Chapter 1: Virgin Blood

"I'll do it."

"You sure?"

Detective Joe Pratt looked at his partner skeptically. Grace had been anxious about this case since the beginning, and this latest development did not exactly improve her state of mind. She clutched her file folders to her side nervously as she and Joe stepped into the elevator of the Havenswood Psychiatric Facility.

"I'm sure," Grace said, pushing the button marked "4." The elevator doors closed. "He should hear it from me, anyway."

Joe said nothing as the elevator ascended, leaving only the creaking sound of the metal gears turning to fill the silence. He let his eyes wander down Grace's backside, and took a sneak peek at her butt. She looked great in her work slacks; her round firm ass filled them out perfectly.

It was too bad Grace was married. She'd transferred to the Homicide department just four years earlier and was married soon after. Joe regretted never having slept with her, although he counted himself lucky that he'd gotten to see her naked just once.

Grace stepped off the elevator at the fourth floor and Joe followed. The screams, howls, and laughter of the patients rattled Grace even further, but she did not hesitate to approach the nurse seated at the front desk.

"San Amaury County Homicide," Grace said, showing the nurse her badge. Joe showed his as well. The nurse recognized them immediately.

"The patient is refusing to leave his room," the nurse said. "We had to sedate him earlier after he got belligerent with the staff."

"Can he be questioned?" Joe asked. The nurse nodded.

"I'll take you to his room."

The attractive blonde nurse buzzed the detectives in, and led them down a long hallway. Their presence drew the attention of the patients, who leered at them through the windows of their rooms.

"Hey baby, let me see that ass!" a balding patient shouted, leering at Grace's behind as she passed.

"Back to your room, baldy!" Joe shouted back at him, fury in his eyes. The bald patient slunk away.

"Thank you," Grace whispered quietly. Joe nodded but said nothing.

More patients continued screaming and wailing as the detectives passed.

"Get this thing off me! Get this damn thing off me!" a patient shouted. Curious, Joe peeked into the patient's room. He wore a restraining device strapped around his genitals that he was struggling to remove.

"What the hell is he wearing?" Joe asked.

"We had to equip Mr. Friedman with a chastity device. It was the only way to curb his sex addiction," the nurse said.

Joe shook his head sympathetically.

"No wonder he lost his mind. Guy can't even rub one out when he needs," Joe mused.

"It was either that or have him masturbating on every nurse who comes into his room," she said, nonchalantly. She continued down the hall. The detectives followed.

"This isn't like most hospitals, is it?" Grace asked.

The nurse shrugged. "Our methods may be a bit unconventional. But we have to be creative here. We have the worst of the worst in this facility."

The nurse stopped at the third door on the left side of the hall and removed a set of keys from her pocket.

"Well I can assure you, there are far worse men in the world than the one we're here to see," Grace said, defensively. She turned to Joe. "Can you wait outside?"

Joe nodded.

The nurse unlocked the door and let Grace inside. Despite how long it had been, Grace immediately recognized the 46-year-old male patient seated on the cold tiled floor of the small room, with his knees pulled to his chest. His full beard had not been trimmed in weeks, nor had the hair on his head, which now looked greasy and matted. He stared up at the barred window mournfully, doing nothing to acknowledge the detective's arrival. The nurse closed the door behind her. Grace cleared her throat.

"Mr. Becket?" she greeted.

Daniel Becket turned his attention to his new visitor. He didn't show any emotion, but it was clear in his eyes that he remembered her.

"I'm Detective Grace Harker. I'm sure you remember me. I was a student of yours at Kennedy High School many years ago."

Daniel gave Grace the slightest of nods. Grace smiled and took a seat on the bed next to him.

"I need to talk to you about something important. It's your children. Your son, Dylan, and your daughter, Jaclyn, are missing. They were last seen Friday night- Halloween."

Daniel's face sank.

