Hunter's Strike

"Gabriel! We should head back now if we want to get home before dawn!" Angie called from the deck.

"Aye, we're coming." Donovan appeared on deck, Gabriel behind him.

Angie had undergone a wardrobe change since they had last seen her. Gone were her usual jeans and sweatshirt. Now she wore a long multi-layered skirt in several shades of blue going into violet and a short white top that left her shoulders bare. Someone had put thin braids in her hair, adorning each one with thin gold chain and glittering jewels. At least a dozen gold bangles dangled from her wrists. She also wore several necklaces, one in particular sporting a very large ruby.

A beat up radio was playing a lively tune nearby and Florence and Nigel were taking turns dancing with her. All three of them were laughing and carrying on.

Donovan nudged Gabriel in the side. “I told you they wouldn’t hurt her.”

Florence walked over to the pair, grinning like a madman. “You’re going to let us go to Angie’s party on Friday, right Captain?” he asked eagerly.

Donovan rolled his eyes dramatically. “I suppose, but only so I can keep an eye on you. Nymph and I will be attending as well.”

“I take back almost every rotten word I’ve ever said about you.” Florence winked.

“Young Angie has made a remarkable transformation in the last few hours.” Donovan commented. He threw an arm around Gabriel’s shoulders. “Don’t you think she’s looking rather lovely?” he teased.

“She is.” Gabriel agreed.

Angie stopped dancing, her smile fell away. “What?” Nigel took both her hands and spun her around. She went along with him, but kept looking back at Gabriel.

Donovan clapped his hands loudly. “Alright, time to pack it up! Everyone has work they should be getting back to!”

Florence switched off the radio and Angie turned back to Nigel. “Thank you guys, I had a really fun time.” She smiled warmly at the pair. “Oh!” She started pulling off her bangles. “Let me give these back to you…”

The brothers refused. “Keep them to remind you of us.” Nigel said breathlessly.

“Guys, I’ll see you again on Friday.”

“And after that, who knows when?” Florence asked in agony.

“Here, let me give you my phone number. If you miss me that much, just call me.” She took Florence’s unmarked hand and wrote her number on the back of it. “There’s my full name too. If you ever get an internet connection on this boat, check me out on Facebook or Twitter.”

Nymph approached Angie and proffered a plastic bag to her. “The clothes you came here in.”

“Thank you Nymph. I’ll see you again on Friday?”

“Of course.” They smiled happily. “I look forward to it.”

“We might have the pool cleaned up by then, so bring a bathing suit just in case.”

Nigel and Florence grinned. “This party keeps sounding better and better.”

Angie wagged a finger at the pair. “You keep acting this way about me, but I’m onto your love-starved game. I know for a fact that there are female vampires on this boat. I’ve seen them with my own eyes.”

The brothers looked at her, aghast. “Oh no, vampire girls are the worst!” Nigel exclaimed.

“Cold as ice, they are.” Florence agreed.

“And deadly!”

“Can’t turn your back on one for a moment.”

Angie crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow.

“Human girls are far superior, in our opinion.” Nigel told her. “For one thing, they are warm.”

“And soft!” Their expressions softened and they both got dreamy looks in their eyes.

“I’m still not convinced. Don’t vampires drink blood? How can you have genuine feelings for a snack?”

Their expressions turned horrified. “We’ll have you know that we would never cause a fair female harm, especially from feeding!”

“I don’t mind snacking on a bloke if he crosses us, though.” Florence admitted. “Or a hunter.”

“Well yeah, they would deserve it for attacking us.”

“In general we drink cow’s blood.” Florence told her seriously. “Donovan made us switch after he rescued us.”

Angie turned to Donovan angrily. “Really, Blackswell? After that speech you gave me in Serendipity 3? Really!”

“I am nothing if not hypocritical.” He admitted gracefully, bowing. Angie made a rude gesture with her hand and he laughed heartily. Gabriel tried to stifle his laughter, but it only made him laugh harder.

Nigel put a hand on her arm. “We’re grateful to Donovan for making us switch, Angie.”

She looked at them in surprise. Florence nodded in agreement. “Oh yes, humans are amazing.” He spread his arms out towards the city. “Look at how much you can do when you work together!”

Nigel held up one finger on each hand, placing them close together. “There are two basic needs in life.”

“Brother, there are actually seven.”

“I’m talking about the two most important ones.”

“Ah, well then, carry on.”

“As I was saying, there’s hunger and desire.” He made sure Angie was paying attention. He pulled his two fingers away from each other. “These two needs are separate from each other. That’s very important. It’s impossible to feel hunger for something you desire. The words may sound similar and one might use one instead of the other in conversation, but they are very different needs. If Donovan had not cured us of our hunger for humans, then we would never have felt desire for them.”

