Jaded Blood . Amy Blankenship

ever came was to mistakenly think he was a vampire. Feeling the false calm wash over him, he stepped off the sidewalk.

      The demon turned her head toward him and smiled using the flesh it had stolen to entice her victim. Michael knew demons had been known to feed off vampires in the past… even Misery had used them in such a way.

      “Good evening gorgeous,” the demon purred batting long eyelashes.

      Michael stepped up to her and brushed his left shoulder with her left shoulder, walking around her while keeping the brushing contact with her body.

      “Yes it is,” Michael whispered playing the game. “And who are you?”

      “Anybody you want me to be,” She whispered back.

      “I want you to be you,” Michael said in her ear as he came around to stand in front of her. He let a slow smile part his lips showing the fangs that always confused him and his brothers for vampires.

      The demon tilted her head to the side and smiled back, “I see.”

      Michael nodded as he relaxed his smile, “Of course you do.”

      “You can call me Morgana,” She wrapped her hands around one of his arms and the two began walking toward an old one story building at the end of the block.

      They stepped into the building and Morgana closed the door behind them. Michael looked around the open space and took in the number of dead bodies lying around. The place reeked of old blood and decay… a fitting place for the flesh eating demon clutching his elbow.

      “Do you like my place?” Morgana whispered then giggled as she turned away to appraise her handiwork.

      Michael shrugged, “It will look better once your lifeless body is lying among them.”

      He ducked just in time to miss Morgana’s suddenly long claws trying to separate his head from the rest of his body. Twisting his upper body, Michael rammed his elbow into her midsection making her double over. His fist came up, cracking her across the nose hard enough to send her flying back.

      Morgana landed hard on the floor and glared up at the vampire, her face twisting into a grotesque mask showing her true colors. Her hazel eyes elongated and turned red while her eyebrows slanted and her once fairly pretty mouth stretched into a horrid smile full of mismatched jagged teeth. Her long tongue slithered out and licked her lips of the blood that dripped from her flat nose.

      Michael made a face… she was sickening. He would definitely be doing the city a favor by getting rid of this one. Such ugliness completely ruined the scenery.

      Climbing backwards up the wall, she used it as a rebounding board to come at him again, swiping her elongated claws in front of her. This time they caught the front of his shirt and left a few scratches… not dangerous but enough to make them bleed. He closed his right fist and backhanded the demon across the face, making her head whip around at an unnatural angle. With a swift kick to the side of the knee, he heard the bones shatter. He felt no remorse knowing the demon was already wearing a corpse.

      When she went down a second time, Michael slowly approached and grabbed Morgana by her hair. Lifting her off the floor, he paused for half a second and briefly closed his eyes when the scent of the demon’s blood finally hit him.

      “Demons are nothing but monstrous hybrids cast out by the Fallen that sired you,” Michael hissed, suddenly getting a better understanding of what a demon really was. He had never noticed the faint traces of Fallen blood within the demons before… but now he knew what they tasted like.

      The Fallen and the Sun Gods were similar in this manner… creating monsters of their choosing. The only difference was in the way they sired them.

      Morgana reached back for the arm holding her hair and sank her right claws into the flesh she found. She gasped when she suddenly found herself hovering above the floor and staring down into angry amethyst eyes. The cheap stilettos fell to the ground below and she wrapped her other hand around the back of his neck hoping to sever his spinal cord and free herself.

      Feeling that amethyst gaze penetrate her, she couldn't stop herself from going limp… now hanging from only her hair.

      “Let me go,” Morgana whispered suddenly afraid. She was strong, one of the strongest in this part of the Slums, but this vampire she’d thought was an easy kill was by far stronger than anything she’d ever encountered.

      “Let you go?” Michael asked as though the concept were foreign to him. “You killed all of these humans and demons for food based on their appearances and you want me to let you go?”

      “I’ll give you all the human blood you want,” Morgana half whimpered half hissed. “I’ll be your servant… I’ll lure them in and bring them to you.”

      “I do not need help in catching my next meal,” Michael said sardonically. His voice abruptly softened, “but my dear… I’m willing to bet demons taste better than humans.”

      Morgana gasped when a sudden excruciating pain erupted from her shoulder and the feel of the vampire pulling the life out of her made her emit an inhuman wail. Her struggles renewed and she clawed at him with zeal but the true darkness was beginning to climb around the edges of her vision.

      “Who are you?” she whispered with her last breath.

      Michael held on and drew in the last drop of Morgana’s life force before dropping her. He smirked when he heard the dull thump of her corpse. Who knew he could kill a demon by draining them… he bet even the demons didn’t know that little trick since the soulless vampires only craved human blood.

      He gazed down at the shriveled demon in disgust, “You can call me Michael.”

      He landed lightly on the floor and stepped toward the door. Using his sleeves, he wiped at the remnants of blood on his lips then stared down at the black blood… tainted blood. Opening the door, he stepped out onto the sidewalk and arranged his jacket so the rips in his shirt wouldn’t be noticed.

      Michael then turned and started back the way he came, noticing that a large group of demons had now gathered near the entrance of the building. They must have been Morgana’s underlings coming to gaze upon the man that had killed their master. These creatures showed no sign of human life and Michael paid them no heed as he calmly walked past them.

      He’d done what he set out to do and no other creatures here could hold his attention… their low-level power wasn’t worth his time. The more power a demon had the more they would taste of Fallen blood… he was sure of it.

      The rush Morgana’s blood had given him was now pulsing through his veins in a warm and fuzzy thrum. It heated him and heightened his senses… this he remembered from the times he’d drank from Aurora.

      Michael froze as he fully realized his train of thought. Panic immediately joined the high he was on and the thought of Aurora made a mass of fear settle in his belly accompanied by a bone deep chill. He remembered Kane’s warning on the roof top after killing Samuel. He’d pointed out to Aurora the dangers of letting him taste her blood.

      Looking for a reason, he latched on to the memory of Samuel taunting Aurora by telling her about the demons loose in the city that were strong enough to easily kill a Fallen… demons that already held a Fallen body count. These demon masters were a danger to Aurora… Samuel hadn't lied about that.

      A slow smile caressed Michael’s lips. He now had a valid reason to feed off the demons that had been released into Los Angeles. Not only would he be protecting Aurora, he could also fulfill his craving with the diluted blood of a hybrid. By taking such small amounts he could keep better control over the unwanted side effects like earthquakes and death by Syn.

      “A win-win scenario,” Michael mused and buried his hands in his pockets as he enjoyed his high and searched for his next victim.

      Chapter 4

      Micah sighed for the hundredth time since calling Alicia. So far Tasuki had gone to check on the