"We found out your son hired a private investigator to track down your wife's killer, just like you did. The P.I. he hired was found dead the day before your children went missing. Blood drained, throat punctured. And DNA on her body. Lukas Balko's DNA."

Daniel trembled at the mention of his wife's killer. His hands shook and he scooted across the floor away from Grace.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Becket. I hope Dylan and Jaclyn are okay, but I'm worried that Balko found them. I just want you to know I'm going to do everything I can to find out what happened to them. And I promise you, I will find Lukas Balko. Whatever it takes. You have my word."

Her words didn't seem to be enough, so she added, "you did save my life, after all."

"You can't," Daniel said.

"What?" Grace asked, shocked.

"He's a spawn of the Devil."

Grace didn't respond. She felt a chill, and suddenly, the room felt very cold and empty.

"I saw a gateway to Hell in my own house. My wife is his slave now!" Daniel muttered.

Grace shook her head.

"No, Mr. Becket, that's not true. Your wife is dead. Lukas Balko is a very dangerous man, but he can be stopped, I swear to you."

"You can't stop shit!" Daniel screamed. "He killed my children, and you know it! He'll come after you and your family next! He'll find you and drag you to Hell with him!"

Daniel leaped to his feet. Grace backed away, terrified.

"Don't you get it? You can't kill a man who's already dead!" Daniel screamed. "He's coming for you Grace! He'll fuck you up worse than your father did! If you go after him he'll devour your soul! You can't escape him! You can't-"

The door burst open, and four orderlies were immediately in the room restraining Daniel Becket. Three of them held him down onto the bed while a fourth gave him a sedative. Joe grabbed Grace's arm, and pulled her from the room.

Grace burst into tears.

"It's okay! It's okay!" Joe repeated, holding his partner tightly. "Daniel Becket is a very sick man and I shouldn't have let you go in there with him alone. You did what you came to do, now let's go."

Trying to hold back her tears, Grace hurried back down the hall to the elevator with Joe at her side. Joe pressed the button marked "L," and as soon as the doors closed, Joe gave Grace a tight squeeze.

Dusk had set in by the time Grace pulled her car into the driveway of her one story, three-bedroom home on Dunlap Street. She'd had plenty of time to cool her nerves getting work done at the station, and was much calmer now that she was once again home with her family.

The house was completely dark when Grace walked in the front door. Reaching for a light switch, Grace spotted a shape in the darkness. It crouched on the floor, hiding behind the sofa. She felt a wave of panic as the shape rose to its feet, and moved towards her. Grace flipped on the light switch only to reveal a green-faced goblin lunging towards her.

"Boo!" the goblin shouted. Grace screamed.

The goblin burst into laughter. It removed its green mask, revealing the grinning face of her husband.

"Halloween's over, Ted!" Grace hissed, slapping him on the arm.

"Which mean's Halloween gear is half-off!" Ted quipped. "Got this one for only five-fifty!"

Ted laughed.

"Look, I had a shitty day, can you knock it off?" Grace grumbled.

"Sorry, babe," Ted said, tossing the goblin mask onto the sofa. He followed Grace into the bedroom, where she unbuckled her holster and placed it, along with her badge, on her dresser. Ted approached her from behind and wrapped his arms around her torso. She rested her head on his shoulder.

"You want to talk about your day?" Ted asked, rocking her gently.

"Not really," Grace said. "What's the little one up to?"

"I got her off to bed about a half hour ago."

Grace smiled.

"Well, I better check on her."

Grace crept into the adjacent bedroom, where her three-year-old daughter Kayla slept soundly. As usual, Bernie had made his way to the floor. Kayla almost always pushed the small brown teddy bear off her bed in her sleep, only to wake up in tears to find him gone. Grace picked up the stuffed bear from the floor and tucked him under Kayla's arm.

She planted a kiss on her daughter's cheek and tiptoed out of the room, leaving the pink painted door decorated with Disney princesses open just a crack behind her.

