Tasha's Thinkings: Flashfic: Katherine: Betrayal & Blood (vampire, PG13) + New Chapter of Dead Before Dawn

Hello and welcome to my blog. Today I have some vampire flash fiction for you. It's October, so expect lots of paranormal things :). I very much hope you enjoy it and are enjoying Dead Before Dawn over on Wattpad too.

Katherine: Betrayal & Blood

by Natasha Duncan-Drake

The pain was Katherine's whole world. The wood burned as it was driven into her chest, radiating agony through her whole body. Death could not come too soon. Her enemies had found her; she was betrayed.

Somewhere water was dripping. It counted out time with regular drops and took all of Katherine's confused attention. Only slowly did other things begin to come to her: the quiet ticking of a clock; the smell of chemicals; cold.

Her mind was unfocused and cloudy. She did not remember how she came to be wherever she was. It was not her crypt or a lover's bed; that much she knew. Something terrible lurked at the back of her mind, something that caused her thoughts to shy from it. A scream echoed through her consciousness when she strayed too close to it and she had the horrible suspicion it was her own.

Forcing her eyes open was difficult, but it was easier than facing the demons in her head. Half-light greeted her, almost like a candle's glow, but far steadier. The fear of dawn finding her sent shock through her body. She sat up, heedless of what she might interrupt. What she saw caused her to still completely and simply stare.

She has never seen a room like it, all clean lines in ceramic and metal. And the light, it was not dawn coming through a window, but from a thin tube on the wall, that glowed with unnatural consistency. There were no candles or lamps to be seen, just the tube giving out low light to illuminate the far too exact room. It must have been very dark for a human.

Looking down she saw that her clothes were dirty and decayed. Her skin had a waxy colour. Time had to have passed, a lot of time. As she took in her surroundings she caught the smell of death and she looked over to where a body lay under a sheet. That was when she saw it: the wooden stake lying on the trolley beside the bench where she must have been laid out.

She reached for the hole in her dress as the safe back corner of her mind burst forth, showing her, in all too bright detail, her death. The memory of the pain was so real she bent forward as if experiencing it again.

Someone had betrayed her, someone had killed her. Her anger broke through the recollection and she swung her legs off her resting place. The leathery flesh under the hole in her clothes was whole again. Her would-be murderer had been incompetent at least; once the stake had been removed her body had healed itself. The only true way to keep a vampire dead was to remove their head.

Right now she needed blood to restore the rest of her body. As she stood she caught a glimpse of what she looked like in the side of one of the shiny cabinets and she glanced away quickly. It was not a pretty sight.

There was blood here, she could smell it, but it was dead blood; most likely from the poor creature under the sheet. What she needed was warm fresh blood and she headed for the door. It was locked; not unexpected, but inconvenient. When she pulled it did not open, even as she employed what strength she had. In her current state she was not strong enough to force open the large metal lock.

Annoyed, she turned back into the room. There was no choice now and she walked back towards the corpse. Dead blood was unpleasant and did not have the potency of the living, but it smelled fresh enough that it would give her the strength to deal with the door. She drew back the sheet to find a pretty young woman with half her face caved in from some kind of impact.

"Forgive me," she said and picked up the woman's wrist.

She could see where the blood had pooled and, steeling herself, she opened her mouth and bit, ripping at the skin in a most indelicate manner. It was just as disagreeable as she had feared as the cold, congealing liquid hit her tongue. She fought the urge to retch, swallowing instead, already feeling the energy the blood imparted. Even dead blood held the remnants of life that she needed.

It was disgusting, but when she wrenched her mouth away she felt much stronger. With a growl she headed back towards the door. This time when she pulled there was a splintering and groaning sound as metal and wood gave way.

The corridor outside was better lit, but completely barren of anything except a sign on the opposite wall. It simply said "Pathology Department". Tilting her head she listened and immediately caught the low thud of a human heartbeat. She smiled.

The floor was cool under her bare feet; someone had seen fit to take her shoes. At least she was not naked like the poor girl whose blood she had just stolen.

The corridor was long with three doors on the same side as the room she had left. The heartbeat was not coming from behind any of them, but through the double doors at the end. With a confident stride she covered the distance quickly. The double doors swung open as soon as she touched them, revealing yet more monotonous corridor.

"Hey, who's there?" a voice called out and Katherine smiled again.

