisoner’s brown hair was lank, and dirt covered his pale skin. Judas licked his lips, hunger stirring. The helpless man whimpered in the cage, and his eyes strayed to the other threat that entered the cave where he was held. Attila the Hun, the 5th Century AD barbarian who was bringing death and destruction upon the crumbling Roman Empire, greeted Judas.

“Is this what you wanted?” Attila motioned to the helpless man.

“He’ll do fine. Many thanks, my friend.”

The Huns, not only barbarians but also heathens, hated anything to do with Christianity. The churches of Gallia Belgica lay in ashes, and many a priest was slain before the altar, delighting Judas. Clearly, the actions of the Huns earned Attila a reputation as a savage and demonic leader. The havoc he wreaked throughout Europe led to him being self-dubbed “The Scourge of God.”

“Good fest, then. We will talk after you are done,” Attila said as he left.

Judas pulled the weakened man from the cage as Attila left. Claws extended, Judas quickly ripped the clothes off the poor soul, leaving long, bloody grooves in unprotected skin. Piteous shrieks filled the cave and echoed around them like mad ghosts. Judas allowed the enfeebled man to crawl across the floor, searching desperately for freedom. Idly, he tracked his prey.

“Hurry,” Judas whispered. “Better hurry. Crawl faster. The mouth of the cave is right there.”

The half-starved man pawed the dirt, trying to drag his exhausted body forward. Whimpering, hands bleeding from scratching in the dirt, he collapsed. “Please,” he whispered. “Please don’t hurt me.”

“Hurt you? Of course I’m not going to hurt you.” Twisting his hand in the man’s hair, Judas jerked his head back, exposing his throat. “I’m going to kill you.”

The horrific screams of the dying man could be heard all over camp. Attila shook his head, amazed. People feared him, but the real death specter was the one tearing the helpless man into pieces in that cave.

* * * *

Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed, the 17th century Hungarian Countess known as the Blood Countess, rumored to have killed hundreds of girls and bathed in the blood of virgins, raised her hand to Judas.

“Ah, my dear, you look radiant, as always,” Judas said.

“Posh on you, my friend. I have been waiting forever for you to arrive. I do believe you will enjoy what I have planned for the next several days.” The Blood Countess led the way to her private rooms that used to be the dungeons in her estate.

Once there, she showed Judas a small room that held a naked young man. On the way there she dipped her fingers, used as instruments in so much torture and butchering, into the blood of a small Christian girl who hung from a wall. Judas smiled.

“Have a pleasant evening, my friend,” she said. “I shall be down the hall should you need anything. I have my own entertainment, a lovely girl, bound to a bed, waiting for me.”

“Much thanks. And I do say, Countess, I shall have a wonderful evening,” Judas said as he shut the thick door that locked him in with the helpless, naked young man chained to the floor. Immediately the young man starting praying, using a very well known passage from Psalm 23.

“The Lord is my shepherd…”

Judas laughed. “Give my regards to your God when you see him.”

The screams from the young man outdid those from the girl as the Blood Countess worked on her. Later the Countess invited Judas to partake in her “blood bath” as she called it. She believed it helped her stay youthful, and Judas enjoyed the blood washing across his body.

As the centuries passed Lucifer was delighted with his creation; Judas was an unholy plague who wreaked havoc on the world. Death and destruction followed in his wake as he sated his hungers on the flesh of men.

And created more like him.

* * * *

Jude, as he was known in present time, surveyed the dance crowd. His long, wavy black hair shined sinfully in the nightclub's lights. Chocolate brown eyes with long thick lashes searched. A straight nose and full lips completed the picture, and what a picture it was.

He was below average in height with a body that was nicely toned; it beckoned wondering eyes. A very well put together package, his entire being whispered down and dirty sex, unfulfilled lust, and untold carnal desires. Several men though the ages fell for this one’s good looks. But looks were deceiving.

This was no man to play around with… because this was no man.

“Hmm.” Jude tapped his finger on the table and eyed the young man on the dance floor. “Think I’ve found my dinner and a date.”

He rose swiftly, pale skin nearly translucent in the dim light. He approached the one he chose and began to dance while looking him over carefully. There was a cross around his neck and Jude snarled silently.

