Homewrecker could definitely hit the spot
12
Weeks passed as I settled into my new life in Prague. Before I knew it, it’d been a month, and then two. We were deep into August, with the promise of longer nights trailing behind the earlier sunsets.
Riftan told me not to get comfortable in the city because we’d be traveling again soon, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that the condo in Prague had already become our little home. I loved everything about the space we shared together. I loved the dining table where we laughed over evening coffees, the balcony where we admired every sunrise, and the study where we had Thursday crafts. For that reason, I argued that Prague should remain our hub—the place we came back to between trips—and Riftan wasn’t hard to get onboard with the idea.
While we were in Prague, my training remained the foremost priority. Riftan had taught me some basics. First, it was feeding from a human, and then it progressed to control while feeding from a human. I’d nearly lost control that first time, but—per usual—Riftan had been right when he said that it gets exponentially easier after the first feed. Blood lust was real, and he had to teach me to recognize it, as well as stave it off. At one point, that included starving me for three weeks, simply so I would know what it felt like. He then proceeded to tell me he should have had me fast for several more weeks. That’s what he did in the past with other apprentices, but he “couldn’t cope with how miserable I looked.” As much as I wanted him to treat me equally to those he had trained in the past—because I’m a strong, determined woman who doesn’t need special treatment—I was indeed too miserable to say anything like that to Riftan.
In the end, I was glad for those three weeks of starvation. Thanks to them, I had gained a relatively strong control over my blood lust and a robust understanding of why such control was important. I’d also picked up on some of the history of vampires, such as what stereotypes stemmed from truth, and what was complete hooey.
I hated the pungent smell of garlic, but it wouldn’t kill me. Silver jewelry had become unwearable—even briefly touching genuine silver elicited an itchy, burning reaction that was mild at first, but grew more aggressive if the jewelry wasn’t removed. I could always see my reflection in the mirror unless it was an old-fashioned one backed in real silver—then I was nowhere to be found. I could definitely enter a church, but Riftan noticeably strayed from where they kept the holy water. When I asked, he said that holy water was rarely dangerous to us, but that it could be if it was blessed by a priest and collected from a spring as they did in the old ways. Regardless, he said it was best not to test it.
As for some of my immortal abilities, I’d begun learning the extent of my speed and strength. Both of which were hard to test, given their near limitlessness. But with that limitlessness, there was still a proper and improper way of using them. Using them properly could make you unstoppable and using them improperly could make them practically useless. After all, what is speed without dexterity, or strength without restraint? As Riftan had explained it, “it’s like being great at singing but not knowing a single popular genre of music.” What I think he meant by that is that it’s one thing to throw a rock as far as the eye can see, and another to throw a rock and successfully hit a specific target a hundred feet away. As well as it’s one thing to run faster than a trolly car, than to trip on your own two feet in the process. Both of which were things I’d done—but that’s not important.
Of Riftan’s lessons, my favorite was using my heightened senses to cheat at poker. That ended as one very long and very entertaining night out. There was one glaring lesson, however, Riftan had yet to teach me, and it happened to be the one I’d been begging for: I wanted to learn how to use hypnotization. I would need plenty of practice to be as good as Riftan was at it—so I wanted to get started as soon as possible. Even knowing how eager I was, Riftan changed the subject every time I brought it up.
It felt like longer, but it was only another month and a half before he finally told me what I wanted to hear: “If you’d like, I’ll start teaching you to thrall mortals tonight.”
I nearly dumped the contents of the coffee table onto the floor as I jumped up in excitement. “Seriously? You will? You’re not teasing me?”
His ivory cheeks pulled into a demoralized frown. “Why would I tease you about something like that?”
I ignored his hypothetical, too thrilled to focus. “Thank you!” I squealed, wrapping my arms around his neck and tackling him onto the couch where he’d been lounging with a book.
The embrace of his fingers tantalized my waistline. “Well, I figured that I’d made you wait long enough, so it’s only fair.”
