Two weeks of peace.
Two weeks of even more vampire movies, some terrible, most ridiculous, a few surprisingly insightful. Lily had binged everything from Nosferatu to the sparkly disasters her sire would probably find insulting. She'd taken more notes but at this point she was convinced Hollywood had nothing left to offer her.
The hunger crept back in, though. Slower than before, but inevitable.
Her sire had warned her. Small feedings meant frequent feedings. Control came with a price.
Lily checked her reflection in the bathroom mirror, noting the subtle pallor creeping into her already pale skin. Not terrible yet, but getting there. Another night, maybe two at most, and she'd start looking corpse-like again.
She grabbed her phone and checked the time, it was nearly midnight.
Perfect.
Christmas was just over a week away now. The streets had thinned out as temperatures dropped. Texas got cold, not real cold, but enough to drive most sensible people indoors at night. Only the desperate, the reckless, or the criminal stayed out this late in December.
Lily pulled on her leather jacket and headed for the door, pausing to lock it behind her. The familiar weight of keys in her pocket felt grounding, almost normal. A small ritual that made this whole nightmare feel slightly less surreal.
She descended the stairs instead of taking the elevator, enjoying the silence of the stairwell. Her footsteps as usual made no sound on the carpeted steps.
Outside, the night air hit her face. She couldn't feel the temperature, but she could smell everything. The scent of pine on the air, exhaust fumes, the faint smell of someone's late dinner cooking.
And underneath it all, the pulse of the city called to her ears. Heartbeats with blood flowing through warm bodies.
Lily started walking, hands shoved in her pockets. For once, she didn't dread this. The fear and self-loathing that had consumed her first hunts had dulled into something more manageable. Acceptance maybe or resignation.
She was a vampire and like it or not, this was survival. And if she had to drink blood to survive, she'd rather take it from someone who deserved it than lose control and hurt someone innocent.
The streets stretched out before her, Christmas lights twinkling in windows, casting colored shadows across empty sidewalks.
Somewhere out there, someone was doing something terrible.
Lily just had to find them.
***
Lily perched on the rooftop's edge, legs dangling over three stories of empty air.
Below, part of what people online had nicknamed "the entertainment district" sprawled out in neon and shadow. Most businesses were closed at this late hour.
Women in short skirts and heels walked predetermined routes, circling blocks like they were on patrol. Or perhaps hunting for survival in their own way. She honestly couldn't judge them, this was a rough world and she had done far worse in the last few months. Glass houses and stones she thought darkly.
Lily had watched this spot for two weeks now, studying the patterns of late night visitors to the area. The women came and went. The men who picked them up rarely looked like decent people. But one man in particular kept appearing, always in that same dark red luxury sedan, always with that same aggressive posture.
A pimp, that's what movies called them. Lily called them pieces of shit.
She'd tested her abilities while scouting these very same rooftops. Height was meaningless now as she discovered after she'd jumped from a two-story building behind her apartment complex. She had landed in a crouch without so much as a twisted ankle.
Then a three-story.
Then four.
No pain and no injury. She would just fall slowly, at least slowly from her perspective, and land on her feet without making any noise at all. She had been happy with this discovery, it could provide a lot of practical benefits in her hunting.
Climbing proved even easier. Her fingers found purchase where humans couldn't. She scaled brick walls like something out of a comic book, silent and swift, reaching rooftops in seconds.
Compulsion and healing were still the only mystical powers she had discovered so far, but at least she understood her body better now.
It was progress and that satisfied her immensely.
A woman's complaint cut through the night air. Her tone was sharp and clearly desperate.
"It's freezing out here, Daddy. I can't feel my fingers."
"Suck it up. You can warm up in the backseat after you meet your quota for the night. Thems the rules."
Male voice that sounded rough and dismissive.
"Get your ass back to work. You got money to make me."
"I'm serious, Daddy. I think I'm getting hypothermia or—"
The slap was hard enough that it bounced off of brick walls, carrying through the air louder than their voices had been.
Lily's head snapped toward the sound. She moved across the rooftop in a blur, boots finding silent purchase on gravel and tar.
"Get back to work," the man snarled, "next time it'll be worse."
She reached the opposite edge and looked down.
There was a small empty parking lot that was poorly lit. That red sedan was the only vehicle parked there. A man stood beside it in a winter coat that probably cost more than most people's rent. Gold chains, diamond studs in both ears, rings on every finger.
Lily made a disgusted face at the gaudiness on display.
The woman walked away, hand pressed to her reddening cheek.
Cold anger blossomed in Lily's chest. Not the beast's hunger, something deeper, more human. Rage at cruelty, at power being used to hurt instead of protect.
She forced herself to slow down and focus. This wasn't about revenge or justice. This was about feeding without losing control.
Though if she lost control with this particular target, she wouldn't feel too terrible about it.
The man pulled out a phone, scrolling with one hand while lighting a cigarette with the other. Casual, relaxed. Completely unaware that death watched from above.
