My fangs grazed her neck. I wanted to make this last. To enjoy every moment of it. It was a primal need. A driving desire to feed. And somehow, at this very moment, it felt so completely right to me. This is the way being a vampire should feel. This ache inside that could be relieved by only one thing: blood.
I heard footsteps pounding behind me, but I knew they couldn't stop me. I was too strong now. I could fend all of them off if they got in my way. They would be wise to stay far away from me until I was finished.
But before I could seal the deal, so to speak, I felt a strange sensation. Instead of grasping hands attempting to pull me away from Claire, I felt a sharp and painful jolt of electricity. I backed away from her with a snarl and looked up. Butch stood very tall and large next to me, and in his hand he held something that I foggily registered as a stun gun.
Thierry stood behind him, his expression tense and his arms crossed in front of him.
"Again," he said tightly to Butch. "Do it quickly before it's too late."
My hands curled into fists and in one fluid motion I rose to my feet and lunged at him.
Butch also froze in place; whatever he saw in my face was enough to stop him cold.
Thierry grabbed the stun gun away from him and without hesitating, touched it to my chest where my stake wound was a fading memory, and the electricity coursed through my body, freezing me in my tracks.
My eyes widened as I met his gaze.
His expression was tense. "I'm sorry, Sarah."
I fell to the ground, feeling the cool ceramic tiles press against my face seconds before the world went completely and totally black.
When I woke, my eyes still felt too heavy to open, like little cinder blocks tipped with smeared, day-old mascara.
I didn't know where I was, but I could hear people talking.
"And what happens if that doesn't work? She's dangerous." That was Butch.
"Give her a break, she's been through a lot," George said.
"And what would you suggest I do?" Thierry's deep voice asked tightly.
"I would suggest that we take care of the problem before it becomes a larger one," Butch said.
"You are going to have to be more specific, I'm afraid," Thierry replied. "It has been a long couple of days, so I find myself unable to understand your exact meaning."
"If she's a nightwalker, for real, and we can't find this witch, then she needs to be eliminated. There's no other solution."
"Are you crazy?" George said. "This is just a stupid curse, not the way she normally is. No way. We can't hurt Sarah. I won't let you."
"Oh, yeah?" Butch continued. "You really think you could stop me?"
"Perhaps George alone could not," Thierry said. "But if you make one move toward Sarah that I find to be threatening, make no mistake, I will kill you myself."
"Look," Butch said. "You still don't understand what I'm trying to say here—"
"No," Thierry cut him off. "You are the one who doesn't understand. If you attempt to hurt her in any way, I promise to return the favor."
There was silence then.
"I can't be here," Butch finally said. "If you want to make a mistake and keep a potential disaster like that alive, all power to you. But I want nothing to do with it."
"Then you are relieved of your duties. Permanently. I will forward payment for services to date. You may leave now."
There was more silence, and then I heard the sound of heavy footsteps leave the room.
I managed to pry my eyes open then, and I looked up at George and Thierry. I was on the leather sofa again. Maybe I should invest in a nice comfy afghan, since it seemed to have become my new home away from home. Reggie, still in dog form, was curled up at the end by my feet sleeping and softly snoring.
"So, did I miss anything?" My words sounded as dry as my mouth felt.
"Claire, she's awake," Thierry said and I could hear the strain in his voice.
I felt something poke me and I looked down. Claire held a ruler and she prodded my shoulder with it. "Sarah, are you all there?"
"Oh, I'm all here, all right Unfortunately." I looked at the ruler. "Didn't have any ten-foot poles to touch me with?"
"She is back to normal," Thierry said. "When the darkness descends she loses her capability for sarcasm."
I blinked at him. "Glad you noticed my subtle differences."
His jaw was tense. "I apologize for having to use extreme measures."
"That wasn't as extreme as you could have gotten. I heard what Butch said."
His throat worked as he swallowed, but his expression didn't change. "I'm sorry you had to hear that."
"No, I'm the one who's sorry." I looked at Claire. "Are you okay?"
She waved her hand dismissively. "Please. Not exactly the first time I've been attacked."
"By a vampire?"
"Vampire, demon, employer. What's the difference?" She put the ruler down and hovered her hands over me. "Just do me a favor and don't do it again?"
"I wish I could say that I had control over it."
"It's a matter of mind over matter. With enough practice, I'm sure you'll be fine. Just think like a river. You were thinking more like a waterfall. A big, scary one."
I frowned. "I can't think like water. It makes me need to use the washroom."
"Do you sense anything?" Thierry asked.
"Oh, definitely," Claire said. "I can feel the curse. It's super strong, too."
"Is there anything you can do to remove it?"
She shrugged. "I'm fairly powerful, but this Stacy chick is into the mega dark arts."