Still holding tight, I suffocated myself in the soft skin of his neck. I could have stayed wrapped up in him for the rest of forever, but I knew I’d have to separate myself eventually—or else we’d indeed lose the entire day to that embrace. One of the many things I’d learned about Riftan in our time together was that he was unable or unwilling to push me away, no matter how long I held him. But heaven forbid I try to kiss him. That was just heinous.
“I’d like to go out before sunset. The park will be a calm place to teach you something as intricate as hypnosis, and sunset will be a good time to find people walking alone.” I nodded, finally gaining the composure to pull away and observe him. He showed his teeth in a squinty-eyed grin and patted me on the cheek. “Go rest before we go out. Okay?”
“Okay.”
Waiting patiently for the evening to arrive, I got very little of anything that could be considered rest. Once the sun had finally started to darken to a deep orange, casting golden-hour light over the cathedral-esque city, Riftan and I made our way to the grand park a quick jaunt from our condo.
We’d been to the park a couple of times before, but it seemed forever-changing. The leaves of the once rich green trees and bushes now twirled to the ground, creating a bright amber and scarlet carpet underfoot. Pigeons cooed in the distance, ruffling their feathers as they fluttered atop the oaks. Once upon a time, I may have noticed my cheeks flushing from the chill in the air, but I no longer paid much mind to temperature. I could feel it and recognize its shift, but it wasn’t of much significance to my temperate body.
Riftan linked his arm through mine, leading me around the park at a mellow pace as the shadows of the waning sun tightened their grasp on the scenery. We passed by a few people—some walking their dogs, some with a partner, and one with a baby stroller. Riftan didn’t deem any of them worthy for me to try things out on, so we continued down the asphalt path.
When we were alone on the trail, Riftan mentored me on how to use my powers of hypnosis. I did, after all, already have those powers residing inside of me. I just didn’t know how to bring them out. “Remember that what you think and what you feel is what you’ll be sharing with the victim. If your thoughts aren’t in order, theirs won’t be either. So, if you need to say your intentions out loud, or scream it inside your own head so that it’s all you think about, then so be it. Do what feels right. Also, that goes for you and your victim alike. It’s a two-way street, and their confusion or other emotions will try and take control of you once you open your mind to them.”
He stopped us only when a young girl jogged by, her blonde ponytail swinging with each bouncy step. She was cute and supple. Her high cheeks were red from the cold and her breath left her over plumped lips in continuous puffs of fog. She looked young, maybe still a teenager, but obviously trying to meet some societal beauty standard—much like I had been when I was her age. “Her.” Riftan turned to watch the girl pass and then pointed when her back was to us. “Go try it on her.”
“But she’s so young,” I argued.
“You won’t hurt her, so don’t worry about her age.”
Nodding, I jogged up to the girl and tapped her on the shoulder.
Her long ponytail whipped around with a start from my sudden appearance. She pulled earbuds out of her ears and muttered with an eastern accent resonating from deep in her throat, “You scared the shit out of me.”
“I’m sorry.” My heart thrummed fast, but I smiled cordially to make up for it. What do I say next?
The girl raised her brows at me as though she were thinking the same thing.
“Um…” I hesitated, contemplating the best approach. With a sigh, I opted to forgo the formalities and cut to the chase. “Will you bark like a dog… please?”
“Excuse me?” She stepped away, furling her eyebrows at the bizarre question.
Looking her directly in the eyes, I focused hard on the small black orbs that were her pupils. “Bark like a dog,” I commanded, this time with intention, the way Riftan had instructed me to.
The girl’s smile fell, her expression becoming flat. She obeyed, making the smallest dog bark I’d ever heard. “Arf, arf.”
Maybe I was thinking about a chihuahua, or maybe that was the version of a dog the girl was thinking of. “Now, sit?” I was stuck on the dog commands.