She smelt male musk under a heavy scent over clean skin; a pleasant surprise. With confidence she walked out from behind the door and pinned the man down with her gaze. He got as far as opening his mouth before her power ensnared him. He was young and handsome in an uninspiring way, dressed in some kind of uniform. He would do.

"Come here," she said.

He resisted for a moment, but his will was not strong and he began to move after only a second or so. His steps were heavy, but he obeyed. His eyes remained glued to her face and she smiled at him. As soon as he was in range she reached out, wrapping her hand around the back of his neck, pulling him close.

This time when she bit she did not tear and the blood that hit her tongue was sweet and vital and warm. Just a sip gave her more strength than a whole body of dead blood could have. It flowed into her and through her with every mouthful. Every part of her body came alive as the life giving fluid hit her system. She drank deeply, stopping only when she felt restored.

When she was done she dropped the man, leaving him to fall to the floor as she looked at her hands. Before her eyes her skin lost the waxy sheen, returning to its usual pale, milky smoothness. Shaking her head, she felt the tangles and dirt fall from her hair as she returned to perfection. There was nothing she could do about her clothes; they would have to wait.

Only when she was feeling more herself did she look down at the man. He was barely supporting himself on one elbow, breathing in short little gasps. That he was still alive was testament to his strength. In that moment she decided it was a strength she could use.

"What is your name?" she asked.

"Nick," he said, unable to resist her power.

"You are mine now, Nicholas," she said, smiling down at him, "do you understand?"

He just stared at her. She crouched down next to him and allowed a few of the traits of the monster under her skin to rise to the surface.

"Do you understand?"

This time he nodded.

"Good, then drink."

She used her thumb nail to piece the flesh of her own wrist and held it out to him. Nicholas stared at the wound, brow furrowing.

"Drink or die."

He drank.

Katherine allowed him only a sip before she took her wrist back. Nicholas stared, blood smeared on his lips. She could feel her power winding its way into his beleaguered system. The wound on his neck was already closing.

"You are my thrall now, Nicholas," she said, standing back up, "do you know what that is?"

He shook his head.

"You will require my blood once a night," she told him. "If you do not get it you will die in excruciating pain. You will obey me in all things and then you will never have to find out what that feels like."

There was a flash of rebellion in his eyes; she liked that. It was never good to have servants who were completely without fire. He put his hand to his neck, feeling the wound and he had to be feeling what her blood was doing to him.

"You will be stronger, faster and more durable than a normal mortal," she explained.

It was at that she saw him accept the inevitable.

"What should I call you?" he asked.

"Katherine," she replied; "I do not enjoy formalities. Now, Nicholas, what year is this?"

"2016," he replied.

She had thought she was prepared, but that shocked even her.

"Over three hundred years," she said in wonderment.

It seemed inconceivable, even to her. Technically she was now over four hundred and fifty years old.

"Then you must be my guide, Nicholas," she said, refusing to give in to the sheer scale of her change in time. "What time is it?"

She should have looked at the clock in the room where she had woken up, but she had been too focused on feeding. Nicholas pulled a slim black case from his pocket and pressed a small button on its side. Katherine was amazed to see the face of the device fill with an image.

"3:47," Nicholas told her.

"What is that?" she asked.

"My phone," he said and held it out to her.

She took it and slowly turned it over in her hands. It weighed barely anything and the picture on the front was more detailed than any painting. She had no idea what a phone was.

"It seems I have much to learn," she said and gave the device, whatever it was, back to Nicholas. "There is no time tonight to begin my life again, so I shall take it as time to learn and reflect. Nicholas, I will need a safe place to sleep for the coming day. There must be no daylight."

"My flat has a storage room in the basement of the building I've never used," he said, "but it's damp."

"I am not unused to hardship," she said, pleased at his concern; already her blood was forging a connection between them; "it will do for one night. How do we get there?"

"Tube," was the short response.

"Will I not bring unwarranted attention?" she asked.

She was all too aware her clothes were entirely different from Nicholas'.

"We'll just say you've been to a costume party," he said. "My girlfriend has clothes at my flat that should fit you."

"Girlfriend?"

"Ex," he said; "she ran out on me two months ago. Never came back for her stuff."

Katherine nodded, that would do.

"Then lead the way," she said, offering him her hand, "I have a new century to learn."

~*~