The Discovery

Evernight Publishing www.evernightpublishing.com

Copyright© 2012 Allison Grey

ISBN: 978-1-927368-44-2

Cover Artist: Jinger Heaston Editor: Dana Horbach

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews. This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

DEDICATION To my beautiful husband and son, who inspire me every day.

HALF-LING: THE DISCOVERY Half-lings Series, 1 Copyright © 2012

Chapter One

Reney Rose couldn’t believe her luck. After months of editing away in her cubicle at the magazine internship, she was finally going to get to have a little fun. They had chosen her to participate in the annual trip to Hawaii, a luxurious trip afforded but to a select few. She was going to represent the magazine, So Glam, alongside Richard Rogan, a man she had never met in person. He was one of the top editors. His presence would sweep through the corporate building from time to time. His dark, striking features occasionally flashed a lingering look in Reney’s direction. She had never spoken to him, but he had inklings of a strange accent Reney couldn’t quite place. It made him all that more mysterious. Reney Rose, the intern, was going to Hawaii, and she would be sitting first class with a senior editor. Yes, she was going to get to look at Richard Rogan’s beautiful face, up close, the entire flight. Maybe she could even ask him where he was from, get to know him. She could only imagine the chance to get in personally with Mr. Rogan. That’s ten plus hours of hot scenery. Reney couldn’t stop such thoughts when they had told her whom she would be accompanying. Of course, there was jealous chatter among the other interns and even some of the junior and senior editors. Reney, it was said, had only been picked for the trip because she was attractive. Reney could hear their nasty, little whispers from behind their cubicles as they tried to cover them up with their too-long red nails, clicking away at their keyboards enviously. But she certainly couldn’t argue with them. It was true; she had probably only gotten picked because of the way she looked. She never could argue against the notion that she was enticing, with her long, golden waves and perfectly round

sky-blue eyes. She stood about 5’9” and a half, long and lean. On Reney’s first day, the intern in the cubicle beside her, Jane, glared daggers at her. She then proceeded to tell Reney the modeling agency was on the top floor. Funny circumstances though because Jane was pretty much Reney’s only friend at the magazine now, and she would send Reney a text message every time one of the other interns or editors had something snarky to say about Reney. Jane’s cubicle was right next to the vents that connected the entire fourteenth floor, and she could hear every bit of chatter coming through them. After a while, Reney couldn’t help but to laugh at the things they would say. “I don’t see why Reney just doesn’t come out and admit she’s had her boobs done. Nobody looks that perky naturally, nobody.” “Reney should really put away the keyboard and go do some cocaine. I hear that’s what all the models are doing these days.” “I heard Reney does do cocaine. Wouldn’t it be hilarious if we all got drug-tested? She would fail, and we wouldn’t have to look at her stupid face anymore.” Jane would always smile and peer into Reney’s cubicle, and they would giggle. Her soft features made even slighter by the thickrimmed glasses she wore, and her brown hair always pulled back into a bland ponytail. It was nice that she had made a friend who didn’t judge her on the way she looked, because being the pretty girl all your life could sometimes be just as bad as being the ugly girl. Reney secretly wanted to make Jane over on one of their girls’ night, where they would swill red wine and gossip about the people at the magazine who had made Reney’s implicit personal life their own work of fiction. She didn’t want to offend Jane, the girl who slathered herself in SPF 75 every day in her cubicle, even though she wore nothing but second-hand hipster sweaters to work. Jane really was quite pretty under her glasses, and Reney could imagine her with long brown curls and smoky eye shadow, vamping it up at the office in a low-cut top. Finally, Reney was about to get all the excitement she had been longing for, a little breakaway from the So Glam internship life of formatting articles and placing pictures of the too-skinny models around their respective headlines, footers, and side notes. Reney was on speakerphone with Jane as she packed excitedly the night before the trip, throwing in every string bikini and little red

and black dresses she hadn’t been able to wear since New York had become so cold, so suddenly. Being from Florida, Reney had been both culture and weather-shocked when winter had turned in New York. The gray and muggy streets covered in dirty-looking snow. Hawaii, she had heard, was a true paradise, warm and clear with endless beaches, and she imagined it would almost be like going home. This trip would be more than just an open path to becoming a junior editor. She would be traveling with the hottest senior editor the world had ever seen and taking a much-welcomed vacation from the chilly and littered streets of New York. “Now, you know I’m not much for gushing over men out of principle.” Jane’s voice came from the tiny living room as Reney scrambled through her toiletries. “But even I would be nervous about traveling with Mr. Rogan,” her friend went on. “I mean, he’s not just…well, gorgeous, he’s one of the top editors, Reney.” “I know,” Reney answered as loudly as she could from the bathroom. “I just hope I can keep the small talk going. I mean, what do you say to someone who is such a big boss you haven’t even spoken to the guy? Is he like European or something? And he’s so….” “Yeah, I don’t know about the European part, but I do know he looks like a Greek statue. But keep in mind, you are ravishing yourself even if you have to maintain your figure with cocaine.” Reney burst into laughter, and her friend giggled along with her over the speaker. “Well!” Reney shouted into the living room after their laughter had subsided. “I just hope I can find some of the good stuff on vacation. Speaking of paradise, I better get to bed, like now, if I want to enjoy it at all.” “Okay, Reney,” Jane called from the speaker. “Just promise to do me one favor?” “What favor would that be?” “Promise me you won’t fall in love with some hot Hawaiian guy and never come back. You wouldn’t leave me all alone with those gossiping bitches in the office, would you?” Reney had to laugh again. “Jane, the last thing I’m looking to do on this trip is fall in love. I am going to soak up the sun, drink at the pool, and I guess do a

little work and representation, or whatever it is I’m supposed to be there for.” “Promise me, Reney! It’s an ugly world in the office without you!” “Fine! Promised!”

Chapter Two Reney felt mortified the moment she stepped off the plane and into the elaborate Hawaiian sun, as the slim, bronzed Hawaiian girls threw flowers around her neck. She could feel it as a sleek black limo pulled to a stop for her and Mr. Rogan, right there on the runway as if she was Madonna and he was…whoever it was Madonna was seeing. Reney couldn’t even keep track of things like that working for So Glam. Yes, mortification was most accurate, a feeling that overtook her immediately after the petrified feeling of traveling alone in first class with Mr. Rogan had subsided. He had said only one sentence to her the entire flight. Reney, even with her degree in journalism and communications, couldn’t seem to break through the thick, professional ice Mr. Rogan was encased in. “Mr. Rogan,” she had exclaimed excitedly as the plane reached cruising altitude. “When do you think I’ll get to meet some of these top professionals? Will it be at the first cocktail party? Or is it more of a sneak-your-way-in-a-backroom sort of a thing?” “You can call me Richard,” he said in his strange accent. And that had been that. The rest of the flight (which was thankfully non-stop, given to the magazine’s high-standing credentials) had been a silence like death. Mr. Rogan, or Richard now, had spent the entire flight looking over folders upon folders of modeling photographs and article samples. He scanned them with his dark eyes. Reney had determined they were actually black. He would exert only the occasional “Mmm-hmm” or “Hmm” from the depths of his chest. At least, it was a chest that could not hide its chiseled standard even under the pin-stripe suit he wore. Reney had felt unprofessional and almost childish. She had dressed for comfort on the flight in shorts and flip-flops, and the only reading material she had brought had been a thick romance novel Jane had lent her the week before. Kill me now. She watched Richard sip an ice-cold whiskey with his full, pale lips. I am going to come home tan from being fired. The limo was pulling up to the hotel, and the shame began to melt. The building was beautiful white stucco, surrounded by well-

placed palm trees. The place was nothing like the cold, brick buildings of even the five-star hotels in New York, none of which Reney had ever even stepped foot in. And her room. This is bigger than my apartment. Way bigger. Embarrassingly bigger. I need to step my game up. I wonder what Mr.…what Richard’s room looks like. Richard spoke to her briefly at the door before he departed, and Reney felt like a star-struck teenager. She tried to maintain her professional composure, conscious of every hair out of place in her loose ponytail. “We will be meeting at the pool for drinks at precisely nine o’clock. The map in your room can direct you to the pool and back to your own room afterward. Do not be late. Feel free to wear a bathing suit of your choosing. This is a very casual affair. However, we may run across some of the people we will be speaking to professionally in the next few days, so bikini or no, you must wear your best editorial face.” “Thank–” Reney started, but Richard was already gone, his lean waist and broad shoulders disappearing around the corner. Reney kicked off her flip-flops and lay down on the bed. It was a huge one, advertised as emperor-sized in the hotel pamphlet she discovered in the limo and looked through to avoid further awkward interaction with Richard. Yes, she could certainly go for a nap. It had been a long flight. The jet lag combined with the emotional stress of feeling as if she couldn’t compose an interesting sentence to save her life for the past several hours had taken its toll on her. Besides, with the time change and all, it was only six o’clock. Drinks at the pool wouldn’t take much readying herself, even if she planned to practice her “editorial face” for a few minutes in the mirror. Yes, a nap would do just fine….

