Pool of Crimson Read Free

chest hair brushed against my cheek, and I fought the urge to retch. He couldn’t hold my weight, and we fell to the ground in a mangled heap. I landed on top of him, straddling him at the waist.
    I brought my fist back and swung down at his exposed face. His nose cracked beneath my knuckles in a sickening crunch of cartilage. He screamed before bringing his hands up to cover his now blood-soaked face.
    “You stupid bitch,” he snarled through his fingers.
    “Ah,” I said casually. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you didn’t like me.”
    He bucked beneath me, tossing me from his body. He rolled to his knees, then crawled quickly out of my reach. He rose to his feet and glared at me. I got to my feet, too, ready for another go, but he remained in place, his beady eyes darting about the dark alley.
    “You don’t know what you’ve done,” he said with a quiver in his voice. He focused on a spot on the ground where his blood still dotted the concrete. He looked like he wanted to take a step. His right foot pushed forward, then moved back in hesitation. He met my eyes again with the first signs of fear. His steps backward were slow and uneven as he hissed at me. He actually hissed at me. I didn’t know humans could make that sound but he did.
    “I’ve done nothing I wouldn’t do again,” I said with a quick upturn of my lips in a self-satisfied smile. I casually brushed a piece of dirt from my sleeve. “And I know one thing,” I started with a confident smirk as I turned my full glare on him. “I’ll sure sleep better tonight.” Smarmy’s face turned red and his lips pressed into a flat line between his teeth as he looked from the pile of dead flesh then back to me.
    He turned on his heels and ran in the other direction without another word, reaching in his pocket for what looked like a cell phone.
    I followed him for a few steps, but shook my head in disgust as I watched him disappear around a corner back toward the crowds. There wasn’t anything I could do to stop him without being seen. I never would figure out why humans flocked to vampires. Humans were lower on the food chain. After all, death was the only constant like living with a full-grown lion and thinking that the lion won’t eat you. Yeah right!
    I should have followed him, but I couldn’t outright kill him. He was human. The only thing I could do was let him go and hope he wised up. I didn’t have much hope for that. By the looks of him, he didn’t have many viable options. Vampires or porn: and the Ron Jeremy look went out in the 80’s.
    I walked the few steps to the spot where we’d tussled and found something he’d left behind lying on the ground. It definitely wasn’t mine. I bent down and evaluated it carefully before I reached out and picked it up. The tiny little thing hummed in my hand. It was warm, almost hot, against my skin. A pulse of magic washed through me, like dipping my skin in hot wax, racing up my hand and arm as I stood with it clutched in my grip.
    It was a circular braided disc made of what looked like delicate branches. They were too thin to be tree branches, dried vines, or herbs maybe. In the center was a black stone, speckled white like a robin’s egg and smooth to the touch. There was a hole in the center of the flat stone, creating a ring, as if it was meant for jewelry instead of this ... thing. I flipped it over a few times in my hand. It was light, and the magic humming through my fingers made my hand tingle where my skin made contact with the object.
    Slipping it into my pocket for safe keeping until I could get it home and really examine the strange object, I turned to leave the alley and go home. I needed to find out what the thing in my pocket was and why Smarmy had wanted it so badly.
    A hoarse whisper from behind the dumpster caught my attention and I froze, turning slowly at the sound. Frightened, tear-filled eyes focused on me in horror. I looked closely at the woman’s neck. She appeared