I shook my head in disappointment. "What happened to you? You used to be so full of life, so ready for adventure. This is the best thing that has ever happened to us. Its a gift--one thatKatherinegave to you."
Across the street, an old man hobbled past, and then a moment later, a child on an errand rushed by in the opposite direction.
"Pick one and feed! Pick something, anything. Anything is better than just sitting here, letting the world go by."
With that I stood, following the iron and tobacco scent, feeling my fangs pulse with the promise of a new meal. I grabbed Damon, who lagged a few paces behind me, until we found ourselves on a slanted lane out of range of the gaslights. What little light there was gathered onto a single point: a white-uniformed nurse, leaning against a brick building, smoking a cigarette.
The woman looked up, her startled expression turning into a slow smile as she took in Damon. Typical. Even as a blood-starved vampire, Damon, with his shock of dark hair, long lashes, and broad shoulders, caused women to look twice.
"Want a smoke?" she asked, blowing smoke into concentric circles that blended with the mist in the air.
"No," Damon said hastily. "Come on, brother."
I ignored him, stepping toward her. Her uniform was spattered with blood. I couldnt stop staring at it and the way the rich red contrasted to the stark white. No matter how often I had seen it since changing, blood continued to awe me with its beauty.
"Having a bad night?" I asked, leaning next to her against the building.
Damon grabbed my arm and started to pull me toward the lights of the hospital. "Brother, lets go."
Tension coiled in my body. "No!" It took a swat of my arm to toss him against the wall.
The nurse dropped her cigarette. The ash sparked, then extinguished. I felt the bulge of my fangs behind my lips. It was just a matter of time now.
Damon struggled to his feet, crouching low as if I was going to strike him again.
"I wont watch this," he said. "If you do this, I will never forgive you."
"I have to get back to my shift," the nurse muttered, taking a step away from me, as if to run.
I grabbed her arm and pulled her to me. She let out one short yelp before I covered her mouth with my hand. "No need to worry about that anymore," I hissed, sinking my teeth into her neck.
The liquid tasted like rotting leaves and antiseptic, as if the death and decay of the hospital had invaded her body. I spit the still warm liquid into the gutter and threw the nurse to the ground. Her face was twisted in a grimace of fear.
Stupid girl. She should have sensed the danger and run while she still could. It hadnt even been a hunt. Worthless. She groaned, and I wrapped my fingers against her throat and squeezed until I heard the satisfying crack of bone breaking. Her head hung at an unnatural angle, blood still dripping from the wound.
She wasnt making any noise now.
I turned toward Damon, who stared at me, a horrified expression on his face.
"Vampires kill. Its what we do, brother," I said calmly, my gaze locking on Damons blue eyes.
"Its whatyoudo," he said, taking off the coat around his shoulders and throwing it over the nurse. "Not me. Never me."
Anger pulsed like a heart at the very core of my being. "Youre weak," I growled.
"Maybe so," Damon said. "But Id rather be weak than a monster." His voice grew strong. "I want no part in your killing spree. And if our paths ever cross again, I swear I will avenge all of your murders, brother."
Then he spun on his heel and ran at vampire speed down the alleyway, instantly disappearing into the swirling mist.
Chapter 8~9
Chapter 8
October 4, 1864
As a human, I'd thought it was my mother's death that had shaped the men Damon and I would become. I'd called myself a half-orphan in the initial days after she died, locking myself away in my room, feeling as though my life had ended at the young age of ten. Father believed grieving was weak and unmanly, so Damon had been the one to comfort me. He'd go riding with me, let me join the older boys in their games, and beat up the Giffin brothers when they made fun of me for crying about Mother during a baseball game. Damon had always been the strong one, my protector.
But I was wrong. It is my own death that has shaped me.