A fucking hour and a half by train to reach Cold Spring — a small village of hunters and fishermen on the Hudson River, surrounded by woods and mountains.
Yeah, definitely the perfect place to quench my thirst. I swear, I tried to resist as long as I could, but those few drops I managed to steal from Veronica during our daily fucks weren't even remotely enough. And with the outskirts of New York patrolled by the Monster Slayers, I have no choice but to hunt outside the city.
As usual, Veronica thinks I'm with Naomi, while Naomi thinks I'm out with some rich and charming middle-aged woman I met at a bar. And honestly, I'd much rather be in either of those two places instead of stuck here, in the middle of nowhere, looking for human blood.
Yeah… sometimes being a vampire is a real pain in the ass.
A dog's suspicious barking brought me here, right in the middle of the woods, several hundred yards from downtown Cold Spring. Where there's a dog, there's usually a hunter nearby — and my intuition didn't fail me. He's not that old, forty at most.
The rifle in one hand and the flashlight in the other tell me he's a hunter, while he walks cautiously with his loyal hound at his side.
But… the sun set a long time ago and it's pitch dark here! What the hell could he possibly be hunting out here tonight?
Ah, never mind — I'll show him what it feels like to be hunted.
I move closer, passing from tree to tree and using the darkness as cover. My steps are so light they don't make a sound on the dry leaves and small branches scattered across the ground. And thanks to my now-scarlet vampire eyes, it makes no difference whether it's day or the dead of night.
Woof! Woof!
Without warning, that damned mutt suddenly starts barking in my direction.
Shit, I didn't expect that — he scared the hell out of me!
At that signal, the hunter raises the rifle to his shoulder and advances slowly and cautiously toward me. He must be hunting something big, otherwise it'd make more sense to aim lower.
A deep wound opens on my palm, and the blood that gushes out instantly forms a crimson axe in my fist.
If he really was aiming at some large animal, finding his body torn to pieces tomorrow morning won't raise too many suspicions, right? At most, the inhabitants of Cold Spring will launch a massive hunt in search of this terrifying legendary predator that brutally killed one of their own.
They can do whatever they want — the important thing is that the Monster Slayers stay out of it.
«What is it, Bran? Did you sniff out a bear?» the man whispers to his dog.
I was right — he really is hunting something big. Specifically, bears. And he's probably doing it at night so he can catch them by surprise while they sleep.
What a brave little hunter we have here…
The man keeps advancing in my direction, slowly and cautiously, with the rifle pointed forward, one step at a time, until… SLASH!
A swift, precise strike of my axe slices through his neck in an instant. His head rolls on the leaves, while the blood-spilling body collapses forward a moment later with a dull thud.
I killed him so fast he didn't even have time to feel fear.
Well, in the end I was merciful, right? By sparing him that moment of pure terror, he died with a smile on his face, believing he was about to take down a big one.
But now there's a big problem.
That damn dog won't stop barking, growling, baring its teeth — you don't need to be some dog expert to understand it's not friendly at all.
From its wrinkled muzzle and the snarls it keeps making, it looks like it's about to jump at me any second, but its body doesn't seem to agree, since between one growl and the next, it keeps backing away without taking its fierce eyes off me.
I have nothing against him — dog blood is one of the most disgusting things in the world for a vampire — but damn, he's just too, too noisy!
If he keeps barking, he'll definitely attract unwanted attention, and the only thing I want while I'm feeding is a bit of silence and peace, certainly not a creature screaming in my ears.
My cold, scarlet eyes stay locked on him.
I shake the axe, making the sharp blade whistle inches from his face, trying to scare him off, but that bastard keeps growling.
I wanted to let him go, but he's leaving me no choice.
SLASH!
One last yelp, and the hound's body falls to the ground, split clean in half at the belly.
Okay, now that this pain in the ass is out of the way too, I can finally enjoy dinner in peace.
Or at least, that was my intention.
I barely have time to grab the hunter's head and bring it to my lips to sip the still-warm blood… when a huge bear rears up behind me, roaring fiercely.