Chapter Three Reney was mortified again. Absolutely, positively mortified. She had taken her nap all right, but it had become one of those deep, unforgiving sleeps the human body so craves after a lack of good rest. She had dreamed, relentlessly, and of Richard no less. Only his eyes were more than just black irises. They were completely shaded in, with a life of their very own, and they were chasing her, somehow. She had been running down a street she had never seen before, but one her subconscious told her was in Hawaii. And she had woken up at 8:57 P.M. She didn’t have a moment of time to practice her editorial face. Clothes flew everywhere around the fancy hotel room with the view of the ocean. There were dresses, sandals, heels, and finally, a bathing suit Reney deemed to be suitable enough for drinks in a semiprofessional, poolside setting. She slicked her hair back into the masterful bun she had taught herself for running-late workdays and was out the door at 9:02. Reney had studied the map at her bedside through half-closed eyes as she had fallen asleep. She was relying on only the pictorial memory as she raced past surprised looking tourists and the attractive native staff in the hallway. Left, right, right, left. Yes! This was it. Reney stopped and composed herself for a moment at the entrance to the pool, and she took in the breathtaking sight of it, bracing herself. There were waterfalls and poolside bars, ones she could just swim up to. The most gorgeous male and female bartenders attended them all. The women were in string bikinis, and the men wore no shirts and showed off their golden-brown, almost god-like physiques. One caught Reney’s eye as she stood in the hallway, taking deep breaths. He was slightly paler than the rest, his smooth and unblemished skin a light-tanned hue. His eyes were a brighter gold than any she’d seen on the natives. Or anyone else. He glanced at Reney for a moment, and then went back to pouring and mixing drinks with a precision Reney hadn’t seen in even the most upscale New York bars. Note to self. She smoothed the sides of her red v-line bikini, pleased that she was in such great shape on an island known for the beauty of its

people. Certainly, she was appealing, or Richard would never have chosen her for the trip in the first place. At least, if what all the other interns were saying was true. Reney stood tall and opened the door confidently, striding on her long, sleek legs as securely as she could. She flashed a winning and white-toothed smile at any pool-sider who looked in her direction, and there were certainly plenty of the admirers. She felt reassured of her own beauty among the Hawaiian princesses, and she scanned the poolside and bar-huts for Richard. She hoped he hadn’t noticed her late arrival, even if it were just a few minutes’ worth. Perhaps if he had, she could convince him that she’d been there all along, socializing, or at least doing her job to some degree. Hmm. There wasn’t an inkling of her boss anywhere. Reney decided that this could be a good thing. Unless of course, he was looking for her; and she could always claim she had been doing the same for him. She mentally prepared herself for a light, professional chatter, should the need arise, and stepped into the pool, delighted to find that the water was cool and refreshing. It washed away the slumber from her tight body. She felt instantly relaxed and took a mental roundup of the poolside bars. Aww, the hottie. Reney could see him eyeing her, even from across the gigantic swimming pool. She made her way over, securing her blonde locks tightly in the bun. Reney flashed him a smile as she pulled herself up alongside his station. “What can I make you?” he asked. Up close, she could see that he was even more exotic looking than she had surmised from afar. His golden eyes were a brilliant, almost unnatural hue up close, almond-shaped and certainly native. His exposed chest adorned a rippling of smooth muscles with tightly formed biceps Reney had only dreamt of, even with the slew of goodlooking men who occupied Florida and New York. But she wouldn’t let herself be nervous. No, she was beautiful. There was no reason for her to back down in the name of foreign hotness. After all, Mr. Hottie seemed much more personable than Richard right off the bat. “I’ll have a cosmo,” she said and licked her lips. “With a cherry.”

It seemed reasonable that there was absolutely no good reason not to get laid in Hawaii. And if Mr. Hottie were the one to do it, well, she would have no complaints at all. After all, she had only promised Jane she wouldn’t fall in love. There had been no mention of not having a little hot sex on the side and in a five-star hotel room to boot. “Coming right up.” He prepared the drink with lightning speed. Reney couldn’t believe it for an instant, his long, tanned fingers gripping bottles and shakers. He plucked a single cherry from his dish, spearing it evenly. The juices ran into her cup for what Reney knew had to be an exaggerated moment. “Here you go,” he said, handing the drink over the bar. “T-thanks.” Reney wished she could kick herself right in the ass. It was not like her to stutter. She had been confident all her life. Watching him prepare that cocktail, she felt weak in the knees and was glad that she was underwater, for she felt certain she had just moistened the bottom of her bright red bikini as well. She turned to swim away. She would come back again, yes. And this time, there would be no stuttering. After all, if it was true that booze was liquid confidence, then the shaky feeling would certainly disappear one drink in. Reney rarely drank aside from girls’ night in with Jane. “Wait.” Wait? Wait? Are you fucking kidding me right now? Mr. Hottie wants me to wait? Reney turned back to the bartender, smiling broadly. “Yes?” “I need to talk to you.” Yes, you do, you God you. “About?” Reney smiled again. “Not here,” he said, looking around. He suddenly seemed nervous. “Meet me in the hall in fifteen minutes. I mean it. It’s important.” “Umm, considering you don’t know me, what could be so….” But the bartender was back at work, his back turned toward her. It was almost even more enticing than his front if that was possible. Muscles like wings ran down his back in perfect angles,

flexing with every twist and pour of the drinks he prepared with such inhuman speed. Reney swam away slowly and took a big swig of her cosmo, weighing her options. Mr. Hottie could just want to talk to her privately. In fact, that seemed the most likely cause. He probably didn’t want his boss to see him flirting so deeply in front of all the customers. Reney concluded that she was the exotic stock in these parts, with her light skin from the New York winter, and her pale, golden locks. He could want to kill her! That could be it. No. If he wanted to kill her, why would he do it so randomly and in such a public place? Somebody would have had to overhear him telling her to meet him in the hall, with so many people. Any self-respecting psychopath would certainly take more precaution in luring her to her death. So, Reney decided she would meet him. She hadn’t even spotted Richard; there was no telling where he was or whom he was talking to, but he obviously didn’t need any assistance from her. She waded around in the pool for a few minutes, eyeing the frolicsome, glowing clock that adorned the wall leading back into the hotel. She would wait sixteen minutes. Reney Rose would never be a desperate woman, no matter how hot the bartenders, no matter how juicy the cherries, and no matter how…cold the bosses.

Chapter Four Ahulani paced nervously back and forth in the hall. The woman he had to protect, Reney Rose, was late. What utter, foreigner rudeness. Ahulani wasn’t used to being stood up, or for any woman being late for his invitation. He hadn’t been as a young boy, his then-long ebony locks blowing in the wind on a night beach. His mother’s hand planted firmly upon his shoulder as he gazed out into the endless, diamond sky and the forever-stretching waves of the sea. She had been late that night, and it was as a young boy that he learned why he preferred the beach at night. Why he favored a nocturnal lifestyle in general. It was his mother, strong in body and demeanor, her classic native features wavering in the moonlight. She told him what he was, what they were. Half-vampire. That’s what she called it, and at first, Ahulani laughed. Then, he spotted the seriousness written across her face, and he knew it was true. In those moments there on the beach, Ahulani’s entire life in all of its peculiarities finally made some sort of sense for him. He’d never been able to see his reflection in the mirrors at the Church. He supposed it normal until that night as his mother sat down beside him in the sand, gazing out at the ocean with him. He hated garlic, but always assumed that it was a matter of taste. He held his mother’s hand tightly for reassurance. “You are a half-vampire, my son, it is true,” she spoke softly, kindly. “Now that you know this, now that you are old enough, you must realize your capabilities and powers. You must use them wisely. The Goddess Haumea watches over all of us half-lings, and she is wise and brave, as you must be.” “I thought all vampires were evil?” Ahulani had asked. He suddenly shuddered at the thought that he may belong in a fate destined to Hell. “And doesn’t this mean that we shall live forever?” Ahulani’s mother shook her head. “No, Ahulani, not all of us are evil. Many of us half-lings have chosen the wise path of Haumea. Our family is from a long generation of righteous and true souls, no matter what blood runs through our veins. We will not live forever, no, but you may live as long as two hundred years or more, Ahulani. There are many who would see us dead. Full vampires especially. But even other half-vampires that