Grace made her way back to the master bedroom, only to find Ted wearing nothing but his underwear and her holster wrapped around his waist.

"Pardon me ma'am, but I'm afraid I have to place you under arrest," he said, holding up her badge authoritatively.

Grace burst into laughter. Ted maintained a straight and serious face as he strutted towards his giggling wife sternly.

"What seems to be the problem, officer?" Grace asked, innocently.

"Ma'am, it seems you have exceeded the legal limit of sexiness in this state, and are under suspicion of being in possession of two deadly weapons," Ted said. "I'm going to have ask you to lift your shirt for inspection."

"Whatever you say, officer," Grace giggled. She lifted her shirt above her head and tossed it ceremoniously aside. She wore a white lacy bra, which was wrapped, tightly around her two large, firm breasts.

Ted approached her, and very methodically pulled her bra cups down, bringing both of her breasts into view. Her round pink nipples swelled with excitement as Grace awaited her husband's next command.

Ted didn't speak, he simply squeezed the bare breasts and rolled them about between his fingers. Grace felt her excitement grow as she enjoyed the touch of her husband's hands upon her body.

"Ma'am, I'm afraid these particular weapons are illegal in this state without a permit. I'm going to have to subject you to a complete strip search to find what else you may be carrying."

"Gosh, officer, I hope I'm not in trouble!" Grace said, swaying her hips in faux-nervousness.

She unzipped her pants and dropped them to her ankles, leaving a pair of white panties to conceal the remainder of her body that had not yet been exposed by her salacious husband.

"I'm afraid you are, ma'am," Ted said. "Would you please turn around, and place your hands behind your back?"

Grace obeyed, and Ted promptly slapped a pair of handcuffs around Grace's wrists and closed them tightly. Grace felt a tingle of excitement rush up her spine.

"Bend over," Ted said.

Grace obeyed, and Ted pulled her panties halfway down her thighs. He pulled down his own underwear as well, allowing his erect penis to extend to its full length.

Ted grabbed his wife's butt cheeks, and spread them apart with his hands. He could see her anus, small and delicate, peeking out between her twin mounds. How he wanted to penetrate her there, but he knew she would refuse, just as she had every other time he'd asked her.

Ted pressed the head of his penis to the small of her back, and sensually ran it down the crack of her butt. The softness of her skin made him throb uncontrollably, but he paced himself, letting his penis gently ease its way between her cheeks. He ran his penis back up her crack, and back down, stopping it just outside her anus. He held it there.

"Ted, no," Grace said sharply, breaking character.

Disappointed, Ted ran his penis further down, until the head passed across Grace's juicy labia. He quickly eased inside her, and allowed his throbbing hard member to be absorbed by the familiar warmth and wetness of his wife's cunt.

They both sighed. Ted grabbed her hips, and aggressively pumped his penis back and forth inside her. He grabbed her buttocks with his palms, and squeezed her firm and sensuous mounds.

Grace moaned as she felt her husband's throbbing cock slide in and out of her dripping wet pussy. The sense of helplessness, of being bent over, with her hands cuffed behind her back, sent a wave of elation throughout her body. Even the threat she felt of having her husband enter her most forbidden of spots amplified her arousal. The sense of danger, the fear, all of it stimulated her deepest desires.

Ted watched his reflection in the mirror, admiring his wife's large bouncing breasts jiggle about in rhythm with his thrusts. He loved the way his wife's beautiful tits looked when they gyrated about. But it was her tightly closed eyes and open mouth, along with her high pitched squeals that truly made him feel like a man.

Ted wasn't particularly proud of being a stay-at-home dad. In fact he was secretly somewhat embarrassed by it, but it was this moment, with his wife in locked in handcuffs and bent over his bed, and with his erect penis firmly inside her, that Ted truly felt redeemed his masculinity.

