Free Dark Cravings by Madeline Pryce

room.
There was a driving force inside me, pushing me to Micah. Now more than ever, I
needed him.
    The second I entered the hospital, a multitude of scents and
sounds assaulted me. For just a moment, I stood motionless in the sea of
chaotic movement.
    A gurney raced by on my left. On it lay an African-American
woman whose rust-colored curls surrounded a perfectly oval face. Ripped and
smudged with dirt, scraps of her flowing purple gown trailed behind her. The
floating fabric reminded me too much of the succubus’ robes.
    On my right, another gurney rolled by with a new surge of
smells and noises. I caught the brief glance of a teenager with pale-white skin,
orange hair and large green eyes. The scent of liquor poured off him in such a
pungent wave I feared I’d get drunk just sniffing the fumes. The kid wasn’t old
enough to drive, let alone drink. There was a wide-open gash on his forehead
and streams of blood poured down the side of his battered face. My fangs
pulsed. Honey. Sweet, sweet honey.
    “I think I’m going to be sick.” Hannah’s whimper snapped me
out of my bloodlust.
    Roy pulled her into his strong arms and tucked her head
against his chest. “Let’s keep moving.”
    As we passed, the boy jerked on the gurney and mumbled
incoherently about the injustice of the legal system. He fought against the
cuffs linking him to his bed. Two uniformed officers followed closely behind
while their radios crackled with static.
    A few feet in front of us, a tired woman with graying hair
clutched a sodden handkerchief to her chest. She rocked and moaned. Tears fell
down her cheeks. “No. No. Please, no. Not my baby!” she cried. She collapsed to
the ground while the doctor who stood nearby looked on in sympathy.
    The wail of a siren cut through the noise of the ER. More
victims outside. More soul-blackening guilt inside. Vampire Queen and Demon
Son.
    The ridiculous words echoed in my
head.
    I was not a queen and Micah was not a demon.
    Through all the sights, sounds and smells, the roiling
energy Micah emitted coaxed my darkness close to the surface. His power was
intoxicating. I closed my eyes and focused on the tug deep inside my gut. The
need inside grew even stronger. I looked up at the smooth white tiles of the
ceiling and attempted to judge the distance between Micah and me. He was four
levels up and maybe a few rooms past the elevators ten feet in front of me.
    We walked by the nurses’ station and I tried not to let the
abrupt drop of conversation bother me. That was becoming a common occurrence.
The two men we’d passed in the parking lot had nearly dropped their coffee the
second they’d gotten a good look at me. The cluster of people in the waiting
room had cut off mid-sentence to stare at me as I strolled by. A little girl
had taken one look into my eyes and clung tighter to her mother’s leg.
    With my hair still wet, the brown strands looked black.
Against my unnaturally pale skin, my eyes glowed. My black-on-black ensemble
completed the vampire goth look.
    “Maybe you should just get a cape.” Hannah’s whispered words
in my ear eased some of my anxiety and I squeezed the hand she slipped into
mine.
    A week ago I’d been unremarkable. Brown hair, brown eyes, below-average
height. There was nothing noteworthy. I wasn’t even charming. Homeschooled
since I was five, I lacked the necessary social niceties other people my age
had. Hannah’s high school years had consisted of football games and winter
formals. Hell, she’d even been prom queen. My experience had included midnight
patrols in the neighboring cemeteries while I learned about rogue vampires,
demons and blood splatter.
    The shiny metal doors of the elevator slid open and the
haggard passengers exiting gave me a wide berth.
    “You’ll have to limit your exposure,” Roy said calmly as the
doors dinged shut behind us. The other people waiting for the elevator had
chosen to wait for the next one. “While most humans don’t believe the