She glanced at her reflection in the window and hissed to herself.  It was damn inconvenient not being able to use a mirror.  She sat back in the booth so as to be out of direct sight and carefully wiped her face with a clean napkin.  Yes, there had been a little blood on her chin.  It was late, and except for the waitress, she was the only one in the diner.  

She'd been bad and she knew it, but she couldn't help it.  The moon was waning and it was well past the quarter, nearing new, and she been snack hunting.  She knew the area now and it was getting easy finding likely subjects.  A combination of speed, enthrallment, and feminine wiles was producing very tasty diversions and almost no repercussions.  With men, she was blatantly sexual and was careful to make sure that they were much happier when she left than when they first met.  She had to admit to herself that she enjoyed that every bit as much as they did.  She laughed to herself, even if they didn't always remember the details.

Tonight, though, she'd been bad.  She giggled.  She'd been skirting the edge of the park, checking for anyone alone.  Well, not anyone.  She wanted someone good looking because she was in the mood to play.  She giggled again.  "They always told me not to play with my food, but would I listen?"  She first heard a feminine giggle.  She'd felt a thrill go through her and her fangs tingled.  The thought of the softness of the female form, the tender neck and full breasts, made her move a little faster and then she heard the masculine voice.  Oh, it was sort of a lovers meeting.  They were off the main path, and unless you were hunting, they'd have not been noticed.  They were young, maybe 15 or 16 years old and they looked very proper.  Eliza smiled to herself.  She made a bet with herself that their parents didn't know what they were doing right now.  

The girl's back was to a tree and she was leaning back, eyes closed with a slight smile on her face.  She was clearly enjoying what the young man was doing.  She hugged him close and leaned forward and nibbled his neck and Eliza saw her eyes widen as she caught sight of the apparition watching them.  Eliza focused her will and her eyes glazed and she smiled again.  Moving silently forward, her fangs had the young man enthralled almost instantly.  

She had never tried to maintain control of two people at one time, but they were young and sexually aroused already.  The sensations she evoked in them were seized upon and luxuriated in.  Since there was two of them, she could drink her fill without weakening either of them, and once she had, she took the time to enjoy their bodies and to make sure that both of them enjoyed hers.  

No harm was done, she figured but she had to have one last joke on them.  They would never know what had happened.  They would always remember the experience as mysterious, wonderful and so very, very exciting, but she did have her prank.  

She switched their underpants.

She left them as she had found them with two exceptions.  When she left, they were fully dressed, leaning against the tree in a lover's embrace but . . . there were bite marks on each of their necks and each was wearing the other's underpants.

As Maggie brought Eliza the coffee, she knew by now what was wanted, Eliza broke into a fit of giggles.  "You're certainly in a good mood, tonight," she said.  "Life must be going your way."

Eliza smiled.  "I guess tonight was one of the better ones."

Maggie sat heavily in the booth opposite Eliza and sighed.  "If I could ever get off of this damn night shift, maybe I could have one of those good ones!  Tips are lousy and I can't remember the last time I got to spend a decent evening and wake up with a nice warm body next to me in the AM."  She shook her head and stood.  "You just call me when you want a refill, ok?"  She returned to the front of the diner, out of sight from the booth.

She took her brass flask and enhanced the coffee.  The night was surprisingly mild.  She wondered if the winter was going to be scorching hot.  Here is was, the middle of March and it was almost hot.  March was like that, though.  Tomorrow, there could be a blizzard.  You can't figure March.  Worse than a man, she mused.

She tossed down her third coffee, and feeling quite mellow, left a nice tip and walked into the night.  She'd walked a couple of blocks when she realized that she wasn't alone.  A tall man was lounging at the mouth of the alley and was watching her.  Being watched wasn't that unusual but at 3 AM was a little bit different.  Her danger sense was not alerting her to trouble but man the certainly had an undeniable air of menace about him.  Her curiosity bloomed and she wanted to know what was going on.

She hesitated and then walked over to him.  He was at least six feet tall, she realized and she had to look up to meet his eyes.  He was neatly dressed.  His clothes were expensive but not gaudy.  She hated having to look up.  So many times she'd wished she were taller.  The silently stared at each other.