It had been over a year since Ted had been laid off from his sales job. He'd been one of the top salesmen at Warrener's, a local furniture chain, before they filed for bankruptcy and closed all ten of their locations. Ever since then, sex with his wife had become his medicine. As long as he got to fuck Grace at least twice a week, Ted found he was adequately comfortable with his station in life.

Grace's moaning got louder, and the wetness of her pussy was spreading to Ted's scrotum. He pounded her harder and harder, and gritted his teeth with determination. The pressure overwhelmed him to the point he could no longer withstand her, and he released a heavy load of cum.

He let his dick drain all of the white goo it had to offer, and he withdrew, causing a significant droplet to spill from her lips and dribble down her thigh.

Ted grabbed the keys and unlocked the handcuffs, freeing his well-fucked wife. Grace rubbed her wrists and grabbed a tissue to clean around her pussy and thighs. She pulled her panties back up as Ted placed her holster back on the dresser and dressed himself.

Grace looked at her husband and blushed.

"Thanks, I really needed that," she said.

"Me too," Ted replied.

Detectives Harker and Pratt pulled in front of 1228 Claymore street, otherwise known as the Becket home. Grace looked at the house apprehensively before stepping out of the car.

"Arrived at the Becket home. Nothing changed on the outside," Joe said into a tape recorder. He and Grace walked up the front steps, where Joe used a key provided to him by the station to unlock the front door.

"So this is where the Becket kids lived? All by themselves?" Joe asked, as they each put on a pair of rubber gloves.

"For the past three years," Grace said. "Dylan spent his eighteenth birthday having his father committed. He took custody of his sister after Daniel got locked away."

"Must have been rough on that kid," Joe said.

Grace made sure Joe wasn't looking when she rolled her eyes. As much as she liked her partner, his habit of stating the obvious got on her nerves from time to time.

Grace and Joe entered the house, and shut the door behind them. Grace turned on a light switch, but somehow even in the light the house still felt gloomy and uncomfortably quiet.

"House is undisturbed. No signs of any recent activity here," Joe said into the recorder.

A wooden cross was nailed to the wall across from the front door. Grace stepped past it into the living room. She spotted another wooden cross nailed to the wall there as well. A photo album rested on the coffee table in front of the sofa. Grace glanced at the album briefly before scanning the rest of the room.

"So these kids go missing five years to the day after their mother's murder. Uncanny, huh?" Joe asked.

Grace pondered the likelihood that it was just a coincidence. She hoped that it was.

Joe made his way into the den, and found a cross nailed to the wall in there as well. As Grace examined the living room, she noticed several scorch marks on the carpet in front of the fireplace.

"There's a cross on every wall in this house," Joe remarked. "Either these are some hardcore Christians, or Daniel Becket was serious about his wife being killed by a vampire."

Grace picked one of the wooden crosses from the hook on which it was mounted, and looked at the wall behind it.

"These crosses were put up recently. No tan lines on the wall. Sawdust on the floor," Grace said.

Joe walked to Grace's side.

"So the kids put up these crosses then?" Joe asked, incredulously.

"And the holy water," Grace added, nodding towards the glass of water resting on the windowsill. Joe shook his head, disbelievingly.

Grace continued through the house, stepping into the kitchen. As she did, she found herself recalling the last time she'd been in this house. Years earlier, when she was only seventeen.

"Did you find anything?" Joe asked.

His words brought her memory to a halt, and Grace looked up at her partner. As she sat at the kitchen table in the same spot as she had at that dinner fifteen years earlier, Grace noticed a manila envelope resting on the table in front of her.

"Just this," Grace said, nodding to the envelope.

"There's a broken window in one of the bedrooms. It's been taped over with saran wrap. Other than that, nothing unusual," Joe said.

Grace turned the manila envelope over in her hands. It was addressed to Dylan.

"Looks like Dylan got himself a package. Return address is Riley Pierson," Grace said.

