A Vampire's Reward

Now that the sun had set on a new evening it's time for me to get down to business. One by one mortals and immortals filled my living room. Each one brought something to me that the other didn't have.

The first mortal to speak up was Mike, who brought maps of everything, from topographical to road maps of the area. The second mortal, Tom, brought construction plans and floor layout sheets so I could find my way around outside on the property as well as inside.

My two immortal friends, David and Randy, had the site under surveillance almost from the moment I called them the night before. From what they could tell no one guarded the place, either by land or water.

The last mortal among us, Brad, opened up a portfolio filled with photographs that showed the mill from the air and water. He even had interior shots before and after the mill had closed down.

I studied all the material and made mental notes from the other's viewpoints until it was time to leave. Outside they all stood in front of me with concerned faces till finally the immortal named David came up to me and said, "We all know you have to go in alone, Marina, but we will be near. So, if you need us, all you have to do is send out a call and we'll come running."

Tears came to my eyes as I hugged each one, thanking them for their help. Randy, who had never been much of a talker, was the last one I hugged. As he placed a set of keys into my hand he said, "Take my truck, Marina, those roads are kind of rough." I whispered a broken thank you for his ears only and then kissed his cheek.

I jumped into his truck, firing it up on the first crank and took off. Out on the road the drive seemed to take far longer then what I could have done on foot but I needed a vehicle just incase Levi was injured.

About a half mile from the mill I pulled off on to a side road and walked down into the valley. I knew Jackson would be able to sense me soon enough but I didn't want to announce my presence to anyone else who may be out there.

The moon played hide and seek with the clouds over head, scattering sparkles of light upon the river and casting shadows across the sawmill in below. My sharp eyesight made it easy to pick out almost every detail that had been highlighted in the photographs.

There had once been a chain link fence surrounding the grounds but after all this time it had either rusted away or fallen down. Out of the five buildings that were built here originally only two were still standing. The roof over one had collapsed on the front while it had remained intact at the back. The other building looked to be in better shape but it had numerous planks missing from its outer walls.

To make sure there wasn't any guards I knelt on the ground at the edge of the woods to see if I could spot anything unusual moving about. The wind picked up and I heard a thumping sound come from near the river. I scanned the waterline and saw what appeared to two long forgotten logs butting up against the riverbank as the winds stirred up the water.

Assured that Jackson didn't have any surprises for me, I searched ahead of me, checking the path I had chosen and picked my way past debris to the last building that butted up to the river.

All these years of being exposed to the elements of nature the scent of sawdust hung heavy in the interior of the mill. The stench of rotting wood and stagnant river water from past floods filled the air as I went deeper into the building.

There were stacks of old wood and piles of broken 2x4's scattered across the floor. In certain spots there were old rusted barrels that looked like fires had been started inside and a large amount of beer bottles surrounding them, telling me that the local teens used this as a hang out.

A stiff wind blew through the gapping walls and a squeaking noise come from above my head. Quickly I looked up and found an old block and tackle mechanism with a large hook dangling on the end swinging from the rafters. As I looked over the ceiling there appeared to be a number of them spread through out the building.

In minutes I had several different sections of the mill searched and headed on into the back, which had a huge wall separating it almost completely from the front. I stepped through the doorway and felt my heart drop to my knees at the sight that greeted me.

There was Levi, arms up over his head with rope tied around his wrists, hanging on a big hook that had been lowered from one of the block and tackles. His head was bent forward, chin resting on his chest and for a moment I thought Jackson had went ahead and killed him. Relief swept through me as my hearing tuned into his heartbeat.

I looked around me unable to feel Jackson near, which made me wonder what he was up to. For the moment, though, I hurried over to Levi and lifted his head from his chest. A tear slid down my cheek as he opened his eyes and stared at me. "M.., Marina," his voice cracked as he tried to talk.

He shocked me. "How do you know my name?" I asked him, and then spotting a bottle of water sitting close by, I brought it to his lips for him to drink.

His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed then he answered, "I never forgot it or you, Marina."