disapprove of our coexistence with the humans. And we must protect those who they would kill. We must protect ourselves and follow the will of the wise Goddess Haumea.” “Don’t we need blood to live, Mother?” Ahulani’s mother laughed and wrapped a reassuring arm around her son’s shoulders. She cuddled him closely. “Not to live, Ahulani. We are only half-vampires. However, if you should choose to drink blood, it will make you stronger and extend your life. You must collect blood from the blood bank or from animals. You are never to drink the blood of another until you are in true love. For only then will the drink be without sin. And remember your destiny, Ahulani. To protect. You are sworn to protect by Haumea.” Ahulani shook the thoughts of his mother from his head. Sworn to protect. Yet, he hadn’t been able to protect his mother from the full vampires that had traveled from Romania and attacked his village when he was but twelve. They had burned their huts and staked his neighbors in the streets, laughing almost hysterically all the while. The Romanians killed his mother in the center of the village, as it seemed they truly hated the half-vampires who had chosen the path of Haumea. They hated them even more than they hated the humans, who they seemed to kill for sport. As the neon pool lights crept through the windows of the hall, Ahulani could still hear his mother crying out for him to run, escape. He remembered the black eyes of the Romanian leader. They chased him away from the village. Ahulani had run down back roads he had always been too frightened to venture out onto, even in the daylight. The man hadn’t laughed like the others, yet Ahulani somehow knew he enjoyed it more than any of the other vampires. The man’s facial features were sharp and stoic, frozen in a sinister smile of pleasure as the helpless villagers had burned. Ahulani had seen him here tonight, with the woman. He almost hadn’t believed it at first, hadn’t wanted to believe it. But the vampire was unmistakable. The black eyes, the slender, pale muscles moving fluidly as Ahulani watched him pass the bar in his swimming trunks. His father, one of the survivors of the massacre in Ahulani’s village, warned him that something big would be happening soon and encouraged him to take the job at the hotel. Ahulani’s father had prophetic dreams, and the young half-vampire of only twenty-nine

applied at the hotel. He had been waiting for months. That woman, though. There was something special about her. He wondered if she knew who she was, what she was. Certainly, Ahulani had not expected this, almost more so unexpected than the evil leader of the vampires from Europe to return to his island. She had taken him at first glance, as she followed the man into the hotel. She possessed that slender, pale-lit beauty, distinctively marked of a half-vampire. He thought for a moment that perhaps she was working with the man, whom he discovered was masquerading under the name Richard, and then remembered the intense hatred the vampires had for the half-lings. It was impossible. Ahulani’s sharpened senses could smell them both out, and indeed, the woman was but half herself. She needed no umbrella to walk in the sunlight as Richard did on in his way into the hotel. Another sniff revealed her to be thirty-one, two years his elder. The woman had been on his mind ever since, not only because of his instinct to carry on his duty and protect her. The exotic look of the Caucasian half-ling was so very distinguishing from anything he’d ever seen. Ahulani had never even left the island. There were a few other half-vampires, and even a few full lurking around the parts, but they were all natives. Even the most beautiful of the women Hawaii had to offer could not compare to the creamy, white skin, the sparkling golden hair. The perfect curvature of the woman’s figure…. The woman’s name was Renee Rose, “Reney,” and it was his duty to protect her. Ahulani took a deep breath, using all his years of self-discipline to push the thoughts of Reney’s exotic perfection from his mind. After all, there were bigger fish to fry. Richard, or whatever his actual name was, was here on the island, and he would pay dearly for what he had done to Ahulani’s mother, to his village, to the halfvampires. Ahulani was more than willing to die taking that monster down.

Chapter Five Reney couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous as she stepped into the hallway. She tried to avoid detection from the other pool patrons, lest they realize what was going on. She certainly wasn’t going to let on to the drool-worthy bartender she was a tad agitated. Men loved that kind of stuff. Reney was going to have her casual sex in paradise, and it was going to be on her terms. He was there all right, standing in the corner. Reney gasped softly at the sight of him in the dimness, the festive pool lights casting sporadic flashes across his face and illuminating those bright, golden eyes. He was more gorgeous in such a sneaky setting, and Reney took another swill of her cosmo, finishing it. She crumpled the paper cup inside her hand, coyly tossing it into the wastebasket. “Hi,” she called into the corner. “So, um, what’s up? I don’t even think I caught your name out there.” “Ahulani,” he said, and extended his hand for a shake. Reney took his hand, and it was as if a volt of electricity went through her body. His large hand was smooth and warm, and up close, she could smell him. Ahulani was like sweet spice and cinnamon. He stared at her intently, one thick, black lock of hair lopped over a golden iris. But there was something more than just the attraction, which had been initial; there was something special about this Ahulani character. “Renee, is that right?” he asked, jolting her from her thoughts. “Uh, yes, but please, call me Reney. Everyone does. Renee sounds kind of old to me. Maybe one day I’ll be all grown up into Renee, but Reney does perfectly fine for now. What exactly…was so important that you felt compelled to call me into your little corner here?” “You’re in danger,” he said, his golden eyes flashing. “The man you’re with, Richard. He’s going to kill you.” Reney, aware that she was still holding Ahulani’s hand in her own, released it at once. “Are you serious? Or should I be asking if you’re crazy? He’s my boss. What reason in the world could he possibly have to want and kill me?” “You are a half-ling, Reney,” Ahulani said sharply. “Halfvampire. Richard is a full vampire, and he hates our kind. You see,

I’m half-vampire, too. That’s how I could tell you were the second I laid eyes on you. The second I smelled you.” Reney felt her jaw drop. She turned and headed swiftly back the way she’d come. “Half-vampire, am I? Look, it’s been real and all. I’m out. I’ll see you later by the pool, probably in the company of lots and lots of people and bright lights. Actually, you know what, with all the variety in bartenders, I’ll probably just go ahead and use someone else. You have fun with your half-vampires.” Ahulani was suddenly in front of the door, and Reney startled. He had moved with ruthless speed. It was reminiscent of how he had been making the drinks, but this time, he had literally been a bronze flash. He blocked the entrance completely. Taking one look at his rippling muscles, Reney knew she wouldn’t be a match for him. Even with all the aerobics classes she had been dragging Jane to four times a week. “Reney, he will kill you. You must listen to me. Your very life depends on it, and likely the lives of countless others on this island. Your boss is a cold-blooded killer, a murderer. I watched him kill my own mother when I was but a boy.” Instinctively, Reney turned and ran in the other direction. If she couldn’t get out to the safety of the pool area, the very least she could do was get back to her own room. The magnetic key was tucked safely in the strap of her bathing suit. She lifted a hand to make sure it was still there. It was. She kept running. She could hear Ahulani shouting after her, but he didn’t appear to be following her. Good. She could get back to the hotel room and call the police. Most of all, she needed to warn Richard that this nut job was ready to do something terrible to him. He might even try to kill him. She burst through the door of her hotel room, breathless. She fumbled with the key card for a few terrifying moments, certain Ahulani would appear with his creepy lizard-like speed at any instant and break through her door. But he hadn’t, and she was back in the safety of her own room. Locked inside, she pressed her trembling body against the door. This was not what she had had in mind when she envisioned her trip to paradise. “You were late.” Reney jumped in fear, letting out a shriek she hoped wouldn’t give away her whereabouts. It wasn’t Ahulani, though. It was

Richard, sitting on the couch of the suite, with a bottle of champagne and his trademark gaze of black ice. “Richard.” Reney gasped in relief. “I’m so sorry. You wouldn’t believe what just happened to me. This man, one of the bartenders, he said that you were planning to kill me. And when I tried to go back out into the pool area, tried to run, he blocked my way. I thought for sure he was going to kill me. I’m so glad you’re here. We have to call the police.” “Really?” A distant flicker of emotion grazed Richard’s black irises, but Reney couldn’t tell what he might be feeling. She thought that it was rather strange, even for detached Richard, to not be a little troubled about the whole situation. “Have a seat, Reney. I’m very disappointed in your untimely arrival at the pool. I spent the better half of an hour looking all about for you. Where were you?” Reney sat as if a dog on command, and she couldn’t help but notice Richard’s body as she did. He was gleaming white and still a bit wet from the pool. She found it difficult to imagine Richard swimming. It seemed like too frivolous an activity for the stony senior editor. But he must have, lean muscles trembling under droplets of water, and Reney was surprised to find herself aroused. Her bikini line began to moisten. And it wasn’t from the pool water. “I’m s-sorry,” she said. “I had fallen asleep. I thought for sure that I would be awake long before the pool call. The next thing I knew, I was waking up and had like three minutes to get ready.” “No matter. Don’t let it happen again. I brought you along on this trip with me because I think you have what it takes to represent the magazine. Do you understand that, Reney?” “Yes. I do. I’m very sorry. It will not happen again. You have my word. From now on, I am going to conduct myself in the manner of a professional. In everything. I know we only have a few days here, but I won’t even so much as look at a cocktail, unless someone important is insisting on it.” Richard handed her a glass of champagne. Reney laughed awkwardly. As soon as the bubbles hit her lips, she was glad to take it from him. It was like a wash of relief after the ordeal at the pool, after the sexy bartender had transformed into a particularly sizzling psycho.