That would be one of the first things to go. The deep hatred of the cross went back to an earlier time in his life. Being unable to touch anything that was shaped like a cross was tiresome, but understandable. After all, the Son of Man died on the cross, shed his blood on the cross so that Man could be forgiven their sins.

Judas, the apostle, missed out on the Last Supper. He never got to drink the “Life-giving blood” of Jesus. And from this Jude was cursed to drink the blood of the living in order to survive. Jude shook his head mentally, now was not the time to revisit old memories. The necklace was cheap, and the metal looked to be low-grade silver along with a silver bracelet. That too would have to be taken off.

Silver burned deeply, literally searing flesh from bone if touched too long, and the pain was hideous. Again, his mind turned back to the past, and thirty pieces of silver he received for selling Christ out. Jude’s love of silver was well known. A slight growl worked its way loose.

The young blond turned slightly, his green eyes dilated, and grinned in blatant invitation.

“Care to dance?” Jude asked.

His voice carried over the thumping music while he wondered what drugs were zipping around in the young man’s blood stream. Not that it mattered, he was indestructible, unable to die or be harmed. That was Satan’s curse for fulfilling the prophecy of Jesus’s crucifixion.

And before the night was through he’d see those pale green eyes floating in cum.

“Oh yeah, let’s dance,” the man slurred, grinding his tight ass against Jude.

They worked their bodies against each other to flashing lights and trash metal music. Jude was careful to stay away from the necklaces that swung out as his prey bumped and writhed close to him. Eager hands ran over Jude’s body, inflaming his need. He couldn’t wait to get this one back and secured.

“What’s your name?” Jude asked once the music played out.

“Name’s Ryan.”

“Well, Ryan, want to go back to my place? I promise you’ll have a good time.”

Oh yes, Jude thought, this little number was hot to trot. Damn good thing; he was hard as a brick and in need of a good chase. It was fortuitous Henri was back and waited at the apartment for his return. Jude liked an audience, and Henri was the only child Jude created with whom he was able to share prey.

“Oooh yeah, man. Let me tell my friend I’m leaving.”

Jude couldn’t see whom his prey spoke to as the bodies on the dance floor were too tightly packed.

* * * *

Things didn’t go exactly how Jude planned.

“I’ve changed my mind.” Jude rose from the bed where he, Ryan, and Henri lay. “Enjoy him with my compliments.”

Stunned, Henri looked at Jude. “W-w-what? Jude, are you sure?”

“Do you want him? More importantly, do you want me to have him?” Jude saw Henri’s clinched fist.

“It’s not my… No. Jude, I’m sorry but the idea of you fucking him makes me homicidal. I don’t know why I feel like this.”

“Don’t worry about it. He’s all yours,” Jude said as he walked away from the naked couple on the bed.

Ryan cried out as Henri moved closer. “Get away from me! There’s no-no such thing as… vampires! Can’t be! This can’t be real.”

“I’m very real, as is Jude. There are things out there that you humans refuse to admit exist… like werewolves, demons, vampires, and so many other creatures,” Henri said with a shrug.

“Wh-what?”

“It’s the damn werewolves that really are a pain in the ass, if you ask me. Most are nothing more than animals,” Henri said absently as he toyed with Ryan’s hair.

“Oh-oh dear god… please…”

Henri continued as if he hadn’t heard Ryan. “Of course, you humans burying your head in the sand makes life so much easier for those of us who aren’t human.”

“Please, please don’t hurt me. I don’t want to die,” Ryan begged.

Henri’s attention snapped back to the lovely naked human on the bed. “Oh my darling boy, I’m going to feed, right after I make you come for me, that is. Don’t fight me, you can’t win.”

Henri studied the young, frightened man on the bed. Something stirred inside him, a slight flutter where his heart used to beat, and the urge to claim, to possess washed over him. What was going on here?

“Look at me,” Henri demanded.

Ryan raised panic stricken eyes.

“I’m not going to hurt you, or kill you. I want you to enjoy this. Open your mind and let me in,” Henri said.

“Okay, okay.”

“Feel pleasure, feel both our pleasure…”

“Ah man,” Ryan pleaded as his and Henri’s feelings merged, “oh damn that’s… Oh, please fuck me.”