"But, you wasn't suppose to remember me. I put a command in your mind to make you forget me, Levi."

"That's because I didn't let it work, Marina," he said, eyes glaring back at me.

"The first time you tasted my blood you tried to control me, do you remember?" He closed his eyes for a moment and slowly inhaled, "I heard your voice so clear inside my head telling me not to remember anything that was about to happen and then you bit my thigh. When your teeth first sunk in I felt a flash of pain that lasted a few seconds before it turned into the sweetest pleasure, Marina." He opened his eyes and took my breath away with the look they held, "There was no way in hell I was ever going to forget that night."

I was about to speak but his eyes changed. "I've never been one for violence toward women, Marina, but this last time when you tried to control me, tried to make me forget you," I caught a glimpse of his hands curling into fist above his head. "I wanted to grab you and shake some sense into you."

I turned away from him so he couldn't see the pain in my face as he continued to talk, "But I knew I would lose you no matter what I said or did. I hated what it was doing to you. I could hear the pain in your voice and I could feel your heart breaking as you gave those few words to my mind to try and make me forget I ever met you."

His voice softened, "And that last time we made love, Marina, I could feel you slipping away from me, I could feel you telling me good-bye with every touch, with every kiss. I knew that if I didn't pretend that your plan worked, that you would have taking off in the middle of the night and I would've never seen you again."

I turned back around and closed those few inches of space between us, sliding my hands along side his stubble covered cheeks. "I'm sorry." I whispered before kissing him softly.

"Well, well isn't this a touching little scene," a strange voice came from behind Levi.

I looked over his shoulder and saw Jackson standing there in jeans and a black t-shirt, arms folded across his chest and dark blonde hair slicked back from his face. "What is it with you and your family always interrupting emotional moments?"

I glanced at Levi and heard his voice without his lips ever moving, "Get me off this hook Marina so I can help you."

While putting space between us, I sent my answer, "No, I think you need to stay right there out of the way, besides you wouldn't even be here if you had only let my commands do their job. By the way, I don't think I like having you inside my head, Levi, just when did you get this ability to send me messages and read my thoughts?"

His voice inside my mind sent shivers down my spine, "Since that night I bit your neck and tasted your blood in the movie theater parking lot."

I dragged my gaze from his and turned my concentration on Jackson, making myself forget that Levi was even here, as we circled each other. Just like me, Jackson hadn't changed much over the past ten years, but he did look rough around the edges.

"If you wanted to end this, Jackson, you didn't have to kidnap anyone. All you would've had to do was call or write and I would have been there. After all this time of trying to find you, you should have known that."

"Well, let's just say I wanted insurance that you would show."

I relaxed my shoulders and bent my knees slightly ready for whatever he might do. Then as if someone rang a bell we clashed together. Both of us reaching, our hands trying to circle the other's throat, strong arming each other across the open space till he used his height to over power me. He swung me around and sent me tumbling onto a rusted metal table that collapsed under my weight.

I came to my feet quickly only to grunt in surprise as he rammed his shoulder into my belly and took me back down to the floor. I put my hands together making one fist and smashed them down between his shoulder blades before lifting them again and swinging them against the back of his skull.

I got to my feet, after he rolled off me, gasping for the breath that was knocked out of me, cautiously watching as Jackson stood up rubbing the back of his head glaring at me. As we circled one another again the wind whipped through the gapping walls and sent several of the block and tackle hooks into motion, which made an eerie sound fill the mill.

He threw a quick jab and I step to the side feeling the breeze from it touch my face. I countered with a jab of my own and he staggered back a couple of paces as I make contact with his right cheek. Minutes passed as we traded punches, most of them miss their mark because of our speed but we each got a few good hits in against the other.

I stood still waiting for Jackson to make his next move when Levi's voice sounded in my head, "Now, don't let your guard down love, your doing great." His words mentally distracted me and I missed seeing Jackson shift his weight and kick out his leg. Pain shot through me as his foot made solid contact right in the middle of my chest, sending me flying through the air and landing down on a stack of wood. I groaned from the mild pain to my back and ribs. I shot back a message to Levi, "Keep your thoughts to yourself, love, as you can see it's not helping me."