“Look at me, Reney. In the eyes. What else did this bartender boy tell you about me?” “About you?” Reney said, a little put off. “Well, he said that you were a vampire.” She laughed at the memory. “Yeah, he said that you were a vampire, and he was a halfvampire. Oh, wait, and I’m a half-vampire, too. And your kind doesn’t like my kind. I guess that you’re going to kill me before this trip is over.” “Do you believe that?” Reney snorted sweet bubbles through her nose in a chuckle. “Believe that? Yes, Richard, I believe that you’re a vampire, and that you’re going to kill me. But, look out! I’m half a vampire. So I guess I’ve got a shot at you, too, right?” She expected him to laugh, but he didn’t, and Reney realized that she couldn’t avert her eyes from him. The black eyes that had followed her down the dark road in her dream were twisting and turning about the socket, and clouded over the whites of his eyes completely. Reney wanted to scream, to get up, and bolt for the door, but she was riveted to the spot. “Don’t be frightened, Reney. Like I said, I invited you on this trip because you were special. And because I want you, Reney. Not just to represent the magazine. I want to be inside you, Reney. I want to feel you in there.” “Richard,” she managed, and this was all. The sharp exquisiteness of his face swallowed her whole, the black eyes twisting back and forth inside her mind. The indistinct accent she had been trying to place was sweeping before, but became stronger in their mutual excitement. He leaned forward, and she dropped her glass on the floor as he did. His lips took her in a violent kiss, his tongue not hesitant at the opening of her mouth. He prodded his way past gums and teeth to wrap her tongue in an embrace, twisting and twirling methodically. Reney moaned against her will, her eyes still stock-open. She was entranced by the spiraling, black clouds in his eyes. Richard pushed her down with immense force, crawling atop her. Reney gasped, spreading her legs apart as if on instinct. He stroked the v-line of her bikini, tugging at the strings barely holding them together.

“I want to see these, Reney. I want to taste them and every part of you. Don’t try and resist. You know you’ve wanted this just as much as I have. You do want me. Don’t you, Reney?” “Yes,” she murmured, and her top was on the floor as swiftly as her champagne glass had been, her nipples suddenly bare and already erect. Richard ran his hands across them, chilling them, and making them stand tall. The clouds in his eyes moved faster and faster as he leaned down to take one in his mouth, whirling his tongue around at such rapid speed Reney cried out in pleasure. “You like this, don’t you, Reney? You’re so beautiful, so very creamy and full of life…so very much more than I have. I am going to take you as my own. I am going to make you come. Make you scream like a little girl. Isn’t that what you want, Reney?” “Yes.” Reney sighed. “I have wanted this. I’ve always wanted you, Richard.” Richard laughed coldly. It was the first time she had ever heard any such emotion from the senior editor. He moved his pelvis between her already spread legs, and she could feel his member, swollen with blood. Much larger than any that had passed inside of her before. He rubbed it up and down, back and forth over her pussy lips until she thought she might scream. Richard smirked, as if reading her mind. “Oh, you will scream.” He opened his mouth in what Reney first thought was a grin, and it was then that she saw them: fangs, sharp and gleaming, as hard and sharp as his arousal. Reney cried out in horror and tried to push him off her. His mouth approached her neck at a speed as fast as Ahulani’s had been. He was strong, even stronger than she would have expected with such a physique, and he grabbed her flailing wrists, pinning them to her sides. His face went alight in emotion, sparkling in a sadistic, black-eyed pleasure. He smiled, and this time, Reney knew it was a genuine one. “Your little friend was right, Reney. I am a vampire. And you, you are half. I don’t know how a little half-ling harlot managed her way into my little magazine façade. But, no matter. I am going to drain you dry and love your corpse, keep it as my own. I could preserve you, if I wished, look upon you whenever I pleased. Did you

know that the blood of a half-ling would make me stronger than any human blood ever could? Oh, and if they somehow find you? They will find it an accident, I assure you. After all, who believes in a silly thing like vampires?” Reney screamed, writhing in his grasp as his black gaze completely solidified in what Reney feared was the kill moment. They became the chasing eyes. Only this time, there was no road to run from him. Nowhere to go at all. Then, she heard a great rip, as if there had been a car accident inside the suite. Richard looked up and hissed like a snake, his fangs bared at some intruder. It was Ahulani. He had ripped the door from its very hinges, and he threw it to the floor, his broad chest gleaming in sweat, his eyes flaming like freshly polished gold. Had Reney not been so terrified and completely immobilized, she would have fallen on her knees to worship the striking man in the doorway. “You,” Richard crooned, and Reney could feel his grasp loosening. “Do you remember me? What was your name? You were but a boy, weren’t you? It has been some time, hasn’t it? I remember that I drained your mother. Why, I kept her just alive enough to feel herself burn. Well, that wasn’t so hard to recall, after all.” Ahulani’s golden eyes flashed in anger. “Let her go. You don’t want her. You want me. I have halfling blood as well, Richard, and I’m a man. Wouldn’t you like to try me on for a size, try and get some of your precious half-ling blood?” “Well,” Richard said, his neck cocked at an unnatural angle. “As a matter of fact, I’d love a little drink of filthy, pretty boy halfling blood.” Reney felt herself freed, and she rolled onto the floor, scrambling for her top. Richard must have leapt at Ahulani, but it looked as if he had flown, soaring toward the Hawaiian in a brutal attack. Reney tried not to scream, covering her mouth with one hand, and she crawled at a rapid pace towards the telephone at her bedside. Surely, there had to be some way to end the erupting madness in her hotel suite. Hell, maybe the police around here were used to dealing with vampires. The line was dead, and all of a sudden, it made sense to Reney. Richard must have cut it when he arrived at the hotel room, anticipating her possible escape. Clearly, he had not been expecting

Ahulani, and she looked on in terror as the half-vampire fought the full-blooded one, chairs and other furniture splintering under the weight of the battle. It was like something out of a movie, like nothing Reney had ever seen before in real life. Amidst all the chaos, Reney had the presence of mind to grab one of her dresses from the floor, one that had flown out of her suitcase in her mad dash to make it to the swimming pool on time. That’s when she saw her escape. The window. There had to be a fire exit. There just had to be at such an upscale establishment, and Reney ran. She tried to drown the vicious growls and inhuman sounds from the combat in her dream suite. She made her escape. The men in the room were occupied with each other. She struggled to open it for a moment and remembered what Ahulani had told her. If she was indeed a half-vampire, shouldn’t she herself possess some sort of power? She closed her eyes and concentrated, and the window opened with a tear, torn nearly from the hinges. It was still not as impressive as Ahulani’s door-ripping stunt had been. Reney slid her limber body through the opening, glad she had brought sneakers in her suitcase. It had seemed pointless at the time, but she landed gracefully on the concrete and stucco below. Half-vampire. She reveled, even in her shock and terror. I could get used to this.

Chapter Six Reney ran towards the scent of the salt-water ocean rather than the town and people. No matter how dangerous a situation this had become, she needed to be alone. She had to sort this out. Most of all, she wanted to find out who or what she was herself. It didn’t take long for her to reach the beach. The sea’s calming waves and the strong yet peaceful breeze seemed to be in sharp contrast with what she had discovered about the island and its inhabitants. Hell, with what she had discovered about the world. If somebody had told Reney the week before that vampires do exist, and by the way, she was half one herself, she would have either hung up or slammed the door in their face, dependent on the situation. She could see herself sitting on the couch with Jane, red wine almost snorting out of her friend’s nose as she regaled her with the story. But it was no laughing matter. It was real. Vampires were real. Half-lings, as she heard Ahulani and Richard refer to them, were real. What else? What next? Werewolves? Witches? Witches…. Reney’s mind began to piece things together. Her Aunt Rita had been a so-called witch, having bookshelves stacked with occult knowledge, boxes stuffed with herbs and potions. Aunt Rita was her mother’s sister. Reney could remember being five or so, watching the two women drinking red wine in the kitchen. “We don’t do this often.” Reney’s mother had giggled at her. “And you shouldn’t either. I’ll settle for the normal lifespan, myself, wouldn’t you agree, Rita?” Rita sipped her wine cheerfully. “Oh, don’t go telling the girl, Claire. Give her a chance at the common life.” “What do you mean?” Reney had inquired, eyeing her female relatives, who she remembered thinking even then they acted quite strangely. It hadn’t been wine at all. It made sense now as Reney pieced it together. “Just let her have a sip,” Aunt Rita had said. “Just one. At least let her have a taste of the fun life. Lord knows, she’ll be grown up soon enough.”

