Vampiri africani in Italia part 7

As expected at this hour, the streets were relatively empty and Jaleni had chosen to travel to the very furthest point of his territory to hunt. Tonight was cooler than usual but most humans here relished in the cool after the warm weather. Jaleni sniffed the air, hoping for a promising scent of a human, preferably with his favourite type of blood. Sweet yet strongly flavoured. No one appeared to be nearby. However, his nose did detect a scent that put him on his guard. It was not too close but not far away enough for him to feel relaxed about it.  Another vampire was hunting nearby too. The man chose to move to the shadows, golden eyes searching for any signs of them approaching. He was well aware that hiding in the darkness from another vampire was near pointless, his own scent would give him away, but doing this might give him a split second advantage. Jaleni paused. The scent was being blown towards him on the wind. They were moving closer. His entire body tensed as the scent registered as an older vampire. Fangs extended, hands clawed, Jaleni stood ready to defend himself.
The vampire's eyes widened as he heard movement behind him. His hand shot out and grabbed a throat so fast that no human eye could have seen it.
"Oh, African!" A female voice spoke in Italian as if pleasantly surprised, it seemed odd as her neck was in tight clutches.
Jaleni took a moment to place the voice and, now that she was close, the scent. "Jaleni," He growled, annoyed at her inability to remember his name, "What are you doing here, Angella?"
He remembered this vampire from previous meetings. They shared overlapping terratories, despite initial fights and arguments. The woman, despite looking in her early twenties, was a slightly older vampire yet acted more immature. It suited her appearance with a naive olive skinned face, startling bright blue eyes and long dark hair. Tonight it was braided into a long single plait and her clothing was the most modest thing that Jaleni had ever seen her wearing. A long dark tan skirt hung to her ankles and her usually exposed chest was wrapped in a dark olive cloth, held in place by a dark brown belt. Something swinging from it caught his eye. 'Beads?' Jaleni thought, confused.
"Well, I was looking for a small child," The woman replied, glancing around as if it would appear, "But he's not around anymore. You didn't take him did you?"
The vampire swallowed, knowing that she was talking about Ezio. He removed his hand from her throat slowly which surprisingly had left no mark. "Yes I did." He answered simply and feigned confidence.
"Shame, he was just my taste too," She gave a fake pout, "But I have an alternative plan for a feed tonight."
Jaleni said nothing but gave her a look, urging her to go on.  Her fingers ran over the beads at her hip and she rattled them slightly. "Try and figure it out...I have roasary beads...," Angella said in a teasing way before Jaleni's blank face forced her to just tell him out of impatience, "Midnight Mass? That's why it's so quiet on the streets tonight. Everyone's gathered at the church."
Both vampires smiled at the thought of having a wide range of humans to feed from.
"May I accompany you?" Jaleni asked politely, "Even if it's in your territory?"
"Certainly," The female vampire replied with a flirtatious wink, "It has been a while since I had a hunting partner. Especially a good looking one."

A smirk came onto Jaleni's face as he tried to hide his embarrassment at her compliment.
Noiselessly, the woman moved down the street in the shadows, heading in the direction of the large church not too far away. Jaleni followed closely behind her, his ears hearing the sound of sombre singing before he could even see the building. Suddenly, Angella scaled a house with wood sticking out of the concrete swiftly to climb onto the room. The younger vampire did the same and, as he followed Angella, found himself looking down onto a large square where the church was directly opposite them. The vampires looked around and noted the darkest, secluded areas to kill.
Jaleni's eyes looked over the church, appreciating the design even in the darkness. Intricate repeated patterns of crown ran along the edges of the building, the occasional stone form of a saint breaking the design. A square-shaped bell tower pointed upwards to the sky with a cross placed at the very top. The African man did not understand the symbol.
White stone figures stood in two alcoves looking down onto the square with their pupil-less eyes, one hand raised as if casting a blessing while the other held a book or babe. A large circle window, again bearing a cross symbol, held a stained glass window where some of the candlelight from inside filtered through. The many shapes and colours seeming to softly glow like a beacon in the dark. A white arc grasped heavy wooden doors, bolted in their place by thick black hinges. More stone figures were above the door. Candles flicked in welcome just outside of the door.
"Have you ever been inside?" Angella asked in a whisper, breaking the silence.
The male vampire looked at the other and shook his head. "This religion is alien to me," He replied just as quietly, "I've never felt the need or desire to enter the building."
"It's very pretty inside. I got married to my husband in there when I was eighteen," The woman said enthusiastically, eyes shining with the memory before they dulled with sadness. Angella gave a pained sigh. "I can't go inside anymore. If I do, something hurts me, stops me from even standing on the steps."
Jaleni gave her a confused look. "Is it the same for all of us?" He asked a little worried.
Angella shrugged. "It's the same for almost everyone around here, except the purebloods," She said, her tone expressing her distaste for the pureblood vampires, "I have no idea if the same will apply to you. You're not from around here."
Both vampires turned their attentions back to the church. The mass was nearing its end and all they had to do was wait.


Eventually the congregation began to filter calmly through the doors, groups of people gathering to chat as they walked home together. The vampires were not interested in these people. Groups meant more to feed from, certainly, but they posed too much of a threat of being recognised or attacked themselves.  Their eyes searched eagerly for an individual, much like lions would search for an injured or sick animal to hunt. Then they had to decide whether the person's blood was to their liking. "There," Angella breathed, pointing at a woman dressed in black. The woman's eyes were red and tear stained. It was obviously from the way she excluded herself from the crowd and from her entire demeanour that she had been widowed recently. Jaleni caught her scent on the wind. He scrunched up his face in disgust. "She isn't my taste," Jaleni declined, trying to get the smell of her blood out of his nose, "Your can have her for yourself."
"Suit yourself," replied Angella, "You know it's not often I share my food..."
Moving swiftly, the female vampire descended to the quiet street, her clothes rippling in the wind.