I lifted my head in time to see Jackson dash forward and leap into the air, mouth open wide and canines extended. With only a second to spare, I rolled to my left and fell onto the floor, wincing as I heard his body crash land on top of the pile. "Doesn't feel so good does it, Jackson?" I said as I got my feet under me.

When I looked up Jackson was already standing on top of the stack of wood holding a broken 2x4 in his hands. He took a swing and I ducked but the next one caught me in the shoulder and sent me toward the outside wall of the building. He was on me before I had even hit it, tackling me and sending us both crashing through to the outside and landing on the soggy ground.

Rain pelted us as we wrestled in the mud, slipping and sliding, trying to stand and get the advantage over the other. Levi's voice screamed inside my head, calling out my name wanting to know if I was hurt. I couldn't answer him as Jackson pulled me down onto my back and climbed on top of me.

Water streaked down his face washing away some of the mud that had splattered it as he tried to hold my slippery wrists with one hand. I wasn't going to hold still for him; no way was I giving up. I kept wiggling and twisting, bucking my hips trying to throw him off of me. Finally I got a firm foothold in the slick mud and was able to put some power behind my hips and threw him off of me partially causing his hands to slip from my wrist.

I automatically started swinging and clawing at him, hitting and scratching whatever I could to get him completely off of me. I got to my feet and tried to put some space between us but he reached out and grabbed my legs, toppling me to the ground. I got one leg freed and crushed the bottom of my foot into his face, again and again, growling as I put everything I had into it before he screamed out in pain and let go.

I scrambled to my feet and reached down and picked him up. Blood dripped from his face onto mine as I lifted him over my head and threw him back into the mill. I followed right behind him, crouched down low as I step inside and sure enough something flew over my head and clang against one of the metal columns that support the roof. He came at me then with his hands high above his head forming a single fist and brought it down. I tried to block the blow with my arm but still he got a glancing shot to my head and dazed me, knocking me to the floor.

I struggled to my hands and knees, hearing Levi calling out loud and mentally for me to look out, but it was to late for me to get away as Jackson kicked me in the ribs. He was kicking me so hard in fact that I was lifted off the floor and moved forward. Again and again he kicked me, breaking bones and tearing muscles inside my body. His last kick sent me rolling across the floor and I cried out in pain as my ribs crushed against a metal column.

"Marina!" Levi's voice echoed through the mill. He was in my mind chanting my name, telling me to fight, to get on my feet and fight for us. From somewhere inside I found the strength to rise up from the floor and lean back against the column. I was close to passing out each time that I took a breath from the pain that shot through my ribs. Blackness filled the edges of my vision trying to swallow me, as I looked toward Jackson unable to focus on what he was doing.

I closed my eyes hoping to gain some of my strength back when I heard a squeaking sound growing louder and louder. Levi screamed out to me, "Move, Marina, Move."

I opened my eyes and saw Jackson coming toward me out of the darkness with a hook in his hands, pulling the block and tackle mechanism across the ceiling toward me with a ton of force before he let go.

"No!" Levi screamed.

I knew I could get out of the way if I could only slide down to the floor fast enough. But as I started my decent, I stared in horror as Levi, who had somehow cut the rope between his wrist and freed himself, stepped in front of me and screamed in pain as the hook embedded in his shoulder.

My heart ripped apart in my chest as I saw the blood seep around the hook where it had came all the way through to his back. Right before my very eyes the mill changed, blending into a memory that my mind now saw of another time, another place. I'm unable to move as the old sawmill turned into an old Italian cemetery. Instead of hard concrete floors and piles of rotting wood, I now saw cold hard ground and roll after roll of headstones. And the men in front of me were no longer Levi and Jackson; they have now turned into Dante and Quinton.

"NO!" I screamed at the top of my lungs with tears streaming down my face, shocking myself back to reality.

