Chapter 2

Fallon’s POV

I was being followed. A course of alarm for many, but not me. So far, it was an indication that my night was going to end on a very good note.

My mask was still on. Again, it was not an uncommon sight for night dancers to conceal their identities. Some liked to keep their nightlife a separate affair from their daily lives.

The car trailed behind me, and the figure in the shadows followed steadily.

I heaved a sigh and adjusted my coat to keep me warm from the chilling.

Still, my hands remained folded across me as I occasionally rubbed my temple.

And then I began counting.

One, two, three, four, five.

I yelped as the figure in the shadow blocked my path in a blur.

Damn vamps and their speed.

“You look chilly. Need a ride?”

The car pulled by me, and from the rolled-down back window, my target from the club spoke smoothly.

I smiled nervously as my eyes flickered from him to the other vamp, who was now blocking my path.

It wasn’t a polite offer; it was an invitation that could not be rejected.

I hesitated for a bit.

The vamp in the car smiled. “C’mon, I won’t hurt a pretty flower like you.”

Yeah right. As if his eyes were not shining with blood thirst.

I gave a sweet smile. “Thank you.”

And I hopped in.

The car was warm, as expected.

“Thank you for the ride.”

Although pale, his face was still daringly handsome. When he smiled, it gave out a look of comfort and friendliness.

RIP to the people who had fallen to such fine deception.

“You are very much welcome.”

He suddenly gasped. “Where are my manners? Forgive me, I am Alexandra, but my friends call me Alex. You, my darling, can call me Alex.”

I blushed on the outside as his lips made contact with my hands in a polite kiss. His eyes, however, watched me, seducing and inviting me to the promises they held.

“And what is the name of this beautiful face?”

He could still compliment my beauty because the mask only covered the upper half of my face, leaving out my eyes.

I smiled shyly and whispered, “Lilith.”

“A name that befits such a gracious dancer. You were incredible tonight.”

“Thank you.”

His hands still held mine tenderly and frequently rubbed circles against it.

His face leaned into mine. One who didn’t know would mistake his handsome mask for youth. But I had read his file and knew this vamp was over three hundred years old.

He sure pumped himself with enough young blood to keep up the appearance.

His face was so close to mine that I could feel the heat between us.

“Why don’t I tell my driver to take us somewhere private? Let’s say, my apartment, and then you can show me all those pretty moves you made on stage.”

His voice was soft and calm, yet his eyes had the look of ‘I dare you to say no.’

I nodded and added, “Okay.”

“That’s my girl.”

Have you ever met a poor vamp?

In this world, that would be impossible. I mean, how can someone live for centuries and be poor? That would be nothing short of pathetic and sad.

Wealth and power mostly come hand in hand. That’s why the vamps are superior. The leaders and the decision-makers of the fate of mere mortals, humans.

And they are never poor.

The luxurious presidential hotel suite that Alex took me to was another proof of that.

Yes, the bastard was living in a freaking hotel suite.

“Careful, dear,” he urged as I almost tripped in the dimly lit room.

It surely wouldn’t be the first time he had brought a human home and had said those words. I wondered just how long until the facade faded.

“Do you want anything to drink?”

“No, I’m fine.”

His figure approached me with a bottle in one hand and two glasses in the other.

“C’mon, you are my guest. It would be very impolite to not offer you anything. Here, just a shot.”

I complied. It was a game, and each step needed to be played precisely.

“So Lilith, why don’t you show me those moves you made earlier.”

The alcohol was meant to loosen me up. Not too much, but enough to make me do certain things.

From his file, I knew Alex had the gift of mind manipulation. But I guess using it in cases like this had no thrill for him.

The real thrill lay in seeing the honest human reaction.

“Okay, where is the bathroom? So I can change there.”

He still kept his smiling face. “No, I don’t want you to wear your outfit.”

“But I can’t dance in jeans.”

“Take them off.”

“What?”

“All of them, including the mask.”

“Mask? Are you crazy? I don’t ever take my mask off.”

Every trace of smiles and every trace of kind and soft Alex was gone.

“Take them off.”

I complied shakily, and within minutes, everything was off.

Alex smiled. “There. C’mon dear, take off the mask.”

I sighed before gently taking my mask off.

“Come here.”

I walked nervously like any normal girl would have been towards him.

His voice was soft again. “You are a very pretty girl, Lilith. There is no need to be nervous. Drink another shot. You will feel more at ease.”

My voice was as meek as a lamb’s.

“Can I sniff my crimson? I have a few wraps in my bag.”

Alex’s eyes twinkled. “Crimson? Of course, why didn’t you say so? Bring it. I’ll take a few sniffs with you.”

Crimson. The craze dr*g left both vampires and humans floating in a world of fantasy pleasure.

I grabbed my bag and pulled out one of the tiny bags that contained the blue powder.

I poured the blue contents onto the fine table before taking a sniff.

At least pretending to take a sniff.

Residues of the blue powder glued to my nose and the edges surrounding my nose as I giggled at Alex.

High and foolish. That’s what the dr*g was supposed to do to humans.

Alex went for his own sniff and then reclined back on the couch, enjoying the pleasure the dr*g gave.

He smiled at me. “Lilith, Lilith. You are such fun. Quite a pity. But I’m going to enjoy sucking every inch of that fresh-scented blood of yours.”

My real mask fell as my facade came to an end.

In a world where one species is greater and more powerful than the other, the weaker species have to find ways to survive. As they say, no matter the monster nature creates, there is always a way for it to meet its death.

No matter how superior vamps are, there are still ways for their immortality to be cut short.

Elixir happens to be one of those ways.

Elixir comes in two forms. Liquid whose effect was immediate and powder, which Alex had just snuffed into his system with the crimson.

Although the powdered form doesn’t work instantly, it is still fast, considering it takes three to five minutes to render the victim dead.

I leaned closer to Alex. “I don’t think you will be drinking any blood tonight or ever again.”

An alarm rang in Alex’s head as his eyes widened in the realization that the scared girl of seconds ago was gone.

Unfortunately, it was too late, as the Elixir was beginning to snort the life out of him.

Alex was dead before I was done dressing up.

I shot a glance at his now-blue body.

I didn’t know who wanted him dead. Probably one of his fellow vamps.

Reasons why clients want targets dead are never my concern. My job is to make it happen, and today, my job was done.

I worked quickly, removing every item that I came in with.

Minutes from now, his bodyguards would come in hopes of picking up the body of a dead human girl whose blood had been sucked dry.

Plot twist: they would find their boss’s body with no trace of the girl.

I headed for the window I repeatedly marked over the week as the best escape route.

Escaping the crime scene unnoticed is one of the most annoying parts of the job. But I wouldn’t be the best at what I do if I wasn’t good at disappearing.

Sometimes, there are obstacles; other times, there are no obstacles.

Tonight, there were none.

Minutes later, I had moved from window to roof to another roof and into the cold night.

A few trains and stops, and Carla’s bag found itself in a dumpster.

Poor Carla, she was pretty, but her mortal life had to come to an end.

In this work, there had to be no witness. No trace of scent or anything a seer could use to trace you.

By the time it was three in the morning, Alex, Carla, and the events of the night were cities away.

And somewhere in a pile of garbage, the fake skin, fingerprints, and face of Lilith the dancer lay buried.

And what I needed was a good sleep.