"The P.I. we found dead last week?" Joe asked.

"The one. Let's see what she dug up for our boy."

She emptied the contents of the envelope onto the kitchen table. Joe sat down by her side and sorted the photos and documents inside.

"It's about Lukas Balko," Grace said. "Pierson tracked down where he's been over the last sixty years!"

"This chick's got some serious connections to get this kind of info. Wish we had someone like her working for Homicide."

"Something tells me Miss Pierson may have been operating outside the boundaries of the law," Grace remarked. "Otherwise I'd agree with you."

The detectives flipped through the documents, before Joe stopped to examine a black and white photo dated 1956.

"Whoa, who the hell is this babe?" Joe asked.

He showed the photo to Grace. The photo depicted a young woman with jet black hair down to her shoulders, standing in a cemetery. She wore an expensive looking jacket and skirt suit, and she stood alone in the picture frame, surrounded only by gravestones.

What Grace found most unsettling was the smug smile on the woman's face. She had the most disdainful look in her eye, as if she were looking down at the viewer, and she was somehow pleased about every unfortunate thing that had ever happened to anyone. Grace let go of the photo, but found she could not stop looking at it. She flipped the photograph around to read the back.

"This is Catherine Balko," Grace said. "Lukas Balko's sister."

The Blessed Hills Community Church girls choir group performed every Friday night. All in the community were welcome to attend; to enjoy the singing as well as the light refreshments in the Fellowship Hall afterwards. The choir group proved to be popular, with even non-churchgoers frequently stopping by.

At the front of the choir, leading the others, was Sarah Wainwright. Eighteen years old, Sarah had sung in the choir for nearly ten years. Her good looks and beautiful singing quickly launched her to the head of the choir, and her popularity among the church members and community in general grew over the years.

In addition to leading the choir, Sarah was also the president of the church's abstinence club, vowing to remain celibate until marriage. In spite of her beauty, Sarah didn't date much, choosing instead to devote the majority of her time to her schoolwork and her activities with the church.

On this particular night, the choir was singing especially vibrantly, and among the audience members was none other than Catherine Balko. She sat near the back, wearing an overcoat, hat, and sunglasses. To her right sat a young red-haired woman named Rose, who quietly watched the choir unflinchingly.

To Catherine's left sat no one. Catherine and Rose had the entire pew to themselves despite the relatively large audience in the church that night. Catherine set her eyes upon the singing Sarah, watching her intently.

"She's lovely," Catherine whispered.

"I thought you'd like her," Rose replied.

That was actually an understatement. In truth, Rose prayed Catherine would take a fancy to the beautiful choir girl. She breathed a sigh of relief as she and her wealthy employer continued watching.

"How long do you think it will take you?" Catherine asked.

"A few days should do it," Rose said.

"You have until tonight," Catherine said, not looking at Rose. Rose swallowed.

"It will be done tonight," Rose said, reassuringly. She could see a streak of gray running through Catherine's long black hair that hadn't been there a month earlier. It seemed to gradually grow over the past weeks, much like the knot in Rose's stomach that tightened every time she noticed it.

"And there will be no mistakes," Rose added, and immediately wondered if that was necessary to say. Catherine did not respond.

When the performance concluded, guests were invited to the Fellowship Hall for refreshments and socializing. Rose and Catherine walked in step into the hall, before Catherine whispered into Rose's ear.

"Get to it," Catherine said. That was all Rose needed to hear.

Rose grabbed a cup of coffee from the refreshments table, and casually made her way to where Sarah was mingling. She was still in her choir robe, and was talking and laughing with two other choir girls and a middle aged woman who was complimenting Sarah's performance.

"Nine and a half years," Sarah said. "I just love it. I've made so many friends here. You should definitely tell your daughter to join."

"Thank you, I will!" the woman said.

Rose smiled, and approached the group.

"Hi, Sarah?" Rose asked.

