Bride of Blood:: First Kiss (20 page)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Anton found nourishment on the highway.
 
He was pretending to be hitchhiking and hoped the person who stopped for him would be his next victim.
 
He wasn’t disappointed.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
A semi hauling a tanker cross-country stopped to pick him up.
 
Anton surveyed the driver’s mind and discovered that this one was not much better than the one he’d killed at The Truckstop months before.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Upon first glance, he appeared to be harmless.
 
He was in his mid-40s, clean shaven with blonde hair and medium build.
 
His name was Curtis and he was a veteran driver.
 
He also had a history of violence against women.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Actually, he was quite fond of picking up prostitutes at truck stops and then engaging in violent sex and torture with them.
 
None of the girls talked because they were afraid that he would come back for them or that the police would not protect them.
 
Two of his victims had later died as a result of their injuries.
 
Anton knew that it was only a matter of time before Curtis graduated to murder, so the world was better off without him in it.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Anton sat quietly as Curtis began to talk about things that didn’t concern him at all.
 
He accepted the cup of coffee that Curtis gave him.
 
This was perfect as Anton had an act planned.
 
Of course Anton couldn’t drink the coffee or he would really get sick, so instead he took the hot liquid into his mouth and then proceeded to pretend he was choking.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Curtis slowed the rig down and parked it on the side of the road.
 
“Are you okay?” he asked Anton, and started to pound him on the back.
 
By about the third pound, Anton jumped from his seat and pounced on him.
 
He opened his mouth to scream as Anton quickly snapped his neck and drained him of both blood and life.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
A few miles down the road Anton climbed out the cab.
 
The truck was parked on the side of the quiet highway.
 
He quickly called The Cleaners on his phone and headed back down the highway on foot.

After his departure from the truck, Anton found sanctuary in an abandoned rest stop off the freeway.
 
Apparently the recession had done some major damage to the place so that not even a franchise restaurant could keep it going.
 
Anton found a safe place to sleep in what had once been a walk-in cooler in one of the restaurants.
 
It was windowless and secure.
 
He was able to find a relatively comfortable spot on the floor to sleep.
 
But before he drifted off, he prepared his mind and body for another trip to The Way Station.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Anton found himself at The Way Station sitting at the bar again.
 
But this time the clientele was different.
 
Anton didn’t see anyone he recognized except JR, who seemed to be a lot less talkative than usual.
 
Vercie was nowhere to be found, which made him sad because he hoped he she could give him more information about Velara’s whereabouts.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Anton looked around the bar and noticed that a new sign had been added to the wall.
 
Next to the sign that read “Remember those who lost their lives at The Station” a new sign read “Remember those who lost their lives at The Truckstop”.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
JR saw Anton looking at the sign.
 
He caught Anton’s eye and shrugged, “What else could I do?”
 
Anton nodded.
 
“I mean I tried to send money, but they wouldn’t take it.
 
How many times can I say I’m sorry?”
 
Anton didn’t have an answer.
 
He wished he did.
 
Both tragic events would haunt his heart for a long time.
 
“I tell you, Anton,” said JR as he poured a beer for Anton, “People are nosey and judgmental, even when they’re dead!”
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Suddenly Anton felt a coldness enter the room.
 
A strange scent of roses followed.
 
He became aware that someone was sitting next to him.
 
He didn’t need to look because he knew exactly who the woman was next to him.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
JR uneasily set a glass of wine down in front of the woman.
 
Other patrons entered the bar and stayed as far away from her as possible.
 
The only one who didn’t freak out at the sight of her was Anton.
 
He was too lost in thought to care about who she was.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
She looked at him and smiled and croaked, “Hello, Anton.”

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Without looking at her, he took a quick drink of his beer and said, “Greetings.”
 
He could hear the swish of her robes as she reached for the glass in front of her.
 
He stole a quick glance at her boney hand.
 
Boney in the sense that there was not a bit of flesh on it.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
“You know I’m going to get your prince soon,” she said.
 
It came out as a triumphant statement.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
“Really?” Anton asked, uneasily.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
“Yes,” she hissed.
 
“You know that he’s wanted to meet me for so long.
 
His time is almost up.”
 
She turned and looked at Anton.
 
He could see a pair of red, glowing eyes in the darkness of her hood.
 
“You can relax, Anton.
 
I’m not going to visit you, just yet.”
 
She laughed softly and returned her attention to her drink.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
A young man sat down next to the woman.
 
He was a short, muscular man with long black hair.
 
He was wearing all black clothes and obviously by the look in his eyes, he was not the least bit afraid of or intimidated by the woman.
 
She peered out from behind her cloak and fixed her empty-socket gaze on him.
 
She said in a low voice, “Anzalone, how are you?”

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Anzalone smiled at her and knocked on the bar.
 
JR smiled at him and sat a beer down on the bar.
 
Anzalone grabbed it and drank it down quickly.
 
He slammed the glass down and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Anton nodded to him.
 
Anzalone was a vampire, too, but he had been a convert from The Order of the Dragon.
 
Around the time of the coup, he left The Order and asked Lady Bernadine if he could join up with them.
 
She readily accepted, but Anton and a few others still had a little trouble with him.
 
Anton felt that the only reason Anzalone had switched sides was because it was the easy way out for him.
 
He felt that Anzalone was a coward and stood by and did nothing while Drago and his followers ousted the brothers.
 
Still, a part of him realized that if Lady Bernadine trusted him, then he did, too.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Anzalone smiled at Anton and had a wicked look in his eye.
 
Anton knew that one of his favorite things to do was to aggravate Lady Death, and this day was no exception.
 
Right away he started in by saying to her in a sing-song voice, “My lady of death, have you come for my last breath?”
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
With a grunt, she got up from her seat and left the room without a word.
 
The chill that had seemingly overpowered the room lifted like fog when the sun came out.
 
Suddenly several patrons came into the bar from out of the shadows.
 
Vercie was among them, and she made a beeline to Anton.
 
She sat between him and Anzalone and put her hand on his.