"I've seen you," he said.  "You're the night lady."  He looked at her speculatively.  "You're not a working girl, are you?"  

Eliza smiled and shook her head.  "No.  Not really."

"So what's with you?  Why are you walking my streets at night?  You could get hurt, you know."  

Eliza felt a tickle of anger seep through her.  "Your streets?" she said quietly.  

He nodded.  "This is mine.  I say what goes here.  I say what doesn't go."  It was said in such a matter of fact manner that the initial urge to laugh died almost instantly.

Taking a deep breath she said, "Ok, so call me stupid.  Do I have permission to walk your streets?"

He grinned and ignored her question.  "Maybe you’d like to make some money?"

Drawing herself up to at least five feet and three quarters of an inch, she firmly stated, "I told you I'm not a working girl."

He shook his head.  "I want your body, I take your body.  I mean you do a little job for me, I pay you a lot of money."  

Eliza lifted an eyebrow.  She was torn between wanting to strike back at the body comment and curiosity.  "A lot of money?"

He smiled and reached into his pocket and pulled out a roll of bills.  Eliza felt her eyes widen.  "Holy shit," she heard her self say.  She looked at him and smiled.  "Who do you want me to kill?"  

He hesitated and then he smiled.  "You make a delivery for me.  That's all."

"Do I look stupid?  That's a lot of money, and I admit it, you've got my attention.  But you want me, I want to know what I'm walking into.  

He looked at her, seeming to consider how much he could or should say.  He sighed, a most uncharacteristic event, Eliza realized.  "You want to work for me or do you want to do the job, take the money and forget it?"  

Eliza chewed on her lower lip.  "How about I make a delivery for you and we talk about it then?"  

He nodded, smiling a knowing, confident smile.  It was irritating, but for the first time, Eliza was playing in a game and she didn't know the rules.  She could feel his confidence and power and it was exciting.  He handed her a small, round, long package.  It seemed to be wrapped in silk.  It could have contained a very large cigar.  He pressed the money into her hand.  A small piece of paper had an address on it.  "In forty-five minutes, be there.  Don't be seen.  If you're stopped you don't want that found," he said pointing at the package.  He smirked.  "I'd suggest that you hide it real good."  His wink and the condom he handed her made it clear what he was suggesting.  

Casually walking towards the indicated location, her senses were fully alert and she realized that there was danger from all directions.  She suddenly felt like a lamb in a lions den.  He was a strange one, no doubt about that.  When she'd asked why he thought she just wouldn't take the money and run, he'd smiled and leaned forward and put his lips to her ear.  The hair on the back of her neck stood up as he whispered her address to her.  He knew where she lived!  This meeting was not accidental.  He'd planned it and she'd not had a clue.  She took a deep breath, focusing on her surroundings.  

Her heart started pounding as a police officer with a dog turned the corner and approached her.  The interchange was polite but it was clear that he was suspicious of her and the dog, through several reprimands, had insisted on sniffing at her.  She knew that the dogs training would not have permitted him to continue sniffing if the reprimand had be real.  She was being checked out.  She giggled and had explained that she had a cat.  The officer had left, strongly recommending that she go home and get off of the streets.  

As the officer and dog walked away, she breathed a sigh of relief.  Now she was glad she'd concealed the package as suggested.  Mano, as he'd told her to call him, had grinned when she'd casually opened the condom and slid it over the package.  She'd returned his grin with one equally wicked.  "Lubricated!  Why, thank you."  She flipped the cape around, concealing her body and smiled at him sweetly as he could only imagine what she was doing.

She looked back as the receding officer and dog.  Her danger senses were tingling overtime and the sensations were increasing.  She was beginning to wish she hadn't done this.  She continued walking and then heard the phrase she'd be waiting for.  It was so simple, it was silly.  It was, "Turn here," and she did.  She simply made a right hand turn into the dark alley as she'd been instructed.  