"Hi!" Sarah smiled, happily engaging the approaching guest.

"Hi, I'm Rose. I was just wondering, how would I go about joining the choir?" Rose squeezed her coffee cup nervously.

"Well, we have rehearsals every Wednesday at six," Sarah said. "Just come to one of them, and we'll work you into the group!"

Sarah and the other two choir girls smiled.

"Really?" Rose said. "That's awesome. I just loved your singing, and I've always wanted to be in a choir!"

"Well, you've come to the right place!" Sarah said cheerfully. It wasn't difficult for her to make friends anywhere she went.

Sarah's two friends scampered off, and the middle aged woman turned to speak with Mrs. Gregorich, the choir director. Seeing as she had Sarah's undivided attention for the moment, Rose edged her way closer to her.

"There's something else," Rose said, quietly. Sarah looked on with interest. "I heard you're also president of the abstinence club. I was also interested in joining that, too."

Sarah nodded.

"Yeah, we meet Mondays at five," Sarah said discreetly. "But we don't meet here. We usually meet at somebody's house."

Rose took a sip of her coffee.

"Could you tell me where? I'm excited about joining this club," Rose said.

Sarah paused.

"Well- it's at Kailey Truman's house next week. I don't know her address offhand-"

"Could you get it for me? Please?" Rose asked. Sarah cocked her head and smiled, dumbstruck at Rose's enthusiasm.

"Sure. Meet me in the dressing room after fellowship. Down that hall, last room on the left."

"Thanks so much!" Rose said.

The girls talked for several minutes before Sarah excused herself to mingle with other guests. Rose made her way back to Catherine to give her an update.

"She invited me into her dressing room," Rose whispered. "I'll get what I need there."

"I'll be in the car," Catherine said, coldly.

Rose gulped. She was not going to disappoint Catherine tonight. Rose would go to the choir girls' dressing room, and accomplish two things, and not leave until she had. She tossed her empty coffee cup in the trash and twisted the ring on her right hand apprehensively.

At the conclusion of fellowship, Rose reported to the dressing room as promised. She knocked on the door, and Sarah let her inside.

There were about twenty girls in the choir, and the dressing room was just big enough to accommodate them. A row of lockers lined the wall opposite a set of mirrors. An adjacent room looked to be a shower facility, which several girls looked to be preparing to use as they stripped out of their robes.

"So this is our dressing room, which is pretty rad," Sarah said. "The church really went all out for us. I can go to school, come here, shower, and get changed for choir without having to stop by at home. It's a real time-saver."

"I love it," Rose said, as she watched three naked girls make their way into the shower room.

Sarah removed her choir robe, and Rose was surprised to see she was wearing only underwear underneath. Rose admired Sarah's shapely body as she took a seat in front of the mirrors.

"Okay, I've got the address in here somewhere," Sarah said, digging her iPhone out of her purse. She flipped through the contents of her phone and read the address out to Rose.

"Thanks," Rose said, typing the address into her own phone. "Oh, and one other thing-"

Rose stepped towards Sarah closely.

"Do you HAVE to be a virgin to be in the abstinence club?" Rose asked quietly.

Sarah smiled, and shook her head.

"No. A lot of our members are secondhand virgins. What you've done in the past is in the past," Sarah said assuringly. "You just have to make a vow for the future."

Rose faked a sigh of relief.

"Good, because I have to admit, I'm not a virgin by any means," Rose chuckled quietly.

"That's totally fine!" Sarah said. "No one at the club will judge you. We just want to help you make your vow and we all encourage each other to keep ours."

"Well, that's good," Rose said. "But I have to ask, are you- a secondhand virgin too by any chance?"

Sarah blushed.

"No, I'm the real thing actually," Sarah said, lowering her gaze. "Never even kissed a guy."

"Really?" Rose said, astonished. She took a peek at Sarah's beautiful scantily-clad body, amazed that to date it had gone untouched by a man.