Vampire King of Mexico

Eloy’s shoes clacked on the sidewalk, passing the library and staring idly at his phone as he walked to the meeting point he had discussed with a prospective colleague. The air was much crisper in Maine, colder and full of humidity that Mexico did not have. Especially at night. He was used to a drier climate, and he completely detested Metzli’s choice. Maybe that’s why they had picked it. They knew he’d taught the clan the importance of hiding in plain sight. Sun brought a sense of bliss, and bliss brought ignorance, and ignorance brought plentiful food for himself and the other clad members.

Pocketing the phone, a familiar face caught his attention. A face only seen on a screen. Bexley. Eloy smiled wickedly and he couldn’t believe his luck. Two birds with one stone. Initiate plans to torture Metzli, and leave a proper message to them.

Throat cleared, and Eloy asked a question to a very oblivious Bex. “Excuse me, where can I find a Ms. Metzli Bernal?” His voice was taunting and low, baring his fangs and looking deeply into Bex’s eyes as he covered her mouth to pull her into a dark area. The shadows concealed them and it worked in his favor. “Tengo mucha suerte hoy. How do you do, Bexley?” Her mouth was released, but Eloy loomed over her carefully, anticipating an attack from her.

Bex had accidentally stayed a little too late at the library, digging through book after book and finding no answers. And now the sun was beginning to dip below the treeline and that meant it was getting dark, and Bex couldn’t very well stay out past dark if she wasn’t letting Mina do that. It’d be awfully hypocritical of her. She stacked up her books and shoved them into her bookbag and scrambled for the door, thanking the lady at the front desk as she ran out the doors. If she hurried, she could get home in time to not make anyone worry, and she really was over people worrying about her just because she came home a few minutes late.

Her skirt caught on the door and she groaned, because of course that would happen right now. She turned around to tug the fabric off of the piece of stray metal that was poking out of the inside of the door, clearly a broken bit that hadn’t been fixed. Maybe the library could use a nice donation for a new front door. She didn’t even notice the figure sauntering towards her until his hand was over her mouth and she was being tugged into the alley and-- this had happened before, hadn’t it? This had happened before. She clawed at the arm that was holding her, it wasn’t possible, Frank couldn’t be alive, it couldn’t be--

It wasn’t. Her back hit the wall and above her towered a man she’d never seen before. She didn’t need to recognize him, though, to know who he was. Instinctually, a wall of violet rose between them, flickering magic. Her heart was pounding, but she couldn’t let him see her fear. She wouldn’t let him. “You know, you could just ask to talk,” she finally managed to say, “dragging people into dark alleys could give them the wrong idea.”

Bex’s heart thumped rapidly and harshly in Eloy’s ears, making him smile even wider. The taunting, the fear, the pain, it was all a part of the fun. Fear and the way it affected the body always made his skin crawl with excitement. He already knew she would be fun based on her online responses alone. But now that he had her right in his grasp, he could see how much fun he could truly have with her. “No, I’m giving you the exact right idea. I want you to be scared, Bexley. I want Metzli to be scared.” A humming emanated from the flickering magic, and the glow enticed him. This was new for him. He’d heard of witches, of spellcasters, but so rarely had to deal with them personally. “Your brujeria isn’t really worth much here.”

Mist enveloped the two and Eloy disappeared as the air grew thicker. Air collected together right next to Bex, and Eloy manifested closely to her. A hand wrapped around her throat while the other grabbed one of her arms. His grip threatened to break it, but he refrained from doing any real damage yet. “What should I do to you first? How should I break my little toy?” His face was dangerously close to Bex’s cheek, whispering into her ear, letting stubble graze her skin. “I can hear your fear.”

Eloy couldn’t help but laugh as he pulled back to look at her a little more clearly. Pupils contracted as her heartbeat grew louder in his ears. He thought of how fun it would be to pierce her skin. For one reason or another, she mattered to Metzli. Even after years of proper discipline, the idiot went and built connections and made themselves weaker. “Aren’t you just so happy to meet Metzli’s master?”

If he wanted her to be scared, then she wouldn’t be scared. Bex couldn’t control her heartbeat anymore, but she could steel her expression and make sure he didn’t get the pleasure of seeing that on her face. Even if she was afraid. She could feel her magic boiling beneath her skin, screaming to be let out, to protect her, to fight back. But she couldn’t show her hand just yet, she needed to know what he was capable of first. Nell had already told her mental magic couldn’t affect the undead, so all Bex was left with were the physical spells Sai had taught her, and the wild magic that so often erupted from her. Doing that would draw attention, though. She wasn’t sure that was the best idea.