Henri flipped the young man over onto his back and stroked the nice-sized cock that was finally hardening, rolling the hairless balls. He watched the emotions play across Ryan’s face as one of his hands touched that bare skin. Feather light touches from Henri’s finger had the muscles in Ryan’s stomach jumping.

Henri slowly worked his way up Ryan’s nicely toned chest, to where Ryan was frantic to be touched. A lone finger circled his nipple, slowly moving closer, until Ryan was twisting trying to get Henri’s fingers where he wanted them.

“Not yet,” Henri whispered.

Suddenly Henri swallowed Ryan’s dick to the root while he pinched Ryan’s nipples. Ryan arched on the bed, straining silently, driving his dick even farther into Henri’s mouth. Ryan’s soft kitten-like moans and breathless whimpers drove Henri mad. The sensual torture was unlike anything Ryan ever experience as Henri worked his body.

“In me,” Ryan gasped. “Please.”

A gentle chuckle sounded as Ryan twisted, caught between his dick being sucked and the gentle torture of his nipples. Ryan’s dick slid out of Henri’s mouth, and he licked the head causing Ryan to thrust his hips up desperately.

Henri lifted Ryan’s legs up onto his shoulders and slid into him, making sure to hit his hot spot. Ryan grabbed handfuls of the sheets and writhed on the bed. His eyes rolled back into his head and the cords in his neck stood out as pleasure swamped him. Henri kissed him, swallowing his hoarse cries of pleasure until he had to stop so Ryan could breathe.

“Harder… give it to me harder,” Ryan gasped as Henri pounded him. Ryan twisted his arm around Henri. “My nipples… ”

Henri grinned, lowered his head and brushed his lips over first one hard nipple then moved to the other and gave it the same treatment. Every touch of Henri’s lips arrowed straight down to Ryan’s cock. His head thrashed back and forth on the bed as Henri’s thrusts gained in strength.

Sucking a hard nub into his mouth, Henri ran his tongue over one sensitive point while he teased the other, rolling it and pinching it gently. Pulling off, Henri bent his head to the other one and gave it the same treatment.

Then he nicked a nipple with his fangs. The sharp points sent tiny pleasurable flickers of pain through Ryan’s body and he screamed again, this time from pleasure. Gently biting, Henri growled softly.

“Oh, oh yeah, I’m close, pound my ass!”

Henri raised his head. “Like it a bit rough, eh?”

“Yes, oh… yes.”

Henri pulled Ryan’s legs up higher. He was thrusting violently, working Ryan’s body to an orgasm. The raspy sounds from Ryan and the wet slap of skin against skin finally sent Henri over the edge.

“So-so… good!” Pleasure washed over Ryan and he came in a torrent.

Henri growled as he watched the young man under him give in to pleasure. He lowered his head and bit him. Ryan yelled again. Pain pierced his mind as Henri sank his fangs into his neck, but pleasure overtook it. Ryan listened to Henri sucking at his vein as he thrust hard into his well fucked ass. He couldn’t believe it, but he was building towards another orgasm.

“Again, make me-make me do it again,” Ryan said, half afraid to say anything with Henri’s fangs buried in his neck. “Fuck the cum out of me again.”

“Damn,” Henri gasped, releasing his throat. Not thinking about his actions, Henri nipped his thumb. A small drop of blood appeared and he stuck his thumb in Ryan’s mouth. “Suck.”

His dick buried in Ryan’s ass, his thumb buried in Ryan’s mouth, Henri fucked him to another orgasm. His balls tightened up and he came, deep inside Ryan. Ryan yelled again as being drenched by Henri’s cum triggered his own orgasm… hands free.

Henri marked Ryan with both his cum and his blood.

* * * *

Jude waited in his plush bathroom for Henri to finish with the human he brought home. He witnessed Henri’s interest in the mortal Ryan, but more than that… the desire to maul, to rip skin from bone and bathe in his prey’s blood vanished. What was left in its place was… nothing. No desire, no rush, not a damn thing.

What the hell was wrong with him?

The chase excited him, as usual. His prey’s fear always gave him a rush, but that rush didn’t last. For the past two hundred years he dealt with this problem. He walked the Earth for over two thousand years, and never had he felt such restlessness. Jude ran his hand through his hair. The bedroom was quiet now; Henri must be done. Jude walked out of the bathroom.

