AN: I decided it was about time to write a vampire story. Been itching to do one. Might as well make it fanfiction. More fun that way. LOL Let me know if I'm pulling it off or not. Vampire stories are tricky. Of course so is first person, present tense. I like to make things difficult on myself. Go figure. *********************** Curiosity Killed... Chapter One ************************ “Does she know?” Okay, what do they think I am… stupid? Just because I’m short doesn’t mean I’m mentally lacking. Okay, very short. Like, under five feet short, but just by a little bit. Besides, I have lots of nifty weapons and that sorta makes up for it. Kinda like men with big cars have small, well, use your imaginations ya’ll. “What should we do?” “Kill her?” “Erase her memory…” I snort and wiggle, testing my ropes. Dammit, they must be fairly kinky if they’re this familiar with knots. I’m trussed up like a piglet, but I don’t squeal. And who am I you’re asking? Catherine Roberts, pleased to meet you. I’d shake your hand but I’m a bit tied up at the moment with, you know, world famous pop stars who just happen to be vampires and all. Cool huh? I thought so… although everything is a hell of a lot less cool as I listen to the five of them debate my fate. Not that I’m terrible worried. Somehow I have trouble seeing the Backstreet Boys snapping my neck. Maybe they’ll turn me, or maybe they WILL kill me, but with ghosts and all I’d probably be able to amuse myself in the afterlife. I would hope anyway. This really is my own fault. I should have just left well enough alone but nooooo, I just had to know. Its my damn curiosity, its gotten me in some major jams. I mean, I thought Big Foot was bad enough but somehow, boy bands just strike a cord of terror in me. Although if they kill me I’d really like to see their fangs first. “We can’t kill her Kevin…” “Why not Brian? Can we really afford to let her loose with the off chance that she’ll remember something, even with the mind wipe, and reveal us? The Council would be furious!” I yawn hugely and find myself the center of attention of five wary and angry vampires. “Hello,” I say and smile widely. “Can we hurry this up? If you’re going to kill me I’d rather not dwell on it and if not, I have a plane to catch in a few hours and I still need to pack.” I watch the blonde, Nick, splutter and AJ McLean is studying me with amused eyes, a smirk curled on thin lips. Too bad he’s a bloodsucker. He’s kinda cute. “Do you have any idea the gravity of the situation you’ve entered child?” I watch as the slender dark haired one, Howie Dorough, steps forward and kneels in front of me. His face and fingers when they touch my chin are gentle, but there’s a coldness, a distance in his brown gaze. He doesn’t particularly want to kill me, but he will if he must. “Yup.” His eyes flash gold and I can see the tips of his fangs gleaming in his lazy smile. Cool. “Are you quite sure?” he asks and grins to reveal the perfect silver of his fangs, the curve, the sweep, as his eyes flash again and stare at me like two chilling sunrises, gold tinted by red. It’d impress me a lot more if I hadn’t seen the whole freak show before. “Yup, perfectly sure. Those are beautiful fangs by the way. Your sire must be proud and I’ve seen some fangs in my time. Speaking of time… I’d really appreciate it if we could hurry this up.” Howie rises and steps aside for Mr. Big Bad himself. Kevin Richardson squats gracefully and regards me with a piercing green gaze. I stare back blandly. Innocently even, really, I do. “You seem rather calm child, to find five vampires in your midst.” I roll my eyes again. Really, supernatural beings can be SO dense sometimes, especially when they used to be human. “I DID come looking for ya’ll. That probably indicates that I had some idea of what I would find. I should be surprised why again?” “You’re a cocky little brat, aren’t you?” I sigh loudly. “I’m NOT cocky. I’m tied up. There’s not a whole hell of a lot I can do to remedy that situation. Now ya’ll are either gonna slit my throat or try to mind wipe me, get mad, and slit my throat anyway, turn me, or let me go scott free. Either way its up to ya’ll. I’m just being practical. I’m sure ya’ll are very busy bloodsuckers and need to get back to work. I have a plane to catch. Let’s just hurry it up already. I hate suspense.” “Why would a mind wipe fail?” I look up and meet Brain’s too perceptive gaze. I shrug the best I can and answer honestly, they’d taste it if I lied. “Because ya’ll are children in the vampire world. After you meet Dracula you sort of gain a sense of