But she didn’t have much time to consider any options before the vampire disappeared into a cloud of mist and she found her breath catching in the thick air. She stiffened as a hand tightened around her throat, her wrist. Her skin was buzzing, pulling defensive magic to the surface, ready to strike. She glared into his eyes and set her expression in stone, frowning. “Sorry, that’s not fear, it’s just my heart condition. Easy mistake to make, though, I understand. When you spend most of your time hiding behind other people, it’s hard to tell the difference between real life things.”

She hated the feel of his cold hand and bristes of stubble and fought the instinct to jerk away, simply turning her head away from his gaze. “Happy isn’t the word I’d use,” she growled. “And I’m not your toy. That makes you sound like a creep, but I guess I can’t expect much more from the guy who sends groupies to take pictures of people through their windows. Didn’t your mother teach you peeping is wrong?”

“¿No te da verguenza hablar así?” A thick accent, with layers of life and history was attached to every word. It was an accent that most people in Mexico could recognize and would immediately know that Eloy was from Jalisco. It was an accent Metzli had, but theirs was much more diluted. “Oh, I apologize. I should translate.” The grip around Bex’s throat tightened, “Are you not ashamed to speak in such a way? All this bravado, and for what? Reckless puta.” Teeth were gritting and fangs throbbed. He could send the message now. Drain her completely and destroy them instantly. But there was no fun in that. Instead, he raised Bex’s wrist to his face. He could feel her resistance, but it didn’t matter much to a three hundred year old vampire.

A smile formed slowly once again, enjoying the way Bex tried to pretend she wasn’t scared and ignoring her snide comments. He’d lived long enough to know an act when he saw one. “No, you aren’t my toy. But Metzli is. I really love playing with their pain. You ever wanted to see them chained up and starved? That’s just the first part of the fun.” Eloy taunted Bex with his plans, knowing how her anger fueled the buzzing of energy he felt underneath his fingertips. It was just waiting to burst. “Oh, well look at that. You’ve already been bitten. Was this Metzli’s doing? Forced or offered? And I see you have another on your neck.” Excitement brewed in his voice and he had to choke back a laugh.

“Do you think Metzli would come to me if I left you as a bloody mess at their door? I always did have a way of making them break with just a look. Imagine what I could do with some leverage.”

Bex tried to pull her wrist back, but his grip was too strong. Right, superstrength. Everyone and their fucking mom around here had superstrength. Even Nell had a spell for superstrength. Bex just had useless, incorporeal magic. No...no that wasn’t all she had. She grit her teeth, scowling at him. She knew he could kill her so easily if he wanted, but he wouldn’t. Not this early. She knew this kind of person, it was the kind of person her mother had been. He wanted to savor her pain, Metzli’s pain. It was just about how much he wanted to dole out right now. Bex wasn’t about to let him do it for free, though. She’d fight. She’d told Mina she’d fight. Actually, she’d told Mina she’d be careful, and she had been careful, really, it wasn’t her fault he’d happened to find her. Unless he’d been looking for her and she’d been oblivious and led him right to her.

She couldn’t think about that right now. “I spent a long time feeling ashamed,” she growled through the hand on her throat, voice strained against the tightening grip, “you don’t make me feel anything close.”

She didn’t need to respond to his taunts. He was clearly trying to rile her up, get some sort of emotional reaction out of her. And, maybe, now was the time to get emotional. It was time to let it all go. She felt her breathing increasing, heart pumping, as she let the anger she felt at him rise to the surface. Magic bubbled inside of her and seeped from her skin and she pulled on the anger she felt at Roy, at the theater, and the anger she felt at her mother, for everything she’d done, and the anger she felt now, towards this man who thought people were possessions and if she tried really hard, she could see her father standing there.

And Bex cried out as she let her magic manifest in a physical wave, shoving the two of them apart like an explosion. Her back hit the brick wall, and so did her head. Stars in her eyes, she fell over onto the trash can beside her, scrambling to get away from the alley. If she could just reach the light, reach someone else-- surely he wouldn’t kill her in public, right? She just needed to run away. She was good at running.

A wave of deadly lilac light burst between the two, sending not only Bex back, but Eloy too. He groaned, frustrated and annoyed with her sudden act for reprieve. “Pinche bruja.” He muttered, stumbling to his feet and lunging after Bex. Hands clasped onto ankles, causing her to trip and fall. With a smile, he dragged her back and didn’t care how hard she fought. This altercation was getting fun, and he wanted to savor it. “That was a neat trick, chulita. But you’re gonna need to do a lot more than th—” Sentence was cut off, words right at the tip of his tongue as a stranger made an appearance at the end of the alleyway. On pure instinct, Eloy grabbed Bex and covered her mouth to prevent her from screaming.