“He is such a lovely one,” Henri said softly as he dressed an unconscious Ryan. “Thank you for letting me have him. You didn’t have to do that.”

“No, I didn’t,” Jude said. “But truthfully, the hunt was winding down and I was losing interest.”

“Still?”

“Yes. Once the hunt's over I’m over, it seems.”

“Are you well, my friend?”

Jude’s laugh was harsh. “Who the hell knows? It’s not as if I can go to a doctor to see if there is anything wrong with me. That leaves two others who could possibly answer my questions and I’d just as soon not see them. The last time the three of us were together… Well, let’s just say things ended badly.”

Jesus and Lucifer… good and evil, heaven and hell… and there was the damned soul of Judas caught in the middle.

Fuck both of them.

What Jude hadn’t expected was for Henri to mark Ryan as his mate. After questioning Henri to make sure Ryan hadn’t been given too much of Henri’s blood they returned Ryan to the club. Henri asked that Ryan remember going home with him, not Jude.

“Listen to me. You will not remember me at all, or anything having to do with me. Understand?” Jude said as he erased Ryan’s memory of his involvement.

“Yes,” Ryan said as he stared into Jude’s eyes.

“Henri picked you up at the club, took you home and you two fucked like rabbits. You had a good time with him.”

“We had a good time,” Ryan repeated.

“You will go back inside for ten minutes so everyone can see you are okay, and then you will go home and sleep. And whatever drugs you’ve been playing around with you will stop taking now. Do you understand?”

Ryan stared into Jude’s eyes. “I understand. I will tell my friends I came with that I’m back then I’m going home and sleep. I will throw away my pot.”

“Good.”

Jude checked his watch. Unbelievably, only three hours elapsed. Jude and Henri followed Ryan back inside the club. Jude melted into the shadows while he and Henri trailed Ryan.

Off to the side of the dance floor was a table where another young man sat, sipping a drink. Jude watched as Ryan approached the table and sat down. It looked like the friend was giving Ryan a good scolding. Snatches of the conversation drifted to Jude.

“… stupid going off with a stranger. Damn it, Ryan, you could have been…”

“…but, but I told Mick…”

“…he damn sure didn’t tell me…”

“… yeah Matt, I’m sorry…”

“…damn dangerous thing to do, Ryan…”

If you only knew, Jude thought.

Jude was turning away when lights flashed across the other man features. Jude froze, feet glued to the floor and mouth hanging open slightly. He was dumbstruck, that was the only description for it. He hadn’t really paid that much attention to the other man, but now he was mesmerized.

The most beautiful shade of steel blue-gray eyes in the universe winked and flashed in the lights of the club. They were so light they were almost… silver. His fondness for silver was, well, legendary. Jude ran his eyes over the young man named Matt again, this time drinking in every detail. His hair was a light brown with sun-bleached streaks.

It was wavy and long enough that it skimmed the top of his shoulders. His skin was light golden brown. He looked to be lean, and from where Jude was standing, he looked taller than Ryan.

He had a strong jaw with a dent in the chin and high cheekbones. As he talked he tucked a stand of hair behind his ear, where three small gold hoops pierced and encircled the lobe.

As far as Jude could see those were his only piercings. His short-sleeved silky shirt was plain black, and his jeans were stonewashed. A thin gold chain adorned his neck. All of his jewelry was gold, not silver, thank hell. He was simple elegance in an understated way and Jude’s whole body yearned.

Yearned?

“What in the nine hells is happening to me? I don’t yearn. I hunt, I destroy, I maim and…”

A vision assailed Jude, of the sexy young male wrapped around him on silken blood red sheets, moaning and writhing in pleasure – pure, unadulterated pleasure – not fear. His body’s reaction was one he hadn’t had before.

Mine, Jude thought as the need to take this human crashed over him. The thought beat in his head endlessly.

Fuck.

“Jude, are you ready to… What’s up? Merde, I’d say you look like death warmed over but that would be a bit redundant,” Henri said.

Jude raised an elegantly sculpted eyebrow. “Comedian you are not, my friend. I’m fine; your lovely little snack is safe with his friends, so let’s go.”