Mano had told her to "lose the cape," and she had.  She didn't know why, but she figured he knew what he was talking about.  She'd worn a leather jacket, and with her dark skirt and boots, she blended will with the night and was inconspicuous.  Her excellent night vision revealed two men.  One lit a small pen-light and shown it down so that the slight glow gave them enough light to see.  "You got it?"  

She nodded and realized that they couldn't see her.  "Yes," she replied, her voice low.  The second man held out his hand and the first man shined the small light into his palm.  Getting the package from it's concealing position wasn't as easy as she'd hoped it would be.  "Damn," she breathed, squatting to be able to reach it better.  "Get that god damned light off of me," she hissed as she was illuminated by the light, and it flashed out instantly.  She peeled the condom from it and prepared to hand it to them.  "Ok, a little light now," she said and the alley burst into roaring brilliance.  

"This is the police," an amplified voiced screamed.  "Freeze!"  One of the men opened his coat and raised weapon and the stutter of automatic fire could be heard.  Breaking glass and the sudden decrease of the intensity of the light signaled a degree of success of that attempt.  Eliza dove for cover, realizing what was going to happen next.  She tried to become invisible but bullets have no eyes.  The hail of return fire shredded the two men.  Ricochets struck her painfully, and if she'd been human, fatally, but although she was in pain, she was not immobilized.  She silently withdrew keeping to what shadows remained.

She could hear the shouts for more light and a squad of four entered the alley, weapons at the ready.  "Clear!" one yelled and more came into the alley. Eliza wedged herself between a drain pipe and a dumpster and concentrated on being unnoticeable.  Someone asked where the girl was, another voice asked, "what girl?"  "We have two down," she heard and the remaining light was focused on the bodies of the two men.  They were simply masses of shredded flesh, but the focus on them allowed to take advantage of the darkness and to escape.  Her skills, coupled with the police simply not expecting anyone to be alive in the alley, made it easy for her to exit the alley.  

As she approached her apartment, she was not really surprised to see Mano.  He was casually leaning against the railing that surrounded the stairwell down to her front door.  She realized that she was still clutching the package in her right hand.  She approached him and held out her hands so he could take it.  He removed it from her grip.  She reached into her jacket pocket and removed the roll of money, handing that to him too.  He smiled and closed her hand on it.  "You did what I paid you to do," he said.

She looked at the roll of money and returned it to her pocket.  Since she'd not been with Vicki her funds had been getting lower.  That money would be a welcome addition to her dwindling bank account.  Mano carefully examined her.  He put a finger in one of the holes in her jacket and shook his head.  "I know a doctor that will ask no questions," he said.  "You go and wait, I'll send him."

Eliza realized that she was actually feeling great.  She felt stimulated and alive.  For the first time in a long time, she was not feeling sorry for herself and wondering what she'd done wrong to have such a messed up life.  She felt electric.  She smiled an shook her head and said softly, "I don't need a doctor."  She took his hand and gently removed it from the hole in the jacket.

Briefly she thought back to the alley, the tension of the meeting, the excitement of the police dog sniffing at her - it could have gone nasty right then and she'd have been on the list.  She remembered huddling in the alley with hot metal flying all around, the sheer terror she'd felt and she could remember the sound of the grunts of the dying men, the sound of the bullets slapping into flesh and the smell of blood, death and gun powder.  She involuntarily gripped his hand hard enough to make him wince.

"I don't need a doctor," she said huskily.  He didn't hesitate as she pulled him down the steps to her apartment.

Eliza was sitting in the livingroom, Mano was gone.  All she felt was relief.  The phone ringing, snapped her head up.  She looked at the phone and slowly raised up out of the chair, walking slowly to answer it.

She looked at the number displayed and raised an eyebrow.  “Hello Vicki,” she said as she answered the phone.  “Nice to hear your voice again.  Sure, come over now, I’m here, as you can tell.  Yes, I agree, it’s time we talked.  All right, see you in a little while.  Bye.”

Making her way back to her chair, she sat with a bemused expression on her face.  She thought back to the fun she and Vicki had, had, when they had been close.  Now it was like talking to a friendly acquaintance.  Although she knew more about Vicki.  She did agree though, it was time to talk.  She doubted they’d ever get back to the footing they’d hate, but it was time to get passed what had happened.  Eliza just hoped that Vicki was really as good and clean as she had sounded.