“And we would have been missing out on so much. Our interactions with them might be fleeting, but that doesn’t make them any less special in our hearts.”

“Oh…” Angie rubbed the inside of her wrist absently. There was a wide v-shaped scar still visible there. “I think I get it now…”

“It’s getting late, and we still have a long bus ride ahead of us.” Gabriel said. He turned and headed for the gangplank.

Angie pulled her phone out of her pocket and checked the time. “You’re right. I should go.” She threw her arms around the brothers’ necks and hugged them quickly. They kissed her cheeks in return.

They watched her run after Gabriel, waving even though she wasn’t looking. Florence sighed deeply. “I will have sweet dreams today, dear brother.”

“I will as well. In the meantime…” Nigel pulled his cellphone out of his pocket and gave his brother an impish glance. “Shall we obsessively go over Angie’s Facebook?”

Florence glanced up at the sails. “The Crow’s Nest has the best reception.”

“I’ll race you to the top! That is... if you’re not still too injured.”

“Thanks to Nymph I am in perfect condition. You’re on brother!”

The pair took off, jumping and climbing up the rigging to the Crow’s Nest. Donovan watched them go. “Make sure you finish your work!” He yelled after them.

Nymph leaned their back against the wall by his side. “How did it go with Gabriel?” They asked.

Donovan gave Nymph a sour look out of the corner of his eye. “You bloody well know how it went, or you wouldn’t be looking so smug right now.”

Nymph smiled their sweetest smile. “Can you blame me?”

Donovan sighed. “Do you think poorly of me?”

Nymph held up a thumb and forefinger, squinched together with the smallest space between them. “A bit. You humiliated yourself quite nicely though, so I’ll forgive you.”

He leaned the back of his head against the wall. “I’m such an old fool.”

“Old flames are like that. They cloud the mind in fever.”

“That’s the plain truth. And flames don’t burn brighter than Gabriel’s did. He even taught me a few things you wouldn’t believe...” His voice turned wistful.

Nymph’s smile faded. Their eyes went to Angie and Gabriel, who were already far into the distance.

Donovan felt guilty instantly. “I’m just reminiscing Nymph. In all honesty I wouldn’t have done anything. My pride just needed him to desire me again.”

“No, I know. I’m not concerned, Donovan.”

“Then why do you look concerned?”

Nymph concentrated hard on Gabriel’s back. “He carries a shadow, draped around him, covering his heart. I didn’t see it until you mentioned…” Nymph blushed delicately. “I was thinking that any skills he had in the bedroom would have had to be learned from someone, and that’s when I saw the shadow.”

“What kind of shadow is it? Does he know about it?”

Nymph closed their eyes and concentrated. “No, it’s the shadow of something long forgotten, something buried deep. It has a name…” They opened their eyes again. “Lilith.”

“Lilith as in the vampire Lilith?”

“I don’t know. I know very little of vampires.”

Donovan looked up at the sky. “Well, it must be a different Lilith, because the Lilith I’m thinking of is just a myth.”

“Tell it to me. You know how I love myths.”

Donovan chuckled softly. He put an arm around Nymph and drew them close. Nymph wrapped their slender arms around his waist. “That myth goes back thousands of years. Lilith was said to have been the first vampire.”

“How did she become a vampire if she was the first one?”

“Well, the legend goes that before God created Eve for Adam, he created another woman. Not from one of Adam’s ribs, like Eve was, but completely on her own. That woman was Lilith. Now, God expected Lilith to serve Adam without question, but Lilith refused. She would not even bow to God.”

Nymph rested their head on Donovan’s chest and snuggled close. “And then what happened?”

“God could not destroy her, so instead he cast her out of Eden and into the harsh world still being made. Because she was so stubborn and so strong she was determined to stay alive. That’s how she developed her abilities. Strength, speed, sharp fangs and claws. She fought for everything she wanted and grew powerful just to spite God. When humans began to walk the Earth, she corrupted them as well, feeding them her blood and stealing God’s children away from the sun.”

“So she became the first vampire, and then made more?”

“So the story goes. It’s an old tale, designed to get our blood going. To make us vampires feel better about our cursed existence.” He laughed. “I don’t think anyone remembers the tale, much less believes it.”

“Stories like that usually have a grain of truth somewhere.” Nymph pulled away and took Donovan’s hand in both their own. “We have some time left before dawn.”

Donovan put his other hand on Nymph’s neck. There was a bandage there, the same color as their skin. “Are you sure you’re up to this?”

Nymph smiled. “I’m fine. It didn’t take too much to heal Florence.”

“I make no promises about being gentle.”

“Donovan, when are you ever gentle?” Nymph laughed.

xxxXXXxxx

“Hey would look at that, we both get seats.” Angie grabbed Gabriel’s hand and hurried to the back of the bus, which was mostly empty.

