Flash Fiction Friday

Blood Sacrifice ©2006, Cassandra Curtis Blessed silence marked the layers of pain as she pressed her cheek against the cold glass and waited. She knew the noise would return as it always did, but for an instant, she could close her eyes and let her mind drift through the still landscape of darkness to settle in a valley of soft comfort. Time held no meaning. And the silence remained. If he died tonight, she wouldn't forgive herself. She could have told him. But would he have believed her? No, Kern was a man of logic and science. He would have dismissed her foolish notions. A flash of lightning split the sky as she opened her eyes. Rain clung to the clear perfection of glass, casting shadowy rivulets along her pale cheekbones. She turned away from the window to face the man who had foolishly interrupted the sweet respite she longed for. "You must learn to block the voices or go mad, Simone. The tuning crystal you wear is not dependable." He reached out, held the multi-faceted jewel in the palm of his hand. She captured his gaze, challenging him. And felt his fingers press into the flesh of her shoulders. A mistake–his mistake. The thready beat of blood coursing through him woke her as nothing else could. It pulled at the dormant monster inside. She knew when the crescendo came, she would be helpless to fight the raging torrent of need. “I am more than what you think I am, Kern. More than you can handle.” She welcomed the sexual energy than always accompanied the hunger. She’d worked with this man for over a year, and wanted him from the first moment she looked into his eyes. Cat’s eyes, green and secretive and knowing. “You need to concentrate on the vibrations and learn to tune out the voices, or it’ll drive you insane.” “The crystal...” “We can’t depend on it.” “I am trying, you know. Maybe I need something to take my mind away from it. To just relax.” She sent a wicked thought his way, and wondered if he received it. And smiled the precise moment when she saw his eyes darken. “I thought we agreed our relationship was strictly a working one–a partnership to develop and test the crystal interface.” He backed up a step. “Afraid I’ll turn feral, Kern?” “You don’t want me, Simone. This is the damn drug talking.” “No, it’s not. You think you can hide inside that lab coat? I’ve seen you without the nerdy clothes, without the glasses you insist on wearing to work. Why, Kern?” She ran a finger tip down his smooth jaw to his lips, and watched his muscles flex in reaction. “I don’t understand...” “You work out in your basement. In the nude. I’ve seen you in my dreams, and my dreams never lie.” She removed his glasses, and enjoyed the startled look on his face. “How is that possible?” “You tell me, Kern. You’re the scientist. I’m just the lab rat.” She closed her eyes, imagined them naked...imagined him on his back and her on top. In her bed. She opened her eyes. His were wide with shock. “It can’t be...” She ran a hand down his cloth-covered abdomen. “Feels real to me,” she said, as her hand drifted lower. "Don't be afraid. This won't hurt...much." Her fangs lengthed. Just a nibble, a taste, she promised herself. Kern closed his eyes, a groan of acceptance escaping his lips.