A Death Wish

'Come, come, thou bleak December Wind,
And blow the dry Leaves from the Tree!
Flash, like a Love-thought, thro’ me, Death
And take a Life, that wearies me.'

It was not the first time a Vampyre had tried to set up in my hunting area.

It was the first time that a Vampyre I knew tried.

There were reports in the newspapers yesterday morning. I'd gone to the tesco around the corner to get some milk for my early morning coffee, when the headline of the local rag caught my eye. 'Three bodies found, drained.'

I picked up a copy and read it on my way home. Three women dead, Police had no leads, yaddah yaddah. The bit that bothered me was that all three had been completely drained of blood. I was not happy.

I spent most of the day polishing my crossbow. Most Vampyrs knew by now that this was my patch, and that I didn't like visitors. I liked to keep a low profile, something I thought all of us did, but this guy seemed to be going out of his way to get caught. A newborn...perhaps.
Either way, I had to catch it before the police did.

I left at 6, the last half of my Jam sandwich still poking out of my mouth. I hadn't hunted the night before, and I certainly wasn't going to get chance tonight. Human food, although disgusting, is enough to tide over a Dhampyr for a while.

I hit the coffee shop first, too early to hunt the Vampyre (too many humans still wandering around) and any chance to see her, was a bonus. I knew she worked late on a Wednesday. I knew she left at 7 on the dot, and I knew the route she took home. I knew she had a small dog, I knew she called it Tyson and that it disliked me with a passion, barking at me from the window every time I passed the house. I knew her favourite book was 'The colour purple', by Alice Walker, and I knew that it makes her cry every time she reads it, at least once a month. I knew she lived alone, after throwing her abusive boyfriend out 6 months ago (I killed him later that night) and I knew she cried herself to sleep every night.

What I didn't know was her name.

I ordered coffee from her almost every day, we exchanged the usual pleasantries, the hello's and the how are you's. I stared into her liquid blue eyes, watched her flick her chestnut brown hair over her shoulder, smiled at the way she balanced plates and cups that towered over her head with one hand. But I still couldn't work up the courage to ask her name.

Yes, I am a Lesbian. Stop reading now if you don't like it. It won't get any better. And I honestly don't give a shit what you think of it. The point here is, I am a Lesbian, and I am a Dhampyr. She is neither.

I got my coffee from the girl with no name, and sat down at my usual table, at the back of the cafe. They used to let me smoke here. Not anymore. I kept the same table anyway. It was surprisingly quiet in there, the only other customers were an older woman and a young girl, who had obviously been out shopping that day; a dozen bags of varying sizes were squashed under their table. I watched them for a while, the Older lady fussing the girl, who kept flicking bits of milkshake out of her glass with her straw. It made me giggle. Children always amused me.

'You come in here often, don't you?' She sat down next to me, eyeing my startled face nervously. 'I'm sorry, if you want to be alone...' She started to get up.

'No, please... sit down.' I did my best to smile. 'It's been a long day, I wasn't paying attention.'

She sat, and we talked. I remember every word. I remember how each word sounded coming out of her perfect mouth. I could bore you with the details... but I won't. What I will tell you, is I found out her name. It's beautiful. Like her.

I left her at the cafe door at closing, and quickly circled the block, clambering up onto the rooftops to follow her home, to make sure she was safe. You can't be too careful these days. There are dangerous things out on the streets.

Like the Vampyre I found in the park an hour later, with my crossbow against his back. He was weak, and his clothes were dirty. He had been following a couple of young boys through the park, obviously on their way home, a football under one of their arms.'Turn around very slowly, and I might make your death quick' I snarled, pushing the tip of my crossbow roughly into his back to hammer home my point.He turned and I gasped, his face instantly recognisable as an almost mirror image of my own.

'Father?'

'Tarvoris... Help me.' With that, my father collapsed.

I sat down next to his limp body, trying to decide what to do. The bastard had sent me and my mother away, telling her he never wanted anything to do with me. He'd sent me money, when I killed my mother, an accident, and a note telling me never to try to find him.And now here he was, dying at my feet.

I pushed the temptation to shoot him through the heart out of my head, and stood up, hefting his body over my shoulders and dragging him home.

And that is where I am now. My Father is still out cold on my sofa. I'm suffering from a lack of caffeine, and my heart is still aching for the one thing I can't have.

I'm going to get a coffee.

Tarvoris