Jaleni watched the more experienced vampire with interest. Angella operated a much more different way to him. As she caught up with the woman, she offered a comforting hand on the woman's shoulder and whispered things into her ear. The woman barely looked up from the ground and merely nodded in return to Angella's words. The vampire continued to talk to the woman, guiding her softly into a dark alley way, unnoticed by the rest of the crowd. The dark man smiled as the pair were swallowed up into the darkness. 'Oh she's good,' Jaleni thought to himself, stroking his beard, 'I'm more of an ambush hunter myself...I'll have to remember that for the future.'

After a couple of minutes, the scent of fresh blood hit Jaleni's nose and his fangs automatically extended. His eyes and nose searched desperately for suitable meal. Hunger clawed at his throat and stomach. No person on their own could Jaleni deem edible enough and the groups seemed like too much effort to separate.
Just as the crowd seemed to disperse and Jaleni considered finding a new spot to hunt, something caught his eye. Two men appeared at the door of the church. They exchanged an awkward handshake before the younger man left looking guilty. Jaleni watched the man with interest. This man smelled exactly like his preference. His blood smelled strong and sweet tasting.

Angella reappeared from the alley, alone, licking her lips. Blue eyes looked to Jaleni's position, then the man leaving the square, and she nodded. The woman exposed her breasts a little more and sauntered over to the man, ensuring that her assets were in his eyeline. The man ignored her and kept on walking. A look of offence, embarrassment and anger was visible on Angella's face. She glanced back to Jaleni briefly (who responded with a smirk and a raised eyebrow) before chasing after the man into the dark alleyways. The male vampire followed quickly, descending into the square with ease and running through the shadows after them. He breathed in and followed Angella's scent, as it was much stronger than that of the human's, following the long path. Jaleni soon caught up with them, slowing down to a walk so that he could understand the situation. From smelling the wind, he could tell that no other humans were on the streets nearby. Most shutters were closed and inhabitants were asleep. Suddenly Angella's voice was loud and clear in the streets ahead and from her tone it was clear that she was angry. "How could you refuse to look at me?" She screeched a little too loudly, "Am I not a desirable woman?" Her hands gestured to her breasts.

"I do not desire any woman who willingly shares herself with another man like a whore!" retorted the man.

Angella flinched and gave a hiss of anger.
At this Jaleni appeared behind the human, grasping his wrists and preventing him from fleeing. The man gave a noise of shock and struggled uselessly. "You should know my friend," Jaleni purred in his ear, "A gentleman never insults a lady!"
The vampire clamped one hand over the man's mouth and bit into his neck. Blood greeted Jaleni's eager tongue as he lapped at it. It tasted just as he liked it. Strength seemed to seep back into his muscles and Jaleni drank deeply wanting more. Absently, he felt his mind enter the man's body and search for a memory. This was an odd power he had gained some time after being turned vampire and he found it useful for searching out information at times. It had been a while since he had used this ability and felt that this man would hold some interesting memories, particularly since he had left the church looking so guilty.

Steadily, the inside of a stone room came into view, as if Jaleni was the man. The priest was in the room with him, extinguishing the candles so that the wicks gave off a slow winding smoke, before turning to him. As the other man turn, Jaleni saw that there was a softness in his expression and smile and the priest approached. Jaleni watched as the man's face came closer. He could feel the sensation of lips and tongue and a flame of desire. With a smirk, Jaleni retreated from the memory.
"Oh very interesting, my friend," He murmured softly with blood stained lips, "Secret meetings with the priest? No wonder you refused Angella."
His victim's eyes somehow grew wider and the man stiffened. He was even more scared of his secret being shared than dying. "I knew it wasn't just because I looked like a whore!" spat Angella, "Finish that fucker just for insulting me!"
Jaleni nodded. "As you wish, my lady," He said mischievously and happily obliged, draining the man in mere seconds.
The vampire then pulled a short blade from his belt and gave the body a few deep stab wounds in the chest before throwing it to the darkest corner of the alley and looked to his hunting partner. "Do you need to feed anymore?" Jaleni asked.
Angella shook her head. "No, I do not require any more feeding although..." She replied, taking a step closer and staring into Jaleni's eyes.

Blue eyes seemed to piece into his mind as Angella's face moved close so there was only an inch between their faces. Jaleni felt her take a deep breath of his scent and grasp needily at his clothes. "I do have something else you could help me with," Angella whispered seductively in his ear.

A smile came onto Jaleni's lips. He felt his desire for her roar into life and Jaleni pulled her body close. Angella did not resist as the vampires nuzzled each other's neck. To him, the woman smelled like roses and a subtle tasting blood. Not exactly his taste, but still desirable. He gave her ear a soft nibble as Angella gave a soft moan of surprise and desire.

The female vampire grabbed at Jaleni's buttocks and pulled his hips closer and they shared a long, lust-filled kiss. The blood on their lips only adding to their excitement. Jaleni was almost intoxicated by her and gently removed the fabric from her braided hair. A wind sprang up the street and tousled her hair free. It shimmered and danced in the moonlight. Everything around them seemed to still and hush as the two continued their embrace, lost in each other and the moment.