She sat down gratefully, yawning loudly. She covered her mouth with her free hand.

He sat down next to her and looked down at their clasped hands. “When did this become a thing?” he asked.

She looked at their hands too. “I dunno, you started it remember? When we first met Donovan. I just thought it was a thing we did now.” Thinking about it was making her self conscious. She loosened her grip. “We can stop if you want…”

He tightened his hold and lifted his hand up, placing the back of her hand on his chest. “No, it’s fine. We should go out like this more often.” He lifted his face up to the ceiling. “I like it.”

Angie laughed. “You are drunk.”

“I am so drunk.” He agreed.

“You’re not going to remember a thing tomorrow when you’re back to normal, are you?”

“Oh, I hope not.”

“And here I thought vampires could only drink blood.”

“Donovan knows someone that makes a special brew. It’s purified down to straight alcohol. The amount I drank could kill a bear.”

“I’m extra glad I declined, then. Drunk vampires, huh? Will the wonders never cease?”

“Nope. This elevator only goes up.” He pointed at the ceiling and grinned.

“That is not a comforting thought.”

He turned towards her. “Let me tell you a secret.” He leaned close and whispered softly. “It’s not my job to comfort you.” His lips just barely brushed her ear.

Angie felt a shiver go down her spine and her cheeks and ears grew hot. She pushed him away with her free hand. “I’m guessing I should blame Donovan for getting you so drunk.”

Gabriel started laughing. “Always blame Donovan. Getting me drunk in the past was the only way he could get me into bed with him.” He turned away and laughed louder. He stopped suddenly. “Okay, not the ONLY way…”

“Whoa easy, too much information. I am not liking Drunk Gabriel. At all.”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure that stick will find it’s way back up my ass after I get some sleep.”

“Oh wow. I am so telling Sober Gabriel you said that about him. Just, wow.”

He chuckled lightly. “It’s the truth though.”

Angie snorted. “That’s why he’s going to be so pissed when I tell him.”

Gabriel lifted their hands up and inspected the back of her hand. He brought it to his lips and kissed it softly.

Electricity shot down her arm and lit a fire in her abdomen. He pulled away till his lips just barely brushed her skin. His lips parted and he kissed her hand again.

Angie tried to pull her hand away, but his grip was like iron. She pushed his shoulder hard. "Stop that, you drunk idiot!"

He turned his head towards her, his eyes glittered red under heavy lids. "Why? You let Florence and Nigel kiss you."

Angie was pretty sure her whole face was scarlet right now. "N-not like that!"

"I don't see how it's different." He turned her hand over, inspecting her palm. He traced her life line with his thumb. Then he noticed the scar on the inside of her wrist.

The scar was from when he'd bitten her. His wife had kidnapped him and poisoned him with her blood. In order to defeat Nora, he'd needed fresh blood to counteract her influence. Evangeline had been there at the time, so he bit her and stole her blood. His venom had been too strong for her. It had stopped her heart.

She'd come to rescue him, and he had nearly killed her. If Calypso hadn't resuscitated her, Evangeline would not be sitting with him now.

Angie kept her eyes on the floor. As long as he wasn't putting his lips on her, she didn't mind him inspecting her hand.

His grip relaxed and their hands dropped down to his stomach. She looked over at him and was surprised to see his eyes closed, his head drooping forward. He was asleep.

She pulled her hand from his and nudged him in the side. He did not stir. "Honestly," she sighed. "You're more trouble than you're worth."

xxxXXXxxx

They managed to make it back in one piece. Gabriel was very tired during the second bus ride as well. By the time they exited the elevator, he was leaning on Angie for support.

She wrapped one arm around his waist and helped him into the apartment. He didn't stumble, but he was getting heavier by the second. His bedroom door was directly across from the apartment door, and Angie was grateful for that. "Come on, just twenty more feet." She encouraged him.

She turned the knob with her free hand and pushed the door open with her hip. Their new bedrooms were small, so his bed was right next to the door. She ducked out from under his arm and let him fall onto the mattress.

He landed on his back, his legs hanging off the side of the bed. She bent down and pulled of his shoes, then lifted his legs up onto the bed. He stirred for a moment, his hands fumbling with his belt. Then he gave up and rolled onto his side.

"You'll be fine sleeping in your clothes for one night." She told him. She sat on the bed, taking a breather. Gabriel was thin, but that didn't make him light.

She rubbed her calf, surprised that it wasn't sore, just tender. It had healed rather nicely.

She looked over at Gabriel. He was as still as death. "Frickin vampires..." she sighed. She leaned over and pushed his glossy black hair out of his face. "Geez, how could you even compare yourself to Florence and Nigel..." She leaned her forehead on his shoulder and groaned. "You're hopeless, you know that? Just like me."

She stood up, her shoulders slumped. She left the room, closing the door softly behind her.