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Chapter Forty Five
Jared was perched atop the steeple of an old abandoned church staring out over the city of London. He'd been feeling restless for days and couldn't pinpoint what the problem might be. He was adequately fed, he'd pumped himself into several human females, and he'd challenged and devastated one male vamp after another in the No Holds Barred fighting ring they had set up under one of their nightclubs.
He was used to feeling listless with only lust and the occasional bout of fury to break up the monotony. This was different, this was almost like anxiety. From somewhere in the depths of his mind he recalled some old prophecies concerning the second millennium. He'd thought of them in the past but had always dismissed them as being something he no longer wished to be a part of.
Let the human race fall, let demons run rampant on the earth, why the fuck should he care? It was their own fault, their own selfishness and basic immorality that would bring about such things. Not that he was any better, but he didn't care much about that either. Life had lost its value for him at the end of the sixteenth century, the night his mother and father had breathed their last breath.
He had lost everything he'd ever cared about and vowed never to care again. And now that every last female of his kind was nothing more than a demon with a body, there really didn't seem to be any pressing reason for him to change his mind.
He'd made the error of visiting one of those females recently. Since sex with a vampiress was so much more intense and satisfying then it was with human women there was a definite appeal, and Terrina had always made it apparent she wanted him as a regular lover. She’d even gone so far as to try and find ways to blackmail and coerce him to stay. He'd always laughed at her efforts. What could she possibly use against someone who cared for nothing including himself?
This time she had invited a human female-a semi attractive brunette and judging by her perfume and attire likely a whore-to join them in the middle of their interlude. She told him she wanted to watch, so he had driven into the woman from behind while Terrina lay on her stomach on the bed. Then she'd crawled over to the brunette and started drinking from her and before he'd realized what was intended the woman went limp while he was still buried inside of her.
He'd pulled out in horror and ripped Terrina from the female's throat but it was too late, and a moment later he’d been thrown across the room.
He'd heard the act of drinking a human to death drastically increased a vampire's abilities but he'd never witnessed it before.
She was on him a second after he hit the wall and it took every ounce of strength in his two hundred and eighty pound frame to pin her to the floor. She was snapping and writhing in his grip for thirty minutes before her strength began to wane and he was able to let go with one hand and strike her, which he did repeatedly until she stopped fighting him. At that moment she'd looked up at him with a smile that had made his insides shrivel and said "Fuck me barbarian, batter me with your body." He'd pushed away from her in disgust as he’d contemplated ending her life. She'd turned pleading and then vicious, calling him a "human sympathizer" which was the highest form of insult for those that had turned.
He hadn't responded, just finished dressing and blurred from her place of dwelling. The entire thing had disturbed him profoundly, though he wasn't sure if he was more disturbed by what had happened or by the way he'd felt about it. Being mostly numb and comfortably heartless the idea that he cared even in a small way about the death of that human grated on him. He tried to convince himself that the woman had been worthless trash, but couldn’t quite do it.
His thoughts veered to the small band of vampires he'd witnessed tearing apart demons several years back. Since fallen vampires weren’t fond of those who didn't join their ranks the demon hunters kept a low profile so he didn't know who they were or where they lived.
Jared clenched his fists and shook his head violently. Why the hell was he thinking about this now? He'd made a point not to in the past, to ignore the evil surrounding him, his indifference was his cloak. He was not fucking interested in where the demon hunters lived, he was not one of them anymore and never would be again.
He leapt from his perch landing on the sidewalk fifty feet down. He walked several blocks through the seedier parts of London and was once more reminded of why the human race was no longer his concern as a gang of skin heads covered in snake tattoos made the unfortunate mistake of accosting him.
"Fancy coat and shoes, bet you got some green in your wallet. Why don't you hand it over and we'll let you be on your way." The man who spoke wasn't the biggest in the group, but he had the air of "leader."
Jared regarded them with the contempt they deserved and gave them one chance to change their minds. He growled low in his throat as he spoke, "You don't want this fight, go down the road and find another."
Two of the men who were nearly as large as he was began to laugh. "Big fucking man, are you?" One of them took a step forward.
Jared moved so quickly the others would later claim they hadn't seen him move at all. He broke both the man's arms and shattered his kneecaps, tossing him to the side like the bag of trash he was. Two more men came at him with blades. He flashed in, removing their knives which he used to sever the Achilles tendons on one leg apiece. Their screams of pain caused the remaining four to change their minds and run. But they'd had their chance.
Jared leapt over them landing in their path and watched with mild satisfaction as the color drained from their faces.
"We're sorry," one babbled, "we made a mistake, we'll just be on our way now."
He gave one slow shake of his head then grabbed the man and threw him against the side of a building with just enough force to knock him out cold. The others were backing away, looking frantically for an escape and he stalked towards them like a panther tracking its prey. He felt his fangs extract in his mouth and knew his eyes were flashing. He dimmed himself slightly so they wouldn’t recognize what he was.
One broke from the group and he leapt in front of him, pulling his shoulders from their sockets as he ripped him from the sidewalk. He launched the writhing body into his fleeing buddies knocking them off their feet. He leapt again landing on two of them and stood with one foot on each back as he grabbed the third by his shirt and lifted him into the air.
The man wet his pants as he hung there and Jared threw him onto the sidewalk in disgust. The two beneath his feet were pleading for mercy. He bent down and bounced both of their faces off the road, hearing the satisfying crunch of their noses breaking.
Then he stepped off of them, pulled out a cigarette and lit it. Mercy. He had shown them mercy. All of them would live.
Humans. Not fucking worth it. He strode away without a backwards glance.
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