“Oh, fine,” her mother said. “Take a little sip of the juice, Reney.” Reney did so eagerly, always ready to be a part of whatever it was the grownups were doing. “Ick! This tastes like salt!” The two sisters laughed again, and Reney had felt a surge in her body, her blood, and her very bones. A surge of strength, of power. “I’m going to play outside.” “Don’t you ever forget, Reney!” Aunt Rita called out behind her as Reney scrambled off. “You can break spells!” Reney lay on the beach, and she remembered. It had been nearly her bedtime that long-ago evening, and she had been tired. But after tasting the blood she bound through the big backyard, climbing up trees like a trained monkey to swing through the branches. She never felt so alive, not even in the natural vigor of childhood. Until she had met Ahulani. From the moment she first saw him to his heroic burst through the door. He saved her life. He had warned about Richard, and she hadn’t listened. She could feel her heart filling with regret as she watched him in her mind, eyes ablaze in a fury to save her from the terrifying vampire attack. Reney had only just met Ahulani, but already her mind adored him. She wondered if he were dead, if Richard killed him in the fight. Every part of Reney wanted to run back to the hotel at lightning speed, to help Ahulani with her newfound identity, her new powers, whatever they may be, but she knew Richard would and could kill her in an instant. He had been so hypnotic, so artfully seductive, and he had turned into a terrifying creature Reney had seen only in her nightmares. And Ahulani rescued her, even after she had laughed at him in the hallway, and ran away in a fright. He had risked his life for her. For all she knew, he could have lost that life trying to save a selfish, New York magazine intern. Reney, feeling more helpless than she ever had as a mere human being, buried her face in her hands and cried. The ocean’s waves covered the sounds of her sobbing with their sweet melody.

Chapter Seven Ahulani was hurt badly. He wrenched himself through the back alleyways, not wanting to be seen in such a condition and give anyone a fright or bring awareness to himself. The fight with Richard seemed like it might last forever. For all the hatred and bitterness Ahulani had suppressed against the callous vampire over his life, it was not enough to defeat him. He had merely survived. But he knew Richard was hurt, too, scarred across the chest to reveal the black blood that ran through the veins of the full vampires. This repulsed Ahulani, as the plasma itself seemed to drip of pure evil. Having gashed open the vampire’s chest at last, he had put aside his anger and did the only logical thing he could: escape. He felt a coward for it, as if betraying his mother and all the rest of the vampire’s victims, but Reney’s safety trumped his entire agenda concerning Richard. He smelt Reney’s trail somewhere along the alleyways, and he knew that time was of the essence in tracking her. He was certain that Richard would be able to smell her, too, perhaps even taking an article of the woman’s clothing to aid him like some hellhound on the hunt. Ahulani tried to shake the thoughts from his head and stay focused. He could pick up Reney’s scent with a near passion, even more so than with the usual vampires and half-lings. There was something special about her, and he could feel himself drawn to the beach like a magnetic force. True love, his mother had told him. Only then could you drink from another being, whether it be human, half-ling, or vampire. Ahulani had fallen in love, once, with another half-ling, and the romance had been a whirlwind. She wanted to go off to University, to live a simple human life. She wished to partake of no blood, to reject her very status as a half-vampire. Yet, she had let Ahulani take a small suckle one night, after he had been quite hurt in a soccer tournament. The relief had been immediate, that one gulp, pure and salty. It ran down his throat like liquid ambrosia. Nothing like the power he felt when drinking from the blood bank, or from an animal. And then she had gone off to University. She had written letters, yes, but eventually, Ahulani could sense her fading. After she failed to respond to three of his long letters to her, he had given up. The

heartbreak had been expected, so it didn’t take him long to move forward from it, but he never forgot that one, small suckle. Yet, it couldn’t be possible that he was falling in love with this woman. He had seen her nearly naked on the bed with Richard. Besides, he hardly even knew her. He was well aware that many vampires, especially powerful ones like Richard, could hypnotically seduce women with their very eyes, but he couldn’t get the thought of her beneath him out of his mind. Ahulani was beginning to find that he was jealous. Ahulani had never been jealous in his life, of anyone or anything. Perhaps there was something special about this woman, Reney. Thoughts for later, of course. Her scent was strengthening, and he had no intentions of stopping as badly injured as he was. Not until he was beside Reney, providing her whatever protection he could. He felt as though his very life’s blood depended on it.

Chapter Eight Reney was surprised to learn that she had fallen asleep, her face a mess of hair and saltwater, dried tears. Something had awoken her, and she realized with some surprise that it was the scent of another half-ling. How quickly she was catching on to these things, she noted, and the odor was distinct of familiar cinnamon. And blood. She could make out Ahulani stumbling down the beach towards her. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her, arms outstretched. Ahulani nearly collapsed into her arms when she reached him, and even in the dark, she could make out his wounds and smell his blood, poignant and fresh, almost hunger-inducing. Reney cast the thoughts away at once. “Ahulani! You’re hurt. Is Richard dead?” “Yes, I am hurt,” Ahulani said quietly. “He is extraordinarily old and powerful, Reney. As many years as I have been planning my revenge, his demise, I had been vastly underestimating what he truly is.” Reney pursed her lips, steadying Ahulani down into a sitting position beside her in the sand. “A vampire.” Ahulani nodded. “Yes, full. It is as I told you earlier. They hate us, hate the pure-hearted half-lings that they feel betray the very lifestyle of the vampire. He is evil at its purest, Reney, and he will stop at nothing to have us dead, to drain us for his wicked revitalization.” Ahulani suddenly doubled over, clutching his ribs. “Ahulani!” “I’m fine.” “You’re not. What was it that Richard said back at the hotel and that you said just now? The blood of a half-ling can strengthen you, can make you powerful? Can it heal?” Ahulani’s golden eyes flashed up at her. “Don’t even think such a thing, Reney. I certainly wouldn’t.” Reney leapt to her feet. “What’s in a little blood, Ahulani? Just a few days ago, I would have thought it was nuts, too, but now, it seems like anything is possible. Do you think I can defeat Richard? You’re our only chance,

or we’re both dead. If the only thing I can offer the whole situation is my own blood, then so be it, Ahulani. Drink. Drink of me.” “Never! You don’t understand.” Reney defiantly stomped a foot in the sand. “I’ve learned that I don’t understand much, if anything, about this whole wacky, paranormal thing. Whatever it is. But I know from what I heard, from what you’ve told me yourself, that I can help.” “There’s more to it than that, Reney. To be a pure drink, for me to not partake in any evil, we must be in love. True love.” Reney paused, more at a loss for words than she had been on the plane ride with Richard. That seemed like it was years ago, in another life. One where pretty interns flew with senior editors to show off their cocktail dresses at upscale parties in island paradises. At last, words came. “Ahulani, what if I do love you?” Ahulani’s golden eyes looked up quickly, his body somehow even more beautiful covered in the bruises and gashes. “You don’t even know me.” “Yes, I know that. But I feel like I do, Ahulani. I feel like I have my whole life. I know this is going to sound corny, but oh to hell with it. Ahulani, I feel like I’ve been waiting for you, somehow.” Silence. Reney began to regret her words, but they had come as naturally as a little black dress from her closet on a Friday night. And then, Ahulani reached up and pulled her down to him, still surprisingly strong in all his injury. His smooth, full lips met hers, and she gasped into his mouth, almost embarrassed, but Ahulani didn’t seem to care, driving her deep into the kiss. It was electric, as if the entire beach would illuminate for them, and Reney felt her head go light by passion, with surrealism. It was as though she were floating a million miles above the beach beside Ahulani. She felt certain that this was Heaven, eternal. Ahulani pulled his face back from her own, and she could see that he was as breathless as she was, sweat running down his high cheekbones. His golden eyes were alight as they had been in anger, but now glittering, like summer fireworks exploding in his eyes. Reney felt her spine chill, unable to take her hands from his grasp. They sat, bonded, uncertain of the very moment. “Reney,” Ahulani said. “Reney, I want to tell you something.”

The scent caught her too soon, and Ahulani’s gleaming, almost boyish face jerked upward, catching it as well. Not a scent. Death. The smell of Death. “Young lovers,” she heard Richard say as he stepped into the moonlight, his pale, sharp face marked in slashes, the rest of him covered in a flowing black trench coat. He looked every part the sordid vampire and nothing like the sultry senior editor of So Glam. His fangs were bared and gleaming in the rays of the benevolent moon, tarnishing their peaceful beauty. “I always have said you were like fish in a barrel.” There was darkness.

Chapter Nine Reney woke up as if in a dream, her eyes bleary, and she realized that she was bound, her wrists tight in rusted shackles against a cold wall. She looked around frantically, delirious. “Ahulani!” “Reney….” She heard him a few feet away in the shabby lighting, and she could smell him and more of his blood than even before. A light came on overhead, swinging from the ceiling. She made out the long, dark figure of Richard, slowly making his way over to them. A glance to her left revealed Ahulani, shackled as she was, his head bowed. He was covered in so many wounds he was almost unrecognizable. Reney burst into tears at the sight of him. “Ohhhhh,” Richard crooned, and he stepped into full view. “Beautiful. You love him, don’t you, Reney? You know, I can smell these things. I can smell just about everything, actually, though I never have cared for the scents of love. Like over processed maple syrup. A nasty attraction is far more suitable to me.” Richard raised a hand to her cheekbone, running his hand across it briefly and sweeping a single tear from it. He examined it for a moment, as if pleased. He licked it from his fingertip with a smile, fangs glistening even in the near-darkness. “Don’t you touch her!” Ahulani shouted, raising his head. Richard laughed coldly. “Or what, Ahulani? Shall I take you down in battle again? Shall I prove myself the more worthy of our kind, you half-breed trash? Or haven’t I already done all these things? You foolish, foolish, boy. You haven’t the slightest idea what you have gotten yourself into by fucking with my agendas and me. I have seen and done things you couldn’t imagine in your darkest nightmares. Not even the ones reminiscent of what I have done to you.” Richard took Reney’s cheeks in his hands and pressed his face against hers, slowly running his heated tongue across her earlobe. “You wanted me, Reney. You told me yourself. You’ve wanted me from the day you started at the magazine. What’s changed now? Are you scared? Or are you in love?” “I don’t,” she said. “I don’t want you at all.”