Lily studied him.
He was alone with no security. Arrogant enough to stand in an empty parking lot at midnight counting money he'd forced others to earn.
Perfect.
She swung her legs back over the ledge and stood. The hunger pulsed stronger now, responding to proximity and opportunity. Her fangs ached behind her lips.
Two options presented themselves.
Drop down, fast and violent. Risk losing control but guarantee the element of surprise.
Or descend the building, approach from ground level. Slower, but more control over the situation.
The woman he'd slapped passed under a streetlight half a block away, still rubbing her face.
Lily's decision crystallized.
Fast and violent it was.
She stepped off the roof.
***
The pimp sat in his driver's seat, heat blasting, radio playing something with too much bass. He scrolled through his phone, occasionally laughing at whatever ridiculous, crude content held his attention.
Lily moved through shadows like smoke on the wind.
She circled the car, silent footfalls on cracked asphalt. The parking lot remained empty. She'd watched long enough to know the patterns by now. The woman he'd struck wouldn't return for at least twenty minutes, maybe thirty if the client wanted extra time.
No witnesses.
The pimp took a drag from his cigarette, head tilted back against the headrest as he exhaled smoke and sang along to the song.
Lily reached the driver's side window.
One second of hesitation.
Then she drove her fist through the glass.
The window exploded inward. The man jerked, cigarette tumbling from his fingers.
"What the fuck—"
Lily's hand shot through the shattered opening and grabbed the front of his jacket. She yanked him through the broken window frame, hauled him out like he weighed nothing, and slammed him against the car's exterior.
Metal dented beneath the impact and plastic cracked.
"Jesus Christ bitch! Don't—"
His hand came up fast, slapping her across the face.
Lily's head barely moved. The strike landed with all the force of a soft, gentle breeze.
She turned slowly back to face him. Let her eyes ignite with green luminescence.
His swagger evaporated quickly, replaced by something raw and animal.
Lily's hand clamped over his mouth before he could scream.
She leaned close, whispering directly into his ear.
"Keep quiet or you won't see tomorrow."
His breath came in rapid gasps against her palm.
"Nod if you understand."
Frantic nodding as his hands raised in surrender, trembling.
Lily didn't wait. She struck fast, fangs piercing the junction of neck and shoulder. Blood rushed into her mouth. Warm, vital, intoxicating.
The man's body went rigid for a few seconds, then relaxed as blood loss began its work.
Lily listened past the flow of sustenance, tracking his heartbeat like a metronome winding down.
Strong, steady, slowing.
His breathing grew shallow.
The hunger roared for more, demanded she finish what she'd started.
Lily wrenched herself back.
It hurt. God, it hurt. Like tearing away from the best thing she'd ever tasted. The beast inside screamed in protest, clawing like a cage animal at her self-control.
She held firm though.
Gasping, she leaned forward again and licked the puncture wounds. Focusing her thoughts on flesh knitting together, skin sealing itself.
The wounds closed liked before leaving no scars and no evidence of her activity with him.
The man sagged against the car, eyes unfocused and glassy.
Lily coldly stared at him as she had an internal debate with herself.
How many women had he hurt? How many more would he harm tomorrow, next week, next year? The woman with the red cheek was just one in what had to be a long line of victims.
It would be easy. So easy. Just finish what the hunger wanted. One less predator in the world.
Her hand found his throat as she slammed him back against the car hard enough to buckle the door panel. He groaned but couldn't fight back, couldn't even lift his arms properly.
"How does it feel?"
Lily's voice came out cold.
"Being powerless?"
His face shifted through shades of red as she lifted him off the ground. Feet kicked weakly against the air as his hands scrabbled at her wrist with all the effectiveness of a child.
One squeeze. That's all it would take. Pop his neck like kindling. Free that woman and whoever else worked for him.
But a voice whispered in the back of her mind.
Are you sure? Really sure? Because once you cross this line, there's no coming back. If you kill him because you want to, because it feels right, doesn't that make you exactly what you're trying not to be?
Lily's grip loosened.
She lowered him until his feet touched pavement again and released some of the pressure on his windpipe.
Their eyes met.
She reached for that power she'd used before, let her will press against his mind.
"You were mugged. It was dark. You don't remember who did it."
The cloudiness in his eyes deepened.
"You'll call the police. Tell them everything about tonight. Who you employ. Why you're here. What you make them do."
The compulsion took root in his mind without any resistance.
Lily released him completely before grabbing his blood-soaked jacket and stripping it off his shoulders.
He started to shiver but she didn't care. He was lucky to be breathing right now.
She walked away without looking back.
At the nearest dumpster she tossed the jacket inside, watched it disappear beneath trash bags and refuse.
Behind her, the pimp fumbled for his phone.
"Yeah, I need to report a mugging..."
Lily scaled the nearest building like a large spider. By the time sirens wailed in the distance, she'd already vanished into the rooftop shadows.
A smile touched her lips.
Maybe she could control what she was becoming after all.