The girl did as told, dropping to the ground and putting her butt on asphalt. She sat with her knees up and her hands between them, much like she was mimicking a dog. I could only imagine that was, again, because I’d been thinking of how a dog would sit.
Riftan busted into laughter from the spot where I’d left him. “You made her sit like a dog! That’s my girl!” He slapped his leg and continued to chuckle to himself.
I muttered to the innocent girl at my feet, “I’m sorry I had to embarrass you like that,” and hurried back to Riftan.
The girl I’d thralled staggered to her feet and cocked her head at the ground before looking around with a bitter, confused expression staining her made-up face. Sparing us only a passing glance, she hurried on her way with her figurative tail between her legs.
Riftan asked me, “How was it?”
“It was fine. I understand making demands. You’ll have to help me some more with the altering memories part, though. She definitely remembered that whole interaction.”
“That’s okay for now. It’s why we are practicing.” Riftan’s lips turned up in a way that denoted something mischievous to come. “How about you find me a meal and practice it on them for real this time?”
“Here in the park? It seems like a strange place to find women worthy of murder.” We usually found those women at clubs—be it social clubs, night clubs, or even country clubs. I’d originally been surprised at how many terrible people could be found at country clubs and other places where rich people gathered for no better reason than to flaunt their wealth. But the park wasn’t that kind of place.
Riftan shrugged. “I’ll leave it up to your discretion. Just find me someone. Unless you don’t think you can do it?”
“Is that a challenge?”
In lieu of a better response, his shoulders simply gave another bob.
But that was all I needed. I was already on the hunt. Riftan had an obvious type and finding him a meal was never difficult. In fact, I usually found Riftan’s mortal meals for him. Since I didn’t really care about the gender of those I fed on, my pool of options was large, and on the occasions when I picked out a woman, Riftan wasn’t sneaky about stealing her from me. I’d discovered early on that it worked out best that way. He needed to feed on living flesh every once in a while, just like I did.
At first, it wasn’t weird; he’d find a woman from a club like I would and take her out back or into a private area. But at some point, it made him act dodgy, looking my way too many times before actually settling on a human. When I chose them, however, he didn’t get like that. Instead, he seemed more at ease settling his fangs into someone I’d deemed worthy as my own meal.
While I didn’t find that the park was a great place to find a woman worthy of Riftan’s taste, there was a small private dock along the riverside, not far from the end of the park. Usually, I wouldn’t think twice about somewhere like that, except that I could hear voices in that direction speaking in hushed tones—the kinds that were laced with lust and signified undoubtable depravity. While I could have been wrong, it wouldn’t hurt to check.
With Riftan in tow, I made my way through the woods on the outskirts of the park. Over a fence and down the embankment waited the small dock housing several large yachts. The gates were closed, and the docks were silent save for the squeaks and groans of metal on wood as they swayed on the water… and something else—a woman’s muted voice carried from one of the boats.
“My husband thinks I’m out of town for work tonight. There won’t be any interruptions, I promise. Just meet me on the docks in twenty, okay?” The woman spoke in a hushed tone, the only response being a distorted and staticky voice that garbled through a phone speaker.
While I’d thought I’d heard the chatter of two distinct voices before, only the woman’s was present in person now. Chalking that up to a mistake on my part, I moved closer.
In the shadows of the embankment before the entrance to the docks, I asked Riftan, “You in the mood for a homewrecker?”
“Homewrecker could definitely hit the spot,” he agreed, right on my heels. Before I could make my way down the docks, Riftan stopped me long enough to add, “Make sure you don’t let her scream. I’ll help with her memories, but you need to remedy her emotions, okay?”
With a nod and a zip at nearly the speed of light, I made my way down the dock and to the boat where the woman’s voice had carelessly led me. She was startled to see me, reasonably so, as I leapt over the tall gold railings and into her boujee-ass boat without a second thought. I didn’t give her a moment to panic, closing the distance and locking my eyes with hers. She went silent as I calmed her to near sedation before things could get hectic. With an assertive hypnosis, I commanded her to “hush and wait quietly.”