Richard cocked his head back and grinned, revealing his glittering fangs once again. Reney could see that his eyes were beginning to whirl again, the deep blackness overtaking them. Reney’s tears suddenly dried, and she could feel herself becoming aroused, her clit hardening underneath her panties. She tried to fight it, but for all his wickedness, he truly was as beautiful as the first day she had seen him: fangs and all. “Oh, but you do now, don’t you dear? Women are so very easy to manipulate, especially these days. They’ve no sense of pride or prudency. Just ask Ahulani, I’m sure he gets his fair share of the ladies, what, with those dashing good looks. You know, I made the sickest of love to your mother before I drained her, boy. But, don’t worry; she loved every moment of it. All my lovers do.” “Liar.” Ahulani snarled. “You unbelievable bastard. I will get out of these shackles, mark my words, and I will kill you. I will enjoy your death.” Richard smiled again, but he didn’t otherwise acknowledge the threat. Instead, he leaned into Reney, and she knew at once that she wanted him, had to have him. The passion lit her chest in a red blush. He broke into a fanged grin. “Oh, you do want me, indeed, Reney. You’re already ready to take me. I can smell it. Can’t you, Ahulani?” Ahulani pushed forward from the wall. The shackles made a great creak, but did not break. Richard stroked his hand down Reney’s cheek, moving her hair back and behind her ears. “Oh, yes,” she moaned. “Reney.” Ahulani gasped, fighting at his shackles. “Reney, don’t do it. He has you hypnotized! Reney, it’s what he does. Remember the moment we shared on the beach. You said that you might love me, that you had been waiting for me.” “Now, isn’t that sweet?” Richard sighed, shaking his head. “She doesn’t love you, Ahulani. Even if she did, there wouldn’t be anything left of you to take home. At least, not when I’m through with you.” “I do want him,” Reney murmured, spreading her legs lazily for the vampire.

Richard leaned into her neck, his tongue grazing her, licking the sweat and filth from her skin. He traced his fangs lightly across the skin. He did not break it, his extraordinary self-control apparent. “Mmm, indeed. You see, Ahulani, she’s spellbound. There’s nothing you can do, you imprudent half-breed. She’s mine; I won’t drain her completely, don’t worry. I’m going to keep her as my own. Perhaps I shall make her full-vampire, Ahulani, and I will make love to your name for the rest of eternity.” “Bastard!” Something inside Reney clicked, as if awakening to an unexpected and obnoxious alarm clock. Spellbound, Richard had called her. “Don’t forget, Reney!” Aunt Rita had called out the door. I can break spells…. Aunt Rita had been right, had been telling her for a reason, even if her mother had never revealed the true depth of who she was. They had warned her, had told her of this special power. Reney could break the spell; Reney alone could stop Richard from hypnotizing her. But she couldn’t let him know that. “I’m sorry, Ahulani,” she called out in a moan to him. “He’s right, you know. I’m sorry about our misunderstanding, but it was just that. I’m meant to be with Richard. I will be his bride.” “No!” he cried, and she could see his eyes light with gold in the shadows, like flames tendered with fresh kindling. “Indeed.” Richard smiled, laying a powerful kiss beneath her chin. It almost angered her that her own body was betraying her, still finding a bit of naughty pleasure in the vampire’s touch, still unable to overcome her physical attraction for him. She had to think of Ahulani, of the kiss. She had indeed broken his hypnotic spell. She worried if she could break his naturally enchanting seduction. For all his evil deeds, his charisma was still undeniable. He slipped her dress up and around her thighs, and Reney concentrated on the sight of the shackled Ahulani. It was the only way to fight the arousal she was feeling, especially when knew she had to play along. She knew that this was more torture than sex. The vampire danced his fangs about the tender skin of her neck, making contact for a moment, and then drawing back suddenly. Reney shuddered at his every return. The razor-sharp teeth grazed the skin

more roughly this time, nearly breaking it. Just one break, and it could arouse his vampiric hunger. “You know what my aunt once told me, Richard?” She smiled, gasping as she wrapped her legs about him. “She said I could break spells, darling. But I suppose I can’t break everyone’s now, ohhhhh, and why would I want to?” Ahulani’s eyes flashed, and Reney knew. He wasn’t very far away, not too far away at all…she wondered. Reney ran her legs along the vampire’s chest, wrapping them tightly for a moment. His black eyes flashed at her, and she could feel that he was as aroused as she was. She bit her lip, trying her best to stay in character. He could take the next step at any moment, and Ahulani needed her. She had to think of something, and the plan hit her like a ton of bricks as she remembered the blood flowing through her own veins. Remembered what it was capable of. She rubbed her left wrist against the shackle as roughly as she could, an easy task to hide, as Richard seemed quite occupied with her neck. She shuddered, praying he wouldn’t lose control and begin to feed. At last, the skin on her wrist broke, and blood began to drip onto the floor. She rubbed harder, easily able to ignore the pain from her wrist in her fear. In a flash of the chirpy intern she had been before tonight, she thought for a moment that Richard was really, well, screwing himself. The wound deepened, and the blood dripped steadily onto the concrete floor, pooling, pooling close enough so that Ahulani could reach it. Yes! Ahulani smiled softly, and he bowed his head, running his tongue across the blood. She could see the wounds on his back and sides beginning to dissipate, receding into his body slowly. She hoped there was enough time. Soon enough, Richard would smell it. “Bitch!” She felt the slap against her face, and static stars whirled in her eyes, the pain dazzling, and threat of Richard’s fangs suddenly gone. He had smelled it. She knew he would. The vampire seized her by the throat with a growl, and Reney gasped for air. Ahulani lurched forward then, pulling the shackles from the wall. He dove into Reney’s wrist, violently suctioning the blood from her. It was so rapid that the pain was almost unbearable, but somehow satisfying as a cloudlike sense of pleasure overtook her. Reney’s

consciousness was slowly slipping away from her. She knew Ahulani needed the blood, much of it, and saw that Richard had redeemed himself and gotten to his feet, feeling Ahulani thrown from her wrist. Her blood splattered against the walls in the effort. She could see the struggle, but her vision was bleary. Reney shook her head from side to side violently, fighting for awareness. She had to help Ahulani. Even fully recovered, he was barely a match for Richard, the full-vampire. The old one. The evil one. Reney heard Ahulani calling out to her, as if he were somewhere off in the distance, his voice fading in and out of reality. “Fangs. Reney!” “What?” she murmured. She was pulling her dress back down, aware that she had bleeding even more, as if her fear itself was pumping the liquid from her body. “The blood, Reney,” Ahulani said, battling against Richard, trying to keep him away from her. “It will sprout your fangs.”

Chapter Ten The realization made Reney snap to attention. There was halfling blood everywhere around her, from Ahulani, from her own wrist, from the violence of the night altogether. She lapped it from every angle, every crevice she could find. Her vision was clarifying, her muscles becoming taut with more power than she had ever felt before. This was more than recovering from the brutality of Richard’s strike, of the evening’s horror. It was a high like Reney could have never imagined. The strength was in her every pore, and she thrust her wrists forward from the wall, the chains crumbling around her. She rose. She ran her tongue across her teeth, tasting the blood and felt a prickle in her gums. It was painful at first, and then somehow satisfying. Fangs. She had sprouted fangs, long and as sharp as a filet knife. She became the half-vampire at last. Reney was strong and capable, and she was heading towards her former boss, rapidly and with a confidence she never felt before. “Let him go!” she shrieked, and Richard backed away with a cold, demonic snarl. She was almost surprised he had backed off and then realized the power move. Even with all his clout, Richard had been injured and facing two half-vampires, he seemed to have realized that he might be outmatched. At least, she was sure Richard hadn’t made it so long making poor decisions out of pride. Ahulani was breathing hard, eyeing his enemy for any sign of movement. Reney felt emboldened and empowered. They had the upper hand now. “Leave, Richard,” she said slowly. “Leave, or we will kill you.” Richard, though breathless, managed a cackle of disdain. “Half-lings.” He sneered, his black eyes fading back into their still-unsettling normal state. “Half-lings, half-lings, half-lings. Just how long do you think it will be before I find you? I will. I always do. And for this indiscretion, your suffering shall be immeasurable. Bask now, while you can. Your time here is short.” He was like a bolt, a shot through the window. Reney covered her face as the glass shattered and rained down upon the room. When