perspective. That and he put a shield on me for the hell of it. I’m pretty damn near impervious to yall’s powers. No googly eyes, no mind wipes.” Nick barks with swift, derisive laughter. “You’ve met Dracula? And I’m Big Foot!” I roll my eyes at the boy’s childish arrogance. He might be the same age as I am but he’s not the brightest color in the crayon box. “I’ll have you know that I HAVE met Dracula, spent a lovely winter in Paris with him actually, and you most certainly are NOT Big Foot.” Beautiful lips twist in a sneer similar to the now serious AJ McLean. “And I suppose you’ve met him too?” I grin hugely. “Naturally, how do you think I got the scars on my neck?” Kevin, who is still squatting in front of me, reaches out. I tense but don’t protest as large fingers sweep the hair off my neck with surprising care and bare the side that a vampire would normally take to feed. I know they see five angry, lividly red scars running from my ear to my collarbone. “The scars will never heal over and I will carry them until the day that I die.” Unfortunately that might be earlier than anticipated, but, not a whole lot I can do about that presently. “Yeti leave similar scars on their victims.” I nod at Brian’s astute comment. “They’re related several evolutionarily generations back. Their claws are composed of a compound that acts like acid on human skin. When they claw you, you’ll bear their mark forever. Sound familiar?” I waggle my eyebrows and laugh at their consternation. Kevin gains my attention once more when he threads his large hands through my ash blonde hair and turns my face to his. Great attention getter that is. “And who exactly are you who knows so much of Yeti and Big Foot and Children of the Night? Who are you that claims to know Dracula and be shielded from our charms?” “Catherine Roberts, Curiosity Seeker Extraordinaire.” “Which means?” demands that lovely, low voice, laced with scorn and slight condescendence. “Means I like to know things, everything. I have the habit of sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong. Its not like people kept their secrets that well. Other people just ignore what they don’t want to know about the world. I like to know who and what I’m living with. Just a personal preference. “About two years ago I stumbled onto the Occult, the Underside of the World, What Normal People Don’t Know. Met a few vampires, a werewolf or two, and started poking around. Ended up here.” “Why here?” “Because I heard the rumors that one of the world’s biggest pop sensations were bloodsuckers and I wanted to know if it was true. Not a terribly complicated reason.” Kevin throws back his head and laughs. It would have been terrifying if, well, I hadn’t spent winter in Paris with Dracula. As it is, its still a chilling sound. “You discovered one of the Vampire Community’s best kept secrets on a whim? You know we might very possibly kill you child. What on earth and heaven could be worth your death? A bit of gossip?!” “Ever hear of a death wish?” I grumble darkly to myself. Kevin’s green stare flashes black in a heartbeat as he crouches even lower so that we’re eye to eye. Most people would have flinched. I’m not most people. Actually, most people would have been trapped with the whole googly eye magic trick, but again, thank you Dracula. “Do you desire death?” I sigh, loudly. “Its called a figure of speech genius.” “Your tone borders on insolence.” I blink and laugh. “And yours on arrogance you pompous ass.” This startles a snort from Howie, a quirk of Brian’s lips, and a full out hysterical laugh from AJ. Nick watches with dropped jaw hanging open. Kevin looks mildly shocked and more than a little affronted. “You… You…” I rattle off an area code and telephone number from memory with ease. “Go ahead. Call it.” Kevin’s still furious, eyes blazing a frightening black, so Howie asks the question, voice deadly and silken. “What number is it?” My smile grows. “Dial and find out.” I watch, amused, as AJ breaks the indecision of the moment by taking out his cell phone and flipping it on. Vampires with technology. Welcome to the twenty second century. Go figure. His fingers punch the buttons and I can dimly hear it ringing. I know the bloodsuckers won’t have any trouble listening in on the conversation though. Superior hearing and sensitive senses have their perks, minus the whole drinking blood thing. The phone on the other end of the line picks up. AJ speaks, dark brown gaze glued to me, “Hello. Who is this?” There’s a long pregnant beat of silence before a cold, less than amused voice at the other end replies, “The Council.”