Behind me, Riftan hopped over the side of the boat. “Are you positive this is the one you want to pick?” he asked.
Completely thralled and leaning against the table in front of me was a blonde woman in her late thirties. She wore a sweater with a short pencil skirt and jewelry that racked up price tags into the tens of thousands. Though she may have been average-looking, she obviously had the money to make herself up, with plump lips and cheeks higher than was normal at any age. The exterior was up to par with Riftan’s taste, but I did need to ensure that she’d be an appropriate match for murder.
“I suppose I’ll check, just to make sure.” Staring into the depths of her soul, I asked for reassurance, “What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done in your pitiful life?” Using my thrall, I implored her to be honest.
She answered in the same monotone voice I’d become accustomed to hearing from hypnotized mortals. “I’ve been stealing money from my disabled son’s charity to pay off my debts.”
A chuckle bubbled from my lips. This is too easy. “She’s all yours.” I motioned to Riftan, and he nodded his approval.
Not waiting another moment, he seized the girl by her neck and dug in his fangs, feeding off her sweet, aromatic blood. The smell of her tickled my nostrils, making me salivate though I’d already fed that week. Her scent completely overwhelmed the muddy aroma of the river we floated on.
In the few months that I’d been doing the whole vampire thing, I’d become entirely desensitized to blood and feeding from human flesh. It helped exponentially that feeding came with such a euphoric high. It made watching Riftan feed feel like something enticing for me. It didn’t make me hungry, like watching someone else eat cake; if anything, it made me kind of horny, like watching someone else make out… with a cake. But in this case, cake was a delicious, blood-filled human being.
Riftan always insisted that I shouldn’t make feeding sexual, but I struggled not to. The feeling of feeding from a human was probably most akin to some really good—be it short-lived—sex. But Riftan would blow a fuse if I ever made that connection out loud.
Taking a seat with a good view on the couch nearby, I watched with roving eyes as Riftan devoured the girl. I expected that he would suckle at her neck until she became too weak to stand and then he’d probably stop. Swinging my legs up onto the coffee table, I settled in to enjoy the second hand high until then.
The girl leaned against Riftan, her weight in his capable hands as he held her close. His fingers splayed over her waist, careful not to pull her sweater but firm enough that she’d feel it. That was enough to have my butterflies, butterflying, but in a way that breached my normal longing. These butterflies felt chaotic and angry… maybe a little jealous? Not that I envied this woman’s situation—a situation I so gravely knew for myself.
“That hurts,” the woman whispered, barely breaking out of my hypnosis enough to voice a single thought.
An ache in my fingers sparked the realization that I was clutching the couch beside my knees.
Riftan pulled away and grabbed the woman’s chin with his fingertips. He looked into her eyes and assured her, “It doesn’t hurt.”
Goosebumps covered my skin—Rifan’s sentiment seeped into my bones like he’d said the words directly to me.
I had the vivid memory of myself in this woman’s shoes. Riftan’s breath hot against my neck, firm hands tight around my waist, and tender words numbing my brain into a confused bliss. But that’s where the similarities end, because in my memory he pulled away and looked me in the eyes to say, “Actually, that’s no fun. This’ll hurt you a little bit, how’s that sound?” Once again, I caught myself gripping the couch, this time tearing through the fabric with my thumbnail.
My heart hung on his words in the here and now. I’d heard his routine dozens of other times: always, “This won’t hurt you.” But never the cruel extension that I’d received on the night he bit me. That brought my jealousy full circle. “Riftan! What the hell?” I yelled as he was going back in for more of the woman.
“What?” he whipped around to face me, a red hue brightening his lips.
“When you bit me, you told me it was going to hurt! You wanted me to suffer! Why are you concerned if it hurts her now?” I pointed to the woman who slouched in his arms like a zombie.