she uncovered her face, Ahulani was upon her, grabbing her ass and bringing it up against his pelvis, his mouth biting and kissing at hers as though he thirsted for it. “Is he gone?” Reney asked, digging her nails into her lover’s back, crawling upon him as she had done to no man before him. “For now, for now,” Ahulani said. He lay her down upon a tattered blanket on the floor, his golden, gleaming body covering her own, and her pelvis yearned to become one with his. “I wish it didn’t have to be here, I wish that.” He was panting. “But I must have you now, Reney, this instant. I cannot wait.” “I can’t, either,” she said breathlessly, her mouth engulfed in his. Ahulani pulled Reney’s dress up and over her head, stripping her bare against the dirty blanket. She didn’t care. She spread her legs, revealing her swollen pussy to him. Ahulani licked his lips, diving into the sweet flesh, his tongue pattering and twirling around her clit, sucking her lips into his mouth in hunger. Reney arched her back and moaned. The other half-ling’s mouth engulfed her throbbing, hungry pussy. He licked the sweet liquids up gently, his golden eyes flashing between her legs. Reney dug her nails into his shoulders, pulling him up and on top of her with her newfound strength. “Make love to me, Ahulani. Make love to me as if you have never experienced a woman before.” “I never have experienced a woman before, Reney. At least, not like you, not like this.” “Then have me.” He did, and she drew in a sharp breath as he entered her. His cock was long and full of veins so large Reney could feel every one stroking the nerves of her pussy like a vibrating toy. His golden hips moved back and then forth atop her. His muscular trunk was tense with every new thrust between her lips, filling her whole. “I am yours, Ahulani. I belong to you,” she cried, grasping his shoulders, pushing her hips into his. Their hips moved together in a perfect choreography, as if the show had been practiced over and over, ready for the stage. She came too soon; there was no stopping it, and Ahulani stopped moving. He held her ass in the air, his cock rigid inside of her. Her pussy squeezed every fiber of it. Reney could hear the juices

trickling down from their bond. Ahulani laid her down gently, removing himself and finding his way between her legs again. He softly lapped up the sap between her legs as Reney shuddered into the satisfying end of the orgasm. “Don’t you want to finish?” she asked. “No,” Ahulani said. He lay down beside her, wrapping her in a warm embrace. Her nostrils were filled with his cinnamon fragrance. “This is all. For now.” Reney put her mouth to his neck, taking in his scent deeply. “Go ahead, Reney. Go on. It’s the least I could do for you, my love.” She drank, her freshly sprouted fangs entering his neck as softly as possible. She took little sips, lips pressed tightly against his hot flesh. She laid back, chest heaving, and the ecstasy of the moment shooting off stars inside her brain, tingles through her entire body. Ahulani lay beside her, breathing his smell into her neck. Reney felt a sense of completion, of absolute purity. They slept until morning came.

Chapter Eleven Reney and Ahulani walked along the morning beach, the seagulls overhead squawking cheerfully, the waves crashing against their bare feet as they made their way across the sand, no destination in mind. The beautiful scenery of the island made the night of horror seem like a dream, now. They had made slow love as soon as the morning sun crept in the windows of the warehouse, and then wandered off, hand in hand towards the beach, as if the sea were calling them. Reney took in a deep breath of the untainted air and sighed. They hadn’t spoken since they had awoken, even as they made love for what seemed like hours. “Where do we go from here?” Reney finally asked, grasping Ahulani’s hand more tightly as they walked. “What do you mean?” he asked, his gorgeous face inquisitive in the morning light. “You are staying, aren’t you? You can’t go back to New York. You couldn’t possibly. Richard would find you. Didn’t you hear what he said on his departure? Trust me, he meant it.” “I know.” Reney sighed. “And I want to stay here with you. If you wanted, that is.” Ahulani stopped in the sand, jerking Reney towards him. “Reney,” he said slowly. “I have never wanted anything more in all of my life. I know we’ve only just met, but after what we’ve been through together, the love we made together. I want you to stay with me. I want to introduce you to my family, my brothers. They would love you. We don’t have to rush, of course, but we are halflings. We would make a powerful couple, Reney. In more ways than one.” “Brothers?” Reney laughed, breaking the seriousness that had been hanging over them. She winked at him. “Hey!” said Ahulani, screwing his face up. “There will be none of that nonsense. But, yes, I have brothers. Two, both older than me. I’m the baby, if you will. My brothers would love you. I have an older sister as well. She’s a little slower to warm, but she’d come around. You’re very charming and very sweet. I can say absolutely that I’m in…well, I love everything about you, Reney.” “I love everything about you, too, Ahulani.” Reney grinned, feeling her old, flirtatious self rise to the surface after what had seemed like an eternity. “We’ll be ready for Richard if and when he

returns to try and finish us off. Or who knows, maybe we’ll get lucky and he’ll lose interest, find some other half-lings to pick on.” Ahulani only shook his head, the light reflecting off his bronzed skin like the glittering ocean. “He will not lose interest. I can assure you of that. Not after we humiliated him. If anything, he’ll come back even more powerful than before.” Reney sighed, her gaze turning to the ocean. They sat together at its brink, the waves lapping up against their bare legs. Reney laid her head against Ahulani’s shoulder, and she felt safe. “I suppose I’ll have to tell my family. I’m sure they’ll wonder why I suddenly decided to move to Hawaii. Then again, my mother has got quite a bit of explaining to do herself, ha. And I’ll see to it that she makes me fully aware of whatever powers I have. If we are ever to take Richard down, we’re going to need them.” “I have the extra amounts of super-human speed.” Ahulani grinned. “Richard probably would have killed me in the first round if not for that. I’m excited to see what powers you will discover, Reney. In fact, I’m quite excited to see what powers our children will carry.” Reney laughed. “Children! My, you think ahead, don’t you?” “Well.” Ahulani laughed back. “I suppose if you are to stay here with me, get to know the family, and especially if the lovemaking keeps going at its current rate.” Reney bit her lip. “Ahulani,” she said slowly, a wave of anxiety washing over her. “Does it bother you? What happened in the hotel?” “You and Richard?” he asked. Ahulani’s eyes flashed the brilliant gold again. “I don’t like it, Reney. But for starters, he’s a hypnotic vampire by specialty. And, well, after you found out you could break his spell, you did what had to be done. You saved my life. I would hardly hold you accountable for that.” “I know,” Reney said softly and felt a tear coming to her eye. She could still feel Richard on top of her. She remembered for a moment how much she had liked it. Reney shook her head, freeing herself of the thoughts. Richard could get inside a woman in more ways than one.

“Reney, it is forgiven,” Ahulani said and took her face in his palms. “It’s old news, dog chow. Let’s never speak of it again. You’re here now, with me. And I hope to make you the happiest I can on this beautiful island. I’ll show you everything. And one day, we’ll have those children I mentioned that made you giggle so much.” Reney laughed again. “Children, indeed! I can’t wait to tell Jane about that one. Oh, Jane.” She frowned. “Jane?” Ahulani asked. He looked concerned, his brown eyes softening like a child’s. “Yeah, she’s my best friend,” Reney said sadly, digging her toes into the sand. “And, it’s kind of funny, kind of ironic, but we were talking on the phone right before I left on this trip. She told me not to fall in love and leave her behind in the crappy office. We laughed our asses off about that one. And here I sit.” She paused, grasping his hand tightly. “My God,” she whispered. “What is it?” “I wonder if Richard is going back to the magazine. I mean, I don’t see why he wouldn’t. He has much more power there than I do. I’m sure he expects me to run away like a scared little girl, but he’s not going to give up his position. I wonder if he knows Jane and I were friends, if he makes her a target. What in the world would I do?” Ahulani grabbed her hands, turning her towards him. “If he does, if he even noticed that you two were friends then we’ll deal with that when the time comes. Do you hear me? I promise you, nothing bad will happen to the people you love. At least not if I have anything to say about it. Give her a call, anyway. I’m sure she’s fine.” “A call,” Reney said absently. “Yes. We should head back up to the hotel. My cell phone is in there. Along with a mess of skirts, dresses, bikinis, broken champagne glasses, torn-up furniture. I’m sure the maid staff just loved me this morning.” Ahulani laughed and grabbed Reney’s hand again, lifting her to her feet. “Then, let’s do it. Don’t forget, I work there. It was a break-in! Pretend something is missing, and we’ve been gone all night making

love. And besides, that would be a great opportunity to talk to my manager. You know how to mix a manhattan?” “Ugh!” Reney laughed, wrinkling up her face. “I know how, all right. But I’m not making any promises. Reney, the bartender. With a degree in journalism. You know, I kind of like it, Ahulani. It’s different.” Ahulani grinned and pulled her away from the water. “Back to the hotel, then. I’ll race you.” “Oh, that’s a good one.”

