In Cold Blood Read Free

her pocket and brought it to the girl’s throat.
    Huge, frightened eyes stared above Ava’s hand clamped over the girl’s mouth.
No, not the neck,
Ava thought.
She mustn’t die
. She grabbed a wrist and slashed it once, then pulled it up to her mouth, ignoring the screams that started as soon as Ava moved her hand away from the girl’s mouth.
    She sucked, and her head swam with delight. It was like a drug – she hadn’t intended to, she only wanted to take a little, but she kept on sucking. Itwas magical, better than anything she had ever tasted or felt. Stopping seemed impossible, but she knew she must. She would not kill this girl.
    Ava suddenly threw her onto the snow and ran. She leaned against a building, and wondered why she wasn’t gasping for breath. Her breathing had become so shallow – just like Nathan’s when he’d tried to kill her.
    The shard of mirror was still in her hand, smeared with blood. Ava looked back, but the girl was gone. The end of a black coat disappeared around a corner. A chill ran through Ava: someone
was
following her after all.

Five
    Ava stumbled into her hotel bathroom. She felt sick with self-loathing but couldn’t vomit.
    Maybe vampires can’t be sick
, she thought.
    Her head was reeling – partly with the excitement of the blood and partly with horror at what she’d done, what she’d become. How could she live like this? But she needed the blood. She just knew it. It was as necessary as breathing.
    It was horrible, but she hadn’t killed anyone. She’d hold back; she wouldn’t kill. Then they wouldn’t become vampires. That was how it worked, wasn’t it?
    It was rationalising, she knew. Ava had to excuse what she was doing, because she couldn’t stop doing it. She stood in the shower for a long time, trying to wash away the taint of wanting blood. There was no blood on her, not a drop – but she felt filthy.
    The next morning, she slept late. She wished, now, that she’d stayed longer in Ignace’s castle and found out about life as a vampire. But he’d sent her away. He’d said they’d be watching her, and if she told anyone … She shivered.
    Were they watching her? Maybe they’d helpher.
Because I really can’t do this alone
, she thought. She wondered if the tall man who’d stared at her was working for Ignace. She hoped not. For no reason she could explain, he’d frightened her.
    Ava turned on the TV, hoping for distraction, but there was nothing in English. The local station showed pictures of the police cordon near the circus, and then of the place where Ava had attacked the woman. She couldn’t understand the commentary. Grainy photos of both women came on screen, with a number to contact underneath.
    Ava felt sick. Someone, somewhere, had made a connection between the attacks already.
    She walked out into the street, desperate to get away. People went about their daily lives, going to work, shopping, trooping through the snow andthe slush. They didn’t stare at her. She didn’t look like a vampire, then. She didn’t look like a monster people should avoid.
    She could smell them, though. They smelled enticing. Even a tramp slumped in a doorway had a smell that drew her towards him. It was a smell she had never noticed about people before, a slightly muffled smell. But the smell of blood, all the same.
    She stopped at the café and had another rare steak. That calmed her interest in the people. As she ate, she saw a tall dark figure through the mist on the window, looking in at her. That man, again – was it? She couldn’t be sure, but her skin prickled at the thought. When she left the café, there was no one there. She hurried, head down, listening hard for footsteps behind her.
    She set off for the park where the circus was pitched. She felt dirty, and she was afraid to face Ivan. But
he
would understand, if he were a vampire. And she was drawn to him. He was cute, and funny, as well as perhaps a vampire.
    It was dusk as Ava picked her way