Henri shrugged. When Jude got like this it was best to ignore his behavior. He’d talk if, or when, he was ready—although Henri was curious as to what just happened. Jude was white as a sheet, which was saying a great deal with his already paler than normal skin color.

He and Henri sat in Jude’s fancy sports car, waiting.

Moments later, just as Jude commanded, Ryan and his friend, Matt, left the club. Jude was right, he was taller than Ryan, a bit over six feet maybe. He also had his hands full of weak blond so he didn’t notice the two men following them. However, Jude did.

They were big guys, muscular and tall, with close-cropped hair, almost brutish in their looks. Matt was trying to help Ryan into his car when the bigger of the two approached him. Henri heard Jude growl softly beside him. Surprised, Henri looked at Jude.

“Hey dude, need some help?” the thug asked, leaning close to Matt, crowding him.

“No, we’re fine, but thank you,” Matt said as he tried desperately to open the car door and keep Ryan on his feet. What the hell was going on? If the dude got any closer he’d be plastered against him.

Warning bells started going off in Matt’s mind.

“Now, don’t be hasty,” the guy said. “I’m Scott and this is Vinnie. Two cute guys like you need two big guys like us to lend a helping… hand.”

Matt jerked as the Scott’s large hand palmed his ass. Before Matt could even get his mouth open to yell, a strong, cold breeze gusted across the parking lot. A stray white plastic bag whipped through the air, carried on the currents swirling madly around them. The bag made a beeline straight for Scott, the guy who touched Matt.

The bag smacked Scott in the face, covering his eyes, nose, and mouth. It covered his face so tightly that Matt caught a rather terrifying body bag style outline of the guy. For several seconds Scott struggled to remove the bag, but the damn thing clung to his face like a vacuum seal, cutting off his air.

“Matt, what’s-what’s going on?” Ryan whispered.

Unable to breathe and in a panic, Scott clawed at the bag trying to rip it to pieces since he couldn’t remove it. Muffled desperate sounds poured from him as he frantically tried to get air into his lungs. His friend Vinnie jerked at the bag, cussing loudly as he tried to pry it off.

He couldn’t pull the persistent bag off either. They both staggered around, pulling and yanking at the bag doing an odd dance of desperation as Matt and Ryan watched, stunned and horrified. How was that bag holding on?

“What the hell? It won’t come off!” Vinnie yelled as he clawed and ripped at the killer bag.

Then, without warning, the bag slipped from Scott’s face and he gasped for air. His skin was slick with sweat, his eyes bulging from his brush with suffocation. The wind picked up and shrieked around them, ruffling Matt’s hair.

The strong gusts pushed at the guy who touched Matt, moving him farther away. The feeling of menace, of death, had Matt clutching the door handle. A chill crept up his back that had nothing to do with the cold night air, the air that seemed to whisper the word, Mine.

The end of summer down in the Deep South brought all kinds of crazy weather changes, but a cold, hard wind was the last thing one would expect. Temperatures in the middle to lower seventies at night? Sure. High humidity? Absolutely. Freezing cold wind when there wasn’t a cloud in the night sky?

Um… no.

The feeling of being watched swept over Matt. A low growl floated across the parking lot, and there in the darkness glowing red eyes peered out. The shadows continually shifted, rearranging themselves. The hair on the back of Matt’s neck stood up and fear danced down his spine. The primitive side of Matt’s brain bellowed out a warning of danger.

“What the hell is that?” the guy who groped Matt asked, edging back toward the club's door.

“Dear god,” Matt whispered, staring into the shadows.

“I’m not hanging around to find out,” Vinnie, the other guy, said. “No piece of ass is worth this.” He and Scott hurried back to the safety of the club.

Breathing heavily, Matt watched them leave. Relief made his knees weak. One problem down, now another, possibly more dangerous one waited in the darkness.

“In… get in, now, Ryan.” Matt yanked the car door open and all but shoved Ryan inside.

“Damn it, don’t you stay out there either.”

“No fear there.” Matt jerked the back passenger door open; he’d crawl over into the front seat if he damn well had to.

No way was he staying outside the car any longer than necessary, not with whatever was out there waiting to pounce. Matt glanced back to the shadows where the sound came from… and there was nothing. No shadows shifting in the night, no growling, no glowing red eyes, nothing.