Chapter Twelve Jane opened the door to her chilly apartment. The heat was screwed up, but that was nothing new. In New York, living in a luxury apartment meant either you were a millionaire or it was actually a house. She shuddered and turned up the thermostat, hoping that cranking it up to ninety degrees or so might get it a nice sixtyfive. She headed towards the bathroom. At least she could take a warm shower and wrap herself up in her flannel pajamas afterward. Crawling under the sheets was going to be her only company tonight, though, and she couldn’t stand it. Richard had gone to Hawaii, alone with Reney. While she had tried not to think about it, to even consider that he might do something like that, the thoughts had been boiling in her head since she had watched the plane take off from the airport. She was sure Richard had known she’d followed them there. Richard knew everything, it seemed. She wished he were there to keep her company. To slide under the sheets with her and make love over and over, overheating her body in the cold New York winter. Jane stepped in the shower. She ran her hands carefully over the light fang marks on her arms, the ones she always covered with long-sleeves at work. Half-ling. Richard needed to feed off her in order to stay powerful, and she had no problem with that. His companionship was much needed. Frankly, he was the only real companionship she had ever had, even if it sometimes seemed like he only stopped by to feed and make love. She had never been with a man before Richard, and almost thought she might be a lesbian for a while. But he had turned that around, turned that all around. The water ran down the marks on her arms, and she kissed them, nuzzling closely against Richard’s mark. She tried not to tear. She missed him, and she knew she would miss Reney. When Richard asked her to befriend Reney, she had been wary. The poor girl didn’t even know she was a half-ling; Jane had known all her life. That’s why her father despised her after all. He was jealous of her abilities, of her superior intellect. So were the kids at school when she was a child. She knew they all wanted to make fun of the girl in the glasses with the mousy hair, but there was some sort of instincts in full-on humans that kept them away from her. Once, Jane drained her goldfish, just to keep her powers up in case she

needed to batter her father or any of the other children away from her. He was scared when he found the pale, sickly dead fish and had stayed away from Jane for weeks. Jane found herself smug with that. She would sit in her room, hating him for hours at a time. So she had done it, made friends with Reney. But she was disappointed. She hadn’t expected to like her at all, none of their other co-workers did. Yet, despite her best efforts, Jane possessed the natural ability to look past people and inside of them. She had seen that Reney had a pure soul. She knew that Richard wanted it. Jane could see inside Richard, too, but his being was an unspeakable blackness. There was something hypnotic about the vampire that kept his inner self firewalled from Jane’s ability. She closed her eyes again, tears pouring down her cheeks. A part of her wished she had told Reney. A part of her hated Reney. Somehow, she just knew Richard wouldn’t be able to resist making love to the beautiful intern. She stepped out of the shower and dressed as quickly as she could, turning on her reading light, and snuggling up under the blankets. She tried to ignore the spot where Richard wouldn’t be lying tonight. No, he was too busy killing her best friend, and yet, she still loved him. “Jane.” Jane started, almost leaping out of bed. Although vastly superior hearing was one of her powers, Richard still had the ability to sneak up on her, on anyone. He was so much older, so much more skilled. A full vampire in every sense of the words. “Richard!” she cried, opening her arms to him. He stood in the doorway, his black trench coat making waves around him. The shadows in the bedroom covered his face almost entirely. “I’m hurt, Jane.” “W-what? How in the world? Who could have hurt you, Richard? Is Reney…?” Richard stepped into the light. She could see that he was indeed hurt, several gashes covering his face. “She’s alive, Jane,” he said, sitting down beside her on the bed. “She met another half-ling. A Hawaiian. I killed his mother some years ago. I had expected that my comrades had taken care of the boy; but no, he lives. He exposed me to her. She’s alive, and she knows

now, Jane. In fact, I have to wonder if you somehow dropped a hint to her.” Jane felt her heart flutter in her chest. “No! No, Richard, I would never betray you. I love you, Richard.” She went to wrap her arms around the vampire. He pushed her away. “Is that so? I’m hurt, Jane. And what have you done about it? What have you done to help me?” “I’m s-sorry,” Jane said quickly, and she pulled up her pajama sleeves at once, baring her flesh for him to drink. “Go on, take as much as you need. I have all night to recover, and no matter, anyway. It’s the weekend.” Richard gave a rare smile, exposing his fangs. They had sprouted on command as usual. “I think I’d like to try something a little different this evening, dear.” Jane froze. “Different?” Richard reached over to remove her glasses, set them on the bedside table. Jane shuddered as he pulled back her hair to reveal her warm, tender neck. He inhaled from where he was, closing his eyes and running his tongue across his fangs. “Now, I know we’ve never done this before, but you must understand, Jane. I’m very hungry, and I need to recover quite quickly. You see, in just a few more weeks, I’m going to go back and find those foolish brats. I’m going to drink them until they are shriveled, little corpses.” He leaned forward. For once, Jane stopped him. She put her hand over her neck suddenly. Richard hissed, looking shocked. “What is this?” he snarled. “I have to know something, first, Richard. I-I-I have to kknow.” “W-w-well, what is it?” He sneered. “Did you? Did you make love to Reney while you were away?” Richard laughed, his Romanian accent indistinguishable in the moment.

“Jane,” he crooned. “Why would I do such a thing? Don’t you trust me? What in the world would make you possibly think that I’d like to make love to Reney?” “I do.” Jane insisted. “I do trust you. But, Reney is just so beautiful, and I knew you would be alone with her.” “Nonsense!” Richard grabbed the back of Jane’s hair, jerking her head forward. She moaned. There was something about his roughness, his unquestionable and undeniable authority. It made her melt, made her panties go soft. He leaned in with a snarl and drove his fangs in. The bite was harder, she knew, than if she hadn’t questioned his time with Reney at all. She dug her fingernails into the mattress as he drank, her eyes going bleary and her head dizzying. It was much more intense than when he usually drank of her. She lay back against the pillow, and she could hear him feasting hungrily. He was angry. Jane couldn’t decide if she should question him ever again, couldn’t decide if she enjoyed this. When he was done, he threw her head back on the pillow, using his grip on her hair. He eyed her with a mixture of disdain and pleasure. The emotion was hard to make out on the vampire’s face, where she could see that all the marks were gone. His pale glow returned to fullness. “You are so very loyal, Jane,” he crooned, running his hand down her flannel pajama top. He unbuttoned the huge, pink buttons one by one. Richard slid his fingers beneath her bra and pulled out one breast, toying with her peach nipple, with long nails. “I would despise it if our relationship were to end,” he went on. “Wouldn’t you? And especially over something so very trite as an air-headed little intern. Who I suspect won’t be returning anytime soon. At least not on her own accord.” “Don’t leave me.” Jane sighed, letting him open her top completely, her small but perky breasts falling neatly into his hands. “I would do anything.” “That you would.” Richard fucked her, and she could tell that he was angry, twisting and writhing his wideness and length inside of her. He made her scream, tears running down her face in near agony. Her wrists were down upon the bed, and he pummeled her, the entire wall of her cheap apartment threatening to crumble. He was so mad, so very mad for so long, but then, slowly, he began to love her the way she so

desired. This was the love she so dreamed of, even when awake. He kissed the fang marks on her neck ever so tenderly, licking lightly the stray blood from the wounds. When he finished, he lay beside her, and Jane put her head on his chest. Jane searched futilely for the heartbeat she knew wasn’t there. She breathed in the hollow sound of the vampire’s chest. “You would do anything for me, wouldn’t you, Jane?” he asked, running long fingers through her hair, parting it back behind her ears. “Anything,” she murmured sleepily, wrapping her arms around him tightly. “Then you know that you must lure Reney back to New York without her little boyfriend, don’t you? We can’t let her get away with what’s happened to me, can we?” Jane startled fully awake. “Lure her? Trick Reney into coming back?” Richard nodded. Jane hesitated, willing words to come from her mouth. They wouldn’t. Richard grabbed her face suddenly, painfully. His sharp nails dug into her flushed cheeks. “Don’t tell me you hold allegiance to that half-ling cow, Jane. You are supposed to love me.” “I do,” she cried. Richard got up. He slid his black, silk shirt over his head first, following it with his trench coat. The old vampire turned and gazed at her darkly from the window, from where he would depart. “I think that you might get your priorities straight, Jane. When you are ready to side with me again, please let me know. In the meantime, do try and stay warm. This place is really a shit-hole, Jane. Don’t you know I could get you so many nice things?” “Yes, yes, I do.” Jane sobbed. “Please don’t go. I’m so lonely without you, Richard. You’ve been gone for days already….” But Richard was already gone, a flash of blackness marking his exit out the window. Jane was hysterical, and she ran to the window, crying out into the icy moonlight. “Richard?” Jane searched the sky frantically. There was no sign of her lover.

Richard? Come back, Richard. I’ll do anything for you. I hate Reney. I hate her. I’ll do it.” The End

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