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fatherly about him, but he was much too young to be her father. She decided she liked that quality to.

  “Is it a deal?” he asked again.

  She bobbed her head. “Deal…And thank you so much! For everything!”

  “You are more than welcome.” His attention went to the road then. “Here we are.” He turned right into a long drive that was framed in trees like so many dwellings around. They pulled up alongside a yellow cottage trimmed in white, with a rusty-red roof. Jerri had been watching for them and was already outside, donning her brown jacket with a fur collar. She waved enthusiastically, as they got out of the truck, for them to follow. She led them out back to a fenced in kennel. Amber counted five dogs in all.

  “The one with the white star between his eyes. Thought he might be best for you,” she said, looking anxiously to Amber.

  “He is pretty,” she noted. “Looks grown. How old is he?”

  “Just turned two…Like his sister Bebe over there.” She pointed to a smaller female that was eating in a corner. Then indicating with a nod towards the other three. “They’re all older. Jeff’s ten. And Alice is nine. They’re the parents. And Tobey’s my oldest. He’s the grandpa. Twelve. Samantha, the grandma, died last summer. She was eleven.” She faced Amber with a wanting to please look. “Of course, you can have the female, if you want?”

  “What’s the male’s name?”

  “Don’t laugh…It’s Star… Fits, though…Don’t you think?”

  “Yeah…Star definitely suits him.”

  Jerri unlocked the gate and motioned for them to follow her in.

  Paul immediately dropped to his knees and went to petting Tobey. “Nice boy…nice boy.” Soon he was petting all of them.

  “Paul always has had a way with my dogs, but he’s never got one for himself,” she said, obviously thinking he should.

  “You know Judy’s afraid of dogs, Jerri.”

  “She’s a teenager now…She’d get over it.”

  He sighed. “Maybe.”

  “What happened?” Amber asked.

  Paul stood. “She was chased by a big stray hound when she was four…It grabbed her leg. Dad shot at it and it ran off. It was found a few days later. Guess it made the mistake of attacking something a bit larger.”

  “Like what?”

  “Bear,” Jerri chimed in. “At least, that’s what folks say. Weird, though, its body was drained of all its blood.”

  Paul and Amber looked at one another. This sounded similar to some of the recent deaths.

  “I know what you’re thinking,” Jerri said. “Thinking the same thing myself. Maybe it wasn’t a bear?” She raised a brow as though suggesting the idea as food for thought.

  “Well…The incident with the dog was a long time ago. I seriously doubt if they’re connected,” Paul said.

  “Maybe not.” But her face said she considered otherwise.

  Amber studied over all the dogs. They were all pretty, but only Star and Bebe were up for grabs.

  “Well?” Paul inquired, looking down at her. “You want one?”

  “Will he mind me? Star?” she asked, speaking to Jerri.

  “He’d darn well better! I take pride in training my dogs.” She stooped down and took the dogs muzzle between her hands. “Now you look here…I love ya! You know it. But this young woman here needs a companion…someone to protect her.”

  He woofed enthusiastically as though he understood.

  “I am sure she’ll give you a real good home. You’ll love her, too. Just like you do me…And you won’t have to share with the others. Okay?” Star woofed again, tail wagging this time.

  Paul wore a tickled grin. Amber was taking it all in.

  “I guess it’s Star, then.”

  Jerri pulled a leash out of her coat pocket then and hooked it to the dog’s leather collar. She handed the lead end over to Amber. She took it and spoke to Jerri. “I know he’s not free. How much do I owe you?”

  “Tell you what…you take him for a few days, get to know one another. Just in case you decide you want to exchange him for Bebe or get another dog somewhere else…Then, once you’ve made your decision…And if you decide you want to keep him…you can pay me.”

  “Are you sure? I know he’s a valuable dog.”

  “That he is…And I know Paul here would not even suggest I sell him to you if he thought for one second that you wouldn’t take good care of him.”

  Amber glanced at Paul and then back to Jerri. “Well…Okay…But how much? Just in case I do keep him?”

  “I’m not out to make a living at it…some folks would charge an arm and a leg…But he’s yours for two hundred.”

  “That’s all?”

  “That’s all, hon.”

  “Oh my gosh! Well…thank you!”

