Darien

He got up and showered and put on his darkest clothing, which wasn’t hard to find since he mainly wore black. He realized it allowed him to blend in more easily with the night. He knew where to find David so he tracked him down. When he got there, David was already out so he decided to scout the general area. For miles in every direction he went and stopped now to rest when he found nothing of note. Maybe they had already left. He did not think himself so lucky. Maybe he would do another sweep of the city in the opposite direction after a few hours. He had not seen Rose tonight, but that was a sacrifice he would have to make for his and her safety. He suddenly remembered his telephone and decided to give her a call instead. It was already minutes past eleven, but he hoped she was not already asleep.

She answered in a sleepy voice. “How is my lovely lady doing tonight?” he asked.

“Darien? I thought you were coming over tonight,” she said, sounding disappointed.

“I know, I wanted to, but I had to go searching for any clues as to the rogue that killed that girl. Apparently the police are suspicious and we don’t want them poking their noses where they don’t belong. I haven’t found anything as yet, but I am still keeping a look out.”

“Well, please be careful,” she urged.

Darien laughed. “That is not something that I have always been good at but I can handle myself. The years have favored me with extensive lessons on the art of war. Just sleep and I will talk to you in the morning.”

“I will listen out for you,” she said, and then hung up.

Darien rested his head against the tree and closed his eyes. The hair on his neck pricked and his eyes flew open. Someone was coming and they were nearing him. He hurried up the tree and kept still, waiting for his surprise guests. Soon enough, they passed and stopped a short distance away. Darien kept still and listened to them. He couldn’t make out clearly everything they said, but he didn’t dare move to alert them to his presence. At least not yet. He needed to know what he was up against first. He decided to take the chance and move closer so he slid down the bark of the tree and landed as cotton on the forest floor.

“Where did he say we were to go next?” he heard the tall one ask the shorter red haired one.

“I think he wants to stay in this town for a while. He said there are some other vamps here so it would be easier to stay here. They don’t seem to have much trouble living here.”

“I am not so sure of that. I have heard of some form of registration procedure here or something of the sort.”

“I am not so concerned about that. Taylor told us we are free to hunt, but not too often to arouse suspicion.”

“Who the hell is Taylor?”

“He has been living here and he feeds on humans as well. Maybe we should just leave and find our own town.”

“That would be an excellent idea,” Darien said, now entering the space in which the two gentlemen stood.  The two men spun and glared at him. “You have done enough damage,” he said, moving dangerously closer to the men.

“And who might you be?” the taller one asked. “No one asked for your opinion. Oh, let me guess. You must be one of the registered kind,” he said as if referring to it left a bad after taste.

“Find another hunting ground,” Darien warned.

“Or what? Are you dictating to us traitor? Tell me, how does it feel to drink blood from a bag? Doesn’t go down quite as easy right? You must miss what it feels like to have fresh blood flowing through you, how your own life feels illuminated with each drink.”

Darien was getting angrier now. “Listen, I want nothing to do with the senseless killing of people for food. If we were all to do like you, then soon we would begin to eat ourselves when we run out of humans.  I urge you to do as I do or feed on animals as some do, but enough with this.”

“Well, what do you plan to do about it?” asked the shorter red haired one, walking into the personal space of Darien.

Darien gave him a tiny smile. “Little man, I would suggest you remove yourself. I can smell the new blood on your lips, indicating that you are new to this. I have many years under my belt. Don’t get carried away,” he said, giving the man a menacing look that showed off his prowess even without action. He backed off instantly.

“We don’t take orders from you,” the taller one said.

“Talk about traitor. Vampires normally travel in packs, but we don’t normally take orders from anyone else. But seeing as you do, please tell whoever it is that leads you to back off and find somewhere else to hunt. I will not tolerate this. I will be keeping an eye on you. Ensure he gets the message. This isn’t his town. Leave!” With that Darien blended back into the darkness and took leave of the men. He had not waited to see who their leader was, because he didn’t care. He was also surprised that Taylor had invited them to hunt in this town when he rarely did himself.

He landed on the roof of his building and slowly fluttered to his balcony. He stood there looking out still, envisioning the discussion between the two rogues and their leader. He hoped he had made himself clear and that they would soon leave town. There were plenty more places for them to hunt, and while he didn’t approve of them feasting on humans at all, that was not a decision that he could make for them.

He pulled the drapes closed and collapsed onto his bed as the first signs of morning crept inside his apartment.