“Hello? Is everything okay?” The man asked, sounding genuinely concerned for whoever was in the darkness. Eloy smiled widely and continued to hold Bex still as he called out, his voice taking on Bex’s, “I’m really hurt. A guy, h-he attacked me. I can’t move.” The voices were nearly indistinguishable, even taking on a fearful tremor. Footsteps grew rapidly closer and Eloy brought the two of them to standing as the would-be hero ran towards them. But before he could register the vampire holding Bex hostage, a hand gripped his face and slammed it into the brick wall.

“Pobrecito, he never stood a chance.” Eloy mocked and laughed at the bloody mess he created. “And it’s all your fault too. You just had to make a scene. Look what you’ve done.” Lips grew increasingly close to Bex’s neck, opening to let fangs graze her shoulder.

Hands grabbed her ankles and Bex toppled to the ground, arms scraping against pavement. That would hurt in the morning. If she made it to morning. Eloy began dragging her back and she clawed at the ground, not caring how bloody her hands became as she grappled for anything to grab onto, anything to get away from him with. She grabbed whatever her hands found-- old cans, stones, empty food boxes-- but it didn’t stop him. It wouldn’t stop him. She tried to build her magic up again, but it was fizzling beneath her fingertips as her heart pounded out of control. If he didn’t kill her, her heart just might. She kicked out at him, just like she’d kicked out at Frank. The alley was turning into a cold, dark forest before her eyes. Cement turning to mud. She begged her mind to stay in the present, but it was dissolving quickly.

She felt the hand over her mouth, just like Frank had done. She heard the unfamiliar voice calling out, just like Nell and Mina had. And then she heard her own voice, even though she knew she wasn’t speaking. A shadowed figure was coming towards them. It was a man, but Bex only saw Nell. Get back! She wanted to shout, but found she couldn’t, her voice lost. It felt as if he’d stolen it from her. Please no!

She heard the crack of a skull against brick and flinched. She clawed at the hand on her mouth, desperate to try and get air, tears streaking unwantedly down her face. She was staring wide-eyed at the slumped body, bleeding against the forest floor, trying to tell herself it wasn’t Nell, it’s wasn’t Nell, it wasn’t Nell, that she didn’t even notice fangs near her neck until they were already piercing her skin.

Teeth sank in for a moment, not too deep, just enough to make blood pool at the small piercings. Eloy only savored what little sustenance that gathered on her shoulder for a few seconds before he pushed her into a wall. It took so much of his willpower to not bite again. Bex’s blood had just tasted so good. Even better than he could’ve imagined, especially while knowing how much it would kill Metzli. He looked forward to those photos, to their pain being etched in a digital memory for him to keep and laugh at.

Eloy forced Bex to look him in the face, meeting her eyes with his. There was a crazed look to them. His pupils were so small, like a predator staring at his prey. And that’s what she was, ultimately, but right now, she had to be a message.

Pulling Bex into a trance of submission, he felt her face relax and watched as her eyes went blank. “You’re going to walk home, and you’re going to let me join you. And then when we get there, you’re not going to scream. You’re going to stand at your door until someone finds you. Now, let’s go.” Eloy pulled Bex harshly by her elbow and motioned her to the alley’s exit. He was extremely proud of what he’d been able to do, even relishing in the way the man’s heartbeat began to slow into nothing.

Bex cried out when teeth sunk in, snapping back to reality. The forest fell away and she was in an alley and there were arms around her and teeth in her neck and blood pooling out. And her heart was beating too fast and she couldn’t breath and she was panicking. She knew she was panicking. She squirmed and writhed, but to no avail. Heavy hands pushed her into the wall and her head lulled to the side. Blood pooled from the wound and dripped down her neck to her collar bone, gathering where the collar of her shirt began, staining it. She could see the look in his eyes, how he wanted more. She was worried he would take more. She didn’t want to die.

Weak hands reached up to try and push him away, even her magic failing her. A hand forced her head back up, to look him in the eyes. She didn’t even have time to process what was happening before her body went slack and all she could do was stare, breath shuddering.

When he yanked her, she followed. She had no choice. Her body moved even as her mind screamed. Even as her body ached. Legs kept moving as she marched all the way to East End, through the winding neighborhood, and right up to the front door, with its black polish and decorative skull hanging on the outside. They’d all spent an afternoon together, decorating for Samhain, and now Bex was staring the deer skull she’d crowned in the eyes.

And that was all she could do. Even as blood continued to seep slowly from her wound and the muscles in her legs were screaming to sit down and her heart was beating much too fast, she thought it might just explode.

It was dark now. Her eyes were drooping. Eloy had long since left. She wanted to knock, she wanted to scream, she wanted to cry.