The Nightstalker's Mark - Novella Excerpt

After work, hospital worker Adrianne steals blood from the blood bank to provide for her lover, the vampire Carm. Despite their passion, difficulties with keeping Carm fed take their toll. When coworker Petra begins to ask questions, the clash of passion, jealousy and hunger leads them all down a path of death and blood.

Excerpt from Chapter 1 of "The Nightstalker's Mark"

Adrianne fumbled with her keychain until she felt the unmistakable rimmed pattern of their apartment key, which she'd been told was grafted into the shape of a rose. She opened the door and carefully made her way into her darkened home. With the drapes shut tightly, the windows boarded up and not a lamp to be found, there wasn't a single source of light inside the apartment. Not that Adrianne or Carm needed the light, each for their own reasons. Adrianne carefully tapped her white cane against the floor, finding her way past the couch and the dining room table. It was a much easier path to walk since Carm smashed the coffee table to bits during one of her moods. Adrianne had complained about bumping into it, so Carm simply chopped it up. While it wasn't like they had many guests over for coffee anyway, she just wished Carm hadn't done it in anger. She still remembered the ferocity, that furious anger aimed at something so small. How frightened she'd been by Carm's terrible roar. She also remembered the hassle of picking the splinters out of her hair.

Having counted the steps, Adrianne folded her cane up and reached for the knob of their bedroom door. She tried to turn the handle, but, as always, it was locked. She sighed, then calmly rapped her finger against the wood. “Carm? It's me,” she said softly. It was a habit she never broke, even though it would hardly ever be anyone but her that entered the apartment. Her ears were piqued for that one sign of Carm. She was the only thing in this world that could hide from Adrianne’s heightened hearing. If she could hear Carm, it would only be because Carm allowed her to.

There it was. From the other side, she could hear rapid tapping, like the legs of a crab scurrying across the hardwood floors.

“Did you bring it?” Carm hissed from the other side of the door, her voice scratchy and dry, like that of a parched wanderer who'd crawled through a desert in search of that one drop.

“I did. Can you open the door for me?” Adrianne asked.

The lock snapped loudly, as Carm hadn't waited for even a second. The bedroom door opened slightly. If Adrianne could see, she might have been startled by the blood-red eye shining through the crack, dark veins pulsating in it.

“Give!” Carm hissed.

Adrianne removed her backpack and retrieved the small plastic bag of sterilized blood. Her daily gift for Carm which she snuck out from the blood bank. Without leaving even a second to pause, Carm's withered hand shot out, taking the bag into her thin gnarled claws, and pulling it into the darkness. Adrianne pushed the door open and entered their shared bedroom, listening to Carm greedily tearing into the bag with her teeth and slurping up its contents. The faint smell of blood lingered in the air, but Adrianne could tell from the sounds there wouldn't be much of a mess. Carm had been alone all day, and she would need every drop of it to regain her strength.

Leaving Carm to her devices, Adrianne made her way into their bedroom, counting the steps as she did. When she reached the bed, Adrianne removed her shoes with her foot, then dropped herself down onto the soft mattress. It smelled faintly of saliva and dried skin, meaning Carm hadn't left the bed all day again. While she could hardly fault her for it, there were times she wished Carm had more to do when she was out at work. Read a book. Watch some TV. Get to using that origami set she'd bought her last Christmas? But that was a pipe dream, of course. And she could hardly blame Carm for confining herself to the bed. The pain she must go through all day.

A cold hand took Adrianne's wrist, gently massaging it. Adrianne could feel Carm's skin softening, her calluses melting away as the fresh blood flooded into her aged veins. The sharp talons at the ends of her fingers returned to their normal form of somewhat above-average sharp nails. While she could not see it, she knew Carm's youth and form returned to her, as the smell of decay vanished and Carm's strong natural rose-like odor of her naked skin took its place. Carm slowly made her way to Adrianne, sitting herself down, then wrapping her arms and legs around her. Nude on the blind woman's lap, Carm took Adrianne's hands and placed them on her own bare hips.

“I'm sorry I growled at you,” Carm said in her smooth voice, a slight lisp passing her razor-like teeth.

“It's okay.”

“No, it isn't. I couldn't help it. I hate putting you through that. I hate it when you have to see me like that.”

“Poor choice of words,” Adrianne laughed darkly.

“You know what I mean, smartass,” Carm snorted.

The two women sat there for a moment on the edge of the bed, locked in an embrace without a word spoken. Carm took deep breaths, calming herself down after the jolt of energy that came with her feeding. Adrianne could tell that Carm was finding her scent, while she, on her part, smelled the distinct metallic odor of blood on Carm's body. Once again, the Nightstalker had been messy in her feeding. She would should have lapped up every drop that had run down onto her body so as to not stain Adrianne's clothes. But she wouldn't, deliberately leaving it so that that unmistakable smell would stay there.

The Nightstalker was fed. She was happy.

Her appetites changed. The nocturnal pheromones of Carm kicked off. And with that, Adrianne lost the scent of blood, taking in only the alluring smells of her lover.

Adrianne began moving her hands up to Carm's waist, massaging her hips. “How have you been today?” she asked.

“Hungry. You?”

“The usual. A little bored,” Adrianne said.

“Just bored?” Carm asked, slowly pulling down the zipper on Adrianne's hoodie. “Not horny?”

