BE STILL MY VAMPIRE HEART
by Kerrelyn Sparks
It is the evening of St. Patrick’s Day, and Angus MacKay, the general
of the Vamp army, has a new mission—- Stop the mortal who’s slaying
vampires in Central Park.
Chapter One, Scene 2
Emma Wallace stomped her feet silently in the grass. The chilly air felt good
as long as she was walking, but whenever she crouched behind a tree for very
long, her legs grew stiff.
This part of Central Park was dead, even too dead for the Undead. Time to
move on. She slung her canvas tote bag over her shoulder and enjoyed the comforting
sound of wooden stakes clattering against one another. She slipped out of her
hiding place and skidded down the sharp incline to the brick path below. Her
movement startled some birds from a nearby tree. They cawed, beating the air
with a fluttering of wings as they flew into the darkness.
Emma waited, blending easily into a tree’s shadow with her black pants
and jacket. All was quiet once more. Hard to believe that a short walk south
would deliver her to noisy avenues where postparade celebrations still raged.
Maybe that was why the park was so quiet. The vampires could be hunting in
the streets. After a long day of green beer and whisky, the revelers would
never remember what bit them.
Suddenly the brick path beside her was clearer. Brighter. She could make out
individual trees and bushes. She moved quietly onto the pathway and looked
at the nearly full moon. The clouds had moved away, leaving the orb bright
and glowing.
A slight movement caught her attention, and her gaze lowered. To the south,
a lone figure stood on top of a huge crag of granite. His back was to her.
Wisps of clouds floated past him, stirring his kilt. Moonlight gleamed off
his dark red hair.
Mist swirled around him, making him look ethereal. Like the ghost of a Highland
warrior. Emma sighed. That’s what the world needed more of today—-brave
warriors, willing to fight evil.
Sometimes she felt vastly outnumbered by the creatures of the night. As far
as she knew, she was the only vampire slayer in existence. Not that she blamed
anyone for that. Most people didn’t know about vampires. But she did
blame her weak and ineffectual boss. Sean Whelan was afraid to pit their small
team of four against a group of vampires in battle, so he had assigned them
to merely watch and investigate.
Watching wasn’t enough for Emma. Not since that horrid night six years
ago. She refused to dwell on it. She’d found a much better remedy than
grieving. The trick to killing vampires was to find one alone in the act of
feeding, then take him by surprise with one swift stake through the heart.
With every vampire she turned to dust, she was one step closer to finding peace.
She patted her bag of stakes. With a permanent marker, she’d written
Dad on half of them and Mum on the other half. The stakes were working great,
and the death count was up to four. It could never be high enough.
She glanced again at the kilted man standing on the boulder of granite. Where
had all the brave men gone? Fierce warriors who could stand alone in the face
of danger.
The mist drifted away, leaving the man’s form outlined in silvery moonlight.
Her breath hitched. He was stunning. His broad shoulders filled the dark sweater
he wore. His kilt fluttered slightly in the breeze, revealing strong, muscular
thighs. Good heavens. He would make a great warrior. Strong and relentless
in battle.
He fumbled at something below his waist. Emma winced. Was he playing with
himself? He lifted something to his mouth and drank. Moonlight glinted off
the metal. A flask. Super. With a sigh, she turned north and walked away.
What a silly waste of her time, fantasizing about a brave Highland warrior.
She should have known he was just one of the thousands of kilted, liquor-guzzling
men roaming the city after the parade. Besides, in her line of business, she
couldn’t afford to get sentimental. The enemy was ruthless.
Scrunch. Emma halted and listened. The path curved to the left and out of
sight, but she could hear the sound of footsteps shuffling through dead leaves.
She lunged to the left and hid behind a tree. The footsteps grew closer.
A lone man came into view. Emma caught her breath. He was wearing a long black
trench coat. The vampire she’d killed last night had sported one just
like it. Maybe they all shopped at the same store, Vampires “R” Us.
She lowered her tote bag to the ground and retrieved one stake.
He came closer. He’d be easier to kill if he was feeding, but there
were no victims nearby. Emma slipped the stake into her belt behind her back.
She’d lure him in, using herself as bait.
She sauntered onto the path and gave the man an innocent look. “I think
I’m lost. Do you know the way out of the park?”
The man halted and smiled. “I was hoping to find someone like you.”
Right, someone to feed from. Damned bloodsucker. Emma widened her stance so
she wouldn’t lose her balance when he attacked. She reached behind her
back and curled her hand around the stake. “I’m ready when you
are.”
“Okay!” The man untied the belt on his trench coat.
It was then that Emma noticed the hairy calves below the hem of his coat.
Good heavens. He wasn’t wearing any pants.
“Ta-da!” The man whipped open his coat.
Shit! He wasn’t wearing any clothes at all. She grimaced. Just her luck
to go vampire hunting and find a flasher.
“What do you think?” The man fondled himself. “Pretty impressive,
huh?”
“Excuse me a moment.” She let go of her stake and removed her
cell phone from its holster on her belt. She’d call the local police
to pick this guy up before he gave some poor lady a heart attack.
“Oh, is that one of those picture phones?” The flasher grinned. “Great
idea! Could you put me on the Internet? Here, let me give you a profile shot.” He
turned to the side so his erection would stand out.
“Brilliant. Just hold that pose.” Emma flipped open her phone.
A dark shadow obliterated her view.
She immediately reached behind her back.
False alarm. She released the stake. It wasn’t a vampire. Even so, her
heart raced, for there in front of her was the man in the kilt.
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