Hearing the knock that heralded Vicki’s arrival, she rose from the chair and walked over to open the door. 

Stepping back, she half smiled and said “c’mon in Vicki, it’s been a long time since you were here and it is good to see you.”

Vicki stepped into the apartment and looked around.  With a serene look and a straight face, she said that she was glad to see some things stayed the same.  

With a chuckle, Eliza replied that it was home and she liked it.  All the little personal touches made it all hers.

“No need to stand on ceremony, Vicki, grab a seat and sit.  It’s almost like old times, seeing you here and it feels good,” Eliza commented.

Looking very uncomfortable, Vicki started to say something just as Eliza started talking at the same time.  Eliza said, “you go first Vicki. I’m sure we’ll both get the chance to say our piece and I hope it clears the air between us.  I feel like I lost family when we drifted apart”

“Eliza, first I want to apologize.  I know that as I sank deeper and deeper into the drug world, I expected things from you that couldn’t be.  I held you responsible in some sick way for what was happening to me and I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was all your fault.  When you stopped taking my calls and coming round and I couldn’t get, beg, borrow or steal any more money from you, I again felt it was all your fault,” Vicki said in a rush.  “Jimmy tried to explain that as I sank deeper and deeper into the drugs, no one wanted to know me.  I pushed everyone away.  I don’t know why he stayed with me,” she said sadly.  “I must really have been a bitch to be around.”

Eliza looked at Vicki with a sad smile, saying, “Vicki, I was there for so much of it.  I never knew that you felt it was my fault.  All I knew was that when I was around, you were worse and all you seemed to want from me was money for your drugs.  I couldn’t stand to see what was happening to you and since I didn’t know how to stop it and you didn’t seem to want my help, just my money, I felt it was better to stay away.  Jimmy had kept me fairly clued in about your situation, but, I’ll be honest, it got to the point where I was waiting for the call to say you were gone.  I’m glad that didn’t happen and I apologize for thinking the worst.  If something I did or didn’t do, is responsible for what you have gone through, I am also sorry for that,” Eliza said seriously.

Vicki just sat there shaking her head.  “No Eliza, you have nothing to apologize for.  In fact, your desertion was what drove me to the depths and in fact, saved me.  I wallowed in the gutter and was saved.  They dried me out and made me realize, the drugs were going to kill me.  They gave me purpose.  They continued on the training you had begun.  At first I thought I wanted to hunt you down and be the one to kill you.  I soon realized, after I saw you the other night, that, that is no longer true. I’ve come tonight, to make amends for the way I treated you and also to warn you.  The hunter group I am with, knows you.  They don’t know your name, where you live, or your name, but they do know some of your haunts.  They didn’t like the fact that twice you saved a victim from them.  I haven’t and I won’t tell them who you are.  Someone did see the look we exchanged the other night.  They are now curious.  Be sure, I will never betray you!” Vicki vowed.

Eliza looked searchingly at Vicki, realizing as she did, that Vicki spoke the truth.  She also knew that it was a relief to get it out in the open and it was time for her to say some things also. “Vicki, I have always blamed myself for the last attack on you.  I think you know by now it wasn’t an attempted mugging.  It was one of the werewolves.  They have always been here but because of someone I’ve come to know, they seem to have increased their activities.  It was just after I had met Christa, that the werewolf attacked you.  I thought you knew then that I was a vampire and I wanted to spare you.  No, I’m not that noble.  Everything seemed to start to fall apart then, and I felt that it was best to limit our contact.  I, too, am glad that we got a chance to get this said.  I don’t like the way things were and leaving poor Jimmy, in the middle.  By the way, he stayed cause he loves you girl.  Please, please watch yourself with the hunters.  I know you feel you owe them for what they’ve done for you, but they have no loyalties, except to themselves.  You aren’t like that.  Watch yourself Vicki, please don’t let them know you know me, they’d kill you too, without a thought,” Eliza finished.

Both moving at the same time, they threw their arms around each other and held on tight.  It felt good to hold Vicki again.