“Are we talking about me or you?” Adrianne laughed, doing nothing as Carm tipped her down onto the bed and proceeded to slowly free her of her work clothes, stopping just short of pulling her shirt off.

“I don't get horny until after I've eaten. You should know that by now,” Carm said, undoing Adrianne's belt. With a slight tug, she pulled down her pants, revealing Adrianne's panties. Not one to waste time, Carm pressed her face against Adrianne's mound, inhaling deeply. “You smell so good.”

“Of course I do. I'm filled with warm blood.”

“Not what I meant,” Carm said, taking the straps of Adrianne's panties between her sharp teeth and cutting them.

“Bitch!” Adrianne huffed. “Those were my best pair.”

“Does it look like I care?” Carm grinned, pulling the torn fabric aside to gain a better look at her lover's pussy. Adrianne laid back. While she could not see it, she could feel Carm's hungry eyes scan her figure, locking onto where her body temperature was at its warmest. The Nightstalker had once tried to explain how this, what she called her 'hunter's eye', allowed her to see the blood pulsating just beneath the skin of her prey. Adrianne guessed that right now, Carm saw her nether region in a bright glowing red.

“Carm,” Adrianne muttered. “I—”

“Shut up,” Carm growled with the Voice, something she used on Adrianne only in moments of seduction. It worked, as Adrianne felt herself getting wetter. Before she could say another word, the Nightstalker placed her lips onto Adrianne's vulva, burying her nose into her dark patch of pubic hair.

“Oh,” Adrianne gasped, caught off guard by Carm's sudden enthusiasm. It has been a while since she'd been this eager.

Carm was careful with her teeth against her precious lover’s skin, doing her utmost best not to puncture it, extending her tongue and lapping up her fluids with greedy abandon. Her hands grasped tightly onto Adrianne's hips, pushing her pelvis into her face. The taste of her lover caused her body to shiver, her vertebrae to push outward and her wings to involuntarily jerk outward, engulfing both women in a blanket of thin flesh. Adrianne placed one hand onto Carm's head, pushing it up against her pussy, while her other hand grazed against her neck, her face, and eventually, her breast.

“K-keep going—” Adrianne muttered.

Carm sat up, keeping her eyes locked onto her lover's sex, and moved her own body around. Adrianne did not need sight to know what hovered a few inches above her face. With trembling hands, she took Carm's hips and guided them down onto her face. She began lapping her tongue against Carm's pussy, her body twitching as she felt the faint iron aftertaste clinging to her taste buds. It wasn't a bad taste, as she began to increase the pace of her tongue strokes. It was just something she had to move past like she did with most of Carm's little oddities.

“Good?” Carm asked, looking down between her legs to see Adrianne bobbing her head back and forth.

“Mmnnrh,” Adrianne muttered back with sly approval.

“Good,” Carm said, before switching to the Voice. “Now, rub me.”

As if under a hypnotic spell, Adrianne guided her fingers towards Carm's clit, circling gently across the bud of the rose. Carm did the same to Adrianne, often adding gentle flicks of her tongue. She could tell from the gyrating of Adrianne's hips that her technique was working its magic. Her wings stretched out, stabbing their talons into the walls.

“F...fuck...that's nice,” Carm gasped.

“Yeah?” Adrianne asked, slowing her pace ever so slightly.

“Don't stop,” Carm said, not using the Voice this time around. She didn't need to anyway, as Adrianne began rubbing the Nightstalker's clit at just the right tempo. Carm placed her hands onto her familiar's legs and grasped tightly, blood seeping from her lips as she bit into them. Her blood-red eyes rolled into the back of her head, as she arched her body, welcoming her climax. She shrieked at a pitch only bats and dogs could hear as she came, her pussy gushing while her body convulsed. Without much fanfare, she dropped herself beside Adrianne, folding her wings back into place.

“You okay?” Adrianne asked.

Carm giggled, before rolling over on top of her lover. She locked their lips together, passionately kissing the human woman, holding her face in her cold hands. “More than okay,” she said. “I'm fucking great.”

“Well, that's good,” Adrianne said. She sat up and pulled off her shirt and bra, freeing her breasts. The Nightstalker's eyes fell on them and, as if drawn by a siren's song, moved closer and placed her tongue against her right nipple.

“Hey,” Adrianne said. “I didn't shower yet.”

“Too late to care about that now,” Carm chuckled. “Besides, you didn't come yet. I need to rectify that.”

“I thought I was the servant?” Adrianne said, touching Carm's face so as to visualize it, even though her mental image of her mistress was practically ingrained into her memory.

“Not when we fuck. We do this together,” said the creature of the night, leaning in to kiss her lover once again. “I love you, Adrianne.”

“And I love you,” Adrianne laughed, returning the Nightstalker’s kiss, before pushing Carm's head down toward her crotch. “Now get going.”

Carm chuckled at Adrianne’s daring tone. She always liked it when the seemingly frail woman showed more of her spark, be it in the bed or out in the street. With a smirk and gleeful lust, she submitted to her lover's wishes by placing her tongue onto her soaked pussy, continuing what she'd started.

“Ah,” Adrianne gasped, as Carm resumed pleasuring her clit with her tongue, while slowly inserting a finger inside her. “F—fuck,” she muttered, while the Nightstalker grinned and resumed her most intimate kiss.

-For the entire novella, please purchase 'The Nightstalker's Mark' on Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and other affiliated stores at the link here-