He hesitated, his lips curving into a sheepish smile. “The circumstance was different. We were in the middle of nowhere and nobody could hear you scream. I’m sorry, it wasn’t personal; I was having some fun with you.”
“Jerk.” I reached for a couch pillow and threw it at him.
Batting it away, Riftan lit up, his eyes playfully locking onto mine. “Hey, I’ll come over there and bite you again if you don’t watch it.”
“I dare you to try!” was my eager response.
I would have happily taken a bite from him if it meant getting to feel his lips on my skin again. I’d been too distracted with my demise to properly appreciate what it’d felt like before—and that haunted me daily. All I wanted was to appreciate what he felt like in the meager moments I’d gotten to have his lips on my neck—even if it meant having his teeth buried in my skin. And luckily, there was no ill response from a vampire biting another vampire, which was a question I’d cleared up long ago—definitely no reason for asking.
Looking like he might oblige, Riftan dropped the woman he’d been feeding from to the ground, where she fell in a heap. The fact that she was no longer conscious told me that Riftan needed to stop anyway.
He maneuvered the coffee table, only feet away from granting the secret wish I’d been pleading for, when another elevated heart rate and erratic breath joined us. Riftan noticed it too and stopped dead in his tracks, gaze following the sound over the edge of the yacht.
Below, on the dock, a woman stood shivering in the shadows, one hand clasped around her mouth. Her wide eyes glued to the unconscious body on the floor, and her heart rate spiked, a telltale sign she would attempt to flee. I should have heard that woman coming, but I’d been so distracted by Riftan’s every little nuance, my mind so focused on the fantasy of having his teeth in me again, that I hadn’t heard the girl coming up the dock. My bad. I failed my job as lookout.
As I’d suspected, the woman fled. Running up the dock, she attempted her escape, but I would make up for my blunder and stop her myself.
“Leanne, wait!” Riftan demanded, but I was already gone.
The woman hadn’t made it up the dock in the milliseconds it took me to reach her. I was in the woman’s space as she stumbled away, her face contorting with fear and dripping in tears of dread. Pulling her close so she wouldn’t stagger back into the water, I locked eyes with hers. My thoughts were clear, and they resembled the words, “Calm down, everything is okay. Go home and forget all of this.” But immediately, this thrall felt different.
I’d been clear in my judgment and feelings of peace when we locked eyes, but I hadn’t finished the thought before an unrealistic terror conquered my thoughts, gripping my throat like a shadowy entity. Drowning in the emotion, I gasped for air, my heart racing like it wished to jump right out and escape the feeling.
I released the girl and scrambled to get away from her. The dock under my feet was only so wide, and I was teetering off the edge like I’d feared the girl would do moments earlier. Before I could tumble in, strong arms were righting me back onto the dock and wrapping around my shoulders.
My skin prickled from Riftan’s touch—but not the way it usually did. This time it prickled in repulsion, like my cells themselves feared his embrace. “Don’t touch me,” I commanded instinctively as my body and mind screamed.
Riftan held me tighter despite my verbal wishes. “Calm down, everything is okay. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
Am I really afraid of him?
That was what it felt like. Or maybe it was more of a general feeling of fear.
What am I afraid of?
The emotion was so chaotic and confusing, it felt as if there was an itch in my throat that could only be scratched if I screamed at the top of my lungs. “What just happened?” I asked, tucking my head into Riftan’s chest, letting my mind take back an ounce of control and resist the urge to cry out.
His breath fanned softly over my hair. “You opened your mind to that girl, and she was frightened. Don’t you remember what I told you? It’s a two-way street. That’s why I yelled for you to wait. When are you going to learn to listen to me?”
“I didn’t think it’d be like that.”
“Of course not, because you have a lot to learn.” He sighed and the atmosphere shifted around me as he lifted me off the ground. “The way you’re feeling will wear off in a little while. I’ll take you home and we will practice this more tomorrow.”
Just like that, the night was over, and I’d failed my first full lesson in hypnosis.