My Kingdom Come book 1: The Saints We See

661 standard years after the signing of the Alliance treaty

Valenna walked into the blood bank and pushed her Ray Bans up on top of her head. She set the cooler on the counter. “Hello, Murray. I’m here for the usual pick up.”

The man behind the counter looked up at her and grunted an affirmative, then held up a finger. “Yes, I understand.” He said into the phone cradled between his shoulder and ear. He typed rapidly on his computer.

Valenna sighed and turned to look around the room. She swallowed convulsively. This was getting worse. She should have saved a bag from last night.

Murray hung up the phone. “Hello Valenna, sorry about that.”

Valenna turned around a little too fast, but Murray wasn’t paying attention.

“Do you have the form?” He held up his pudgy hand.

“Of course.” She handed him the pale blue form, all appropriately filled out and signed.

Murray typed some information from the form into his computer. He paused and adjusted his glasses.

Valenna clenched her hands in front of her below the counter. They were shaking. I’ve got to make a change. She thought to herself. I can’t keep doing this.

Murray finished typing in the information. He pulled open his filing drawer and ran his fingers over the tabs muttering to himself. He found whatever he was looking for and pulled a slot open slipping the blue form inside, then slid the drawer shut. “All right.” He picked up the phone, pressed a few buttons and waited.

Valenna tried desperately to stop thinking about ripping Murray’s throat out.

“Hello, Rob?”

Deep breaths. Valenna coached herself.

“We have a pickup ready out here. It’s for um…” he tapped some keys on his keyboard. “Fifty units.”

Valenna stared at him, willing him to hurry.

“Oh, oh, yeah!” Murray laughed. “Well, tell her I said hi.”

Valenna slammed her open palm down on the counter.

Murray’s eyes jumped up to her, a startled expression on his face.

Valenna grit her teeth. “I’m sorry Murray, it’s been a really bad day and I’m on a tight schedule. Could we hurry things up?”

Murray gave her a dirty look and leaned back in his chair. “Really?! What happened?” He asked excitedly into the telephone.

Valenna swallowed. She turned around. Her vision was closing in on her. She clenched her fists. She couldn’t slip, it would make this hell last longer. She could do this. She was making a much bigger deal out of this than it was. She did this everyday. Just a few more moments and it all would be over.

“Well, there you go, Ms. Valenna.” Murray said behind her.

Valenna forced herself to move at a normal pace. She turned around. “Thank you Murray, I’m sorry about my attitude. It’s been a hell of a day. It’s…been a hell of a week if I’m being honest. I just lost my grandmother.”

Murray’s expression changed form annoyance to guilt. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, she’s been suffering for a while, so,” Valenna shrugged. “I’ve got to get going. I’ll see you next week.”

She grabbed the now full cooler, jogged out of the blood bank, out into the parking lot, went straight to her unmarked white van and unlocked the back door. She climbed inside, slammed the door behind her and wrenched the top off the cooler. Her hands scrabbled frantically at the plump bags of blood inside. She snatched one up, and punctured it with her fangs. She took a long draught of the rich, velvety blood, swallowing again and again without stopping to breath. When the bag was empty, she drained another one.

Valenna let out a deep sigh of contentment and closed her eyes, slumping back against the side of the van. She laughed as she remembered the guilt ridden expression on Murray’s face when she’d told him her grandmother had recently passed away. As far as Valenna knew, her grandmother was coming up on her hundred-and-fifty-second birthday and was healthy as a horse, as the humans would put it.

“Tinzim, where is my next pickup?” She asked.

“Next stop is the university blood bank on West first street.” Her tinzim said pleasantly in her ear.

That was only twenty minutes away. Her hand idly brushed over the tops of the blood bags in the cooler. Just one more. She thought. Lord Karek wouldn’t care if she was another few minutes late with his shipment tonight.