“Where did it go?” Matt whispered from the backseat. Something the size of what he saw there in the shadows couldn’t just up and disappear without making a sound, could it?

“I don’t see anything now. What was that? What has red eyes?” Ryan asked.

“I have absolutely no idea, but I do know it’s too early in the damn morning for this,” Matt said.

“What are you doing?” Ryan asked as Matt opened the back passenger door.

“Unless you want me to try driving from the back seat, I’m getting out.” Matt got out and walked around the car to the driver side.

The strong, cold wind that was blowing had died down. The night was again calm. He glanced back to the area and still there was nothing, but the feeling of menace was gone now, too.

“Creepy deal, all around very freakin’ creepy deal.”

“You can say that again,” Ryan said.

Matt got in, started the car, and glanced over at Ryan. Ryan’s head laid against the headrest, his eyes closed. Matt started to say something to Ryan about being more trouble than he was worth when he noticed two little red bumps on Ryan’s neck. It looked like Ryan had two mosquito bites on his neck that were swollen and very red, almost like he had been scratching them. They looked like bite marks.

Who had Ryan hooked up with tonight? Matt thought. Some vamp wanna be?

“Ryan, are you okay?” Matt asked. “Is there anything you want to tell me about tonight?”

“Whaddya mean?”

“This dude you left with tonight, he didn’t hurt you or anything, did he?”

Ryan stared out the passenger window as the scenery flew by. “Naw, man. He was great, really great. His name was Henri. I hope I see him again; he was a demon in bed.”

“Please tell me you used protection.”

“Aw jeez. Yes, Mommy, I used protection. Always. No one is sticking his dick up my ass without latex. Come on, Matt, what’s up with the round of Twenty Questions here? I hardly ever do stuff like this.”

Ryan didn’t bother to mention he couldn’t actually remember if they used protection or not. Matt would freak for sure and the lectures would really start.

“I know that, but have you looked at your neck? I gotta wonder what this dude was into,” Matt said.

Ryan flipped down the visor and opened the mirror. “What are you talking about?”

“The bite marks on your neck, moron. They’re hard to miss.”

“What have you been drinking tonight?”

“Ha-ha, I’m not the one staggering around.”

“True,” Ryan said as Matt stopped at a red light. “I don’t know why I’m so tired. But hey, my eyesight is perfect and I gotta tell you there’s nothing on my neck.”

“Of course there is. They’re damn hard to miss; they’re…”

Matt couldn’t believe his eyes. He turned on the inside lights, grabbed Ryan by the chin and made him turn his head this way and that.

“What the hell?” Matt whispered. All that his eyes found now was smooth skin: no bites, no red dots on his neck, no abrasions. “Ryan, I saw them. I swear to you, they were there earlier. Now there’s nothing. What’s going on here?”

“Look, you’re freaking me out. There’s nothing on my neck.”

“Yeah, now.” The soft beep of a car horn grabbed Matt’s attention. He glanced at the rearview mirror, then up at the light, which turned green. “Sorry man.” Matt waved his hand at the other driver in a low-slung black sports car.

“Okay, I’ve had enough Twilight Zone for one night. Next time we’re leaving way earlier than we did tonight.” Matt drove down the deserted road to Ryan’s home.

Ryan snorted. “You dork. Swear to god, Twilight Zone, really? That’s so yesterday. Man, you’ve got to stop watching these old timey horror flicks. Vampires, demons, and werewolves! Oh my!”

“Guess it would be beside the point to mention you know the show I’m talking about, huh,” Matt said as he stopped in front of Ryan’s house.

“Only because you forced me to watch that dumb series when we were kids, along with every stupid B-rated horror movie there ever was when we were teens.” Ryan stepped out of Matt’s car.

“Yeah, well what went on in that parking lot could definitely qualify as B-rated horror. Do you need help getting in?”

“I’m good, but thanks,” Ryan said.

“And I caught the reference, too, jerk. You’d make a lovely Dorothy.”

“Remember that chick killed a witch with a house,” Ryan said as Matt rolled down the car window. “I’ll call you when I get up. Are we going out tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I guess. But we’ll call it a night much earlier than what we did tonight. See you later.”

Ryan unlocked his front door and went inside. Satisfied that Ryan was safe, Matt drove off.

To be continued…