  “You’re most welcome.” She then reached out her arms and gave Amber a hug. When she released her, she stood back. “Call me tomorrow and let me know how he’s doing.”

  “Will do.”

  They started back to the truck with Paul leading the way. Jerri followed. Paul opened the door for Amber and took the leash while she climbed in. Soon as she was buckled in, he handed the leash back to Amber and then she called for Star to get in. To her obvious surprise, he did just as she asked with no reservations. She looked at Jerri who was beaming with pride.

  “Told ya!” Her face looked as though it was going to burst with pride.

  “Yes you did.”

  Paul closed the door and gave Jerri a hug and then came around and got in himself. Jerri stood watching and waving heartily as they pulled out of the driveway and headed west.

  Dorian took his human form as he reached the old cottage where Aptyp had lived for over a hundred years. It was so remote and difficult for mere humans to get to that Aptyp didn’t worry about staying where he was permanently.

  The distinguished appearing vampire with a meticulous stately air– who looked not a day over fifty-five, with dark hair, silver at the temples, and piercing gold eyes – opened the door and greeted Dorian with a warm hug.

  Dorian had not bothered to knock, no need to. Aptyp had sensed him for miles before he arrived, as Dorian had known he would.

  Aptyp pulled back, gently laying his hands on Dorian’s shoulders. “Come on in, my friend. I take it you are running low on your pills…I know it has been several months since you were here.”

  “Six,” Dorian replied, walking in ahead of him into a cottage that would surprise most anyone if they didn’t know Aptyp, for it was elegantly decorated in spite of its small size.

  The old vampire always insisted on the best quality in furnishings, as long as it wasn’t too large or simply too much for his abode.

  “Ahhh…Yes! You are in luck. I just finished a batch…Was thinking you would be showing up soon. But I must tell you, my friend,” he said, indicating for Dorian to take a seat in a leather recliner while he sat on the matching sofa, “that I feared for a bit there that I wasn’t going to be able to get the herb. Seems with the climate changing all over the world, it is not growing in as much abundance as it once did. In fact, when I went to harvest it, there was none to be found in the usual places.

  “But Knapa, my niece, has been experimenting with trying to grow it herself. And it would seem she’s had some luck. Anyway, she had enough for me to cook up your usual supply and enough for her, me and one other fellow.”

  “His name wouldn’t be Joseph Klaus, would it?”

  An eyebrow went up. “So…You have met him after all?”

  “’Fraid so,” Dorian said, not looking too enthused.

  “You don’t like him?” The old vampire inquired straightforwardly, never missing anything.

  Dorian rotated his neck to work out the stiffness. Though he could live anywhere, the extreme cold in this part of Russia tended to tighten up his muscles, as he was unaccustomed to it. “It’s not that I don’t like him, Aptyp…But he…Well, he’s kind of…”

  “Infringing on your terr
itory?”

  Dorian sighed lightly. “Yeah…Sort of.” He looked Aptyp straight on. “You didn’t tell him where I might be, did you?”

  “Oh I did,” Aptyp replied without hesitation. “He wanted to leave this part of the world and wanted to know where in the USA that I might think suitable for hunting. I told him that you had said you were going to try Washington out, since it has a rain forest … plenty of places to hide and keep a low profile.”

  “Guess I did tell you that.”

  “That you did. And you never said you didn’t want company.”

  “But you know I work alone.”

  Aptyp eyed him curiously. “Out with it Dorian…You’re a vampire. And you lean towards being territorial the same as I…But since when does it matter if another vampire hangs around for a while?”

  “There have been a number of deaths just since I moved in. And they weren’t by my hand. I try to not kill the local neighbors where I live…Don’t want suspicion in my direction. I really like it there…and there is one young woman that I am interested in.”

  The old vampire nodded with understanding. “Ahhh-ha! You want to turn her. And you don’t want him killing her or turning her himself.”

  “Something like that.”

  Aptyp sat forward. “Have you informed him of this?”

  Dorian stretched and stood. He was getting antsy, wanted to get back to Amber. “Yes! I told him.”

  “What was his reaction?” Aptyp asked, scrutinizing Dorian, seeming more amused than concerned.

  “Said he’d respect my wishes as long as I didn’t interfere with his hunting.”

  “And you’re afraid he can’t be trusted?”

  “Exactly.”

  Aptyp stood and slowly headed to the back