My fear and anger made the beast inside me go into a frenzy. My senses all turned onto Jackson, letting me see, hear, and smell his fear. I left my feet with a powerful surge and landed on top of him. My hands went to his head, grabbing fists full of hair, and beating it against the floor. The sound of his skull cracking was like a gunshot to my ears.

Still straddling him with my knees and holding down his arms, I beat my fist into his face, dislocating his jaw and breaking his nose. I got up and pulled him to his feet and threw him against one of the metal support columns. I didn't give him anytime to recover, quickly sending blow after blow to his body before he slumped to the floor.

I bent over him and grabbed the front of his shirt. I lifted him up completely off the ground and turned around slowly, then stopped and look him in the eyes. "You wanted it over and now at last it is." Then with every ounce of strength I had left in me, along with all the pain and grief his line of vampires had caused me, and I tossed Jackson away from me. His body flew through the air to be impaled through his chest by pieces of shattered wood as he landed on a heap of discarded lumber.

I swung around and ran to Levi, wrapping my arm around his waist and lifted his body upward and removed the hook from his shoulder. He screamed in pain as it came free from his flesh and the blood poured from the wound. I laid him down on the floor and quickly pulled my shirt off and pushed it against the gapping hole, causing him to scream out in pain once again. The shirt was saturated in seconds and I knew that just like Dante, Levi was dying before my very eyes.

I removed the pieces of rope from around his wrist trying to calm myself, but it was no use, my tears fell as I leaned over him, brushing his long dark hair from his face as his eyes came open. I gave him a weak smile and tried to lie to him, "Everything is going to be fine, Levi, I've got help on the way and before you know it," my voice cracked, "you'll be good as new and reading my mind in no time."

"Stopping lying to me, Marina," he struggled to say. "I know, I'm dying." He gasped for another breath, "and you are the only one who can save me."

I start shaking my head from side you side. "Levi, I can't turn you into a beast like I am."

"Yes, Marina you can." He took another breath and continued, "Remember that vision quest I took?" I nod my head. "It's my destiny to become what you are, Marina. My mother knew, that is why she gave me the name Tansy. She saw my future long before I was ever born."

"Are you sure, Levi? Being immortal is not as easy as you may think."

"The spirits showed me that it is you, Marina, who will make my destiny come true. And as long as I'm by your side until the end of time," he tried to give me a smile, "I will never regret becoming immortal."

I moved over to his uninjured side and stretched out, using my hands to hold most of my weight off him as I lay partially on his chest. I looked down into his handsome face and gave him a final kiss. "I love you, Levi." I whispered against his lips.

I pulled my head up and watched as he looked at me one more time then closed his eyes and tilted his head to the side. I licked my lips and let my senses guide me. I heard the sound of his heart racing, working so hard to keep the blood flowing even as it seeped from his body. I saw the pulse in his neck throbbing and I felt myself start to lower my mouth down to his neck. I licked his skin and tasted the salt of his sweat. I then opened my mouth wider and sank my teeth into his jugular, his body arching up into me as I took the first taste of his blood.

"Marina," he moaned as I took another deep suckle from his neck. I felt the tremors shaking his body as he grew weaker, heard the sound of his breathing growing fainter, heard the sound of his heart pumping slower and slower. I kept drinking right up till the next to last heartbeat and then I pulled away, taking one of my claw like fingernails and cut my wrist. Then, as the blood welled up and began to drip, I lifted Levi's head and brought his mouth to my wrist.

"Drink, Levi, drink of my blood and come back to me," I whispered into his ear. "Come back to me, love and let me show you the pleasures of being immortal."

At last, just as I was beginning to fear that I had done something terribly wrong, his mouth began to suckle. I gasped out as he hungrily drank from my wrist and then I laughed. Joy filled my heart as I felt myself growing weaker with each deep pull he took.

I pulled my wrist from his hungry lips and whispered, "Open your eyes for me, love, let me see the new light inside them."

He gasped as he opened them wide then shut them quickly. "I know the color is amazing isn't?" I whispered, "Now open them slowly and you will see what the world looks like through vampire eyes."