The brightly-lit park was quiet. The only sounds were a pair of feet on the gravel path. A young woman clutched the arm of her male companion. Her eyes flitted over the darkness beyond the lamps. "Are you sure it's safe to be here? I mean, one of the attacks was here."
He grinned down at her. "Don't worry. You're with me, remember?"
She rolled her eyes. "Your modesty astounds me."
Her boyfriend shrugged. "It's a gift."
She pushed against his shoulder. Her boyfriend stumbled to one side and nearly toppled them both. He caught his balance and his girlfriend before she fell to the ground.
He helped her straighten and laughed. "See? Nothing to worry about."
She rolled her eyes, but resumed her hold of his arm. "You're impossible."
"But not un-dateable," he teased in return as they continued their walk.
Ana watched them leave from the shadows of the trees. Her face was contorted with worry and sadness. She transformed and flew in the opposite direction of the young couple. Her eyes were ever on the path below her. The young couple were the only ones in the park.
Ana sighed and turned her flight toward the deepest interior of the forest. The house in the middle of the woods was quiet when she swooped through her window. She transformed mid-air and dropped onto both feet in the middle of her room.
Ana paced back and forth with a frown on her face. "Where is he. . .?" she murmured. She raised a sharp nail to her teeth and chewed on the tip. "He wouldn't not come and not tell me. Something must have happened. . ."
Ana's eyes fell on her coffin. An insane idea came to mind. She raced to the coffin and knelt beside the lid. A quick open-and-shut, and she had the cherished sweater in her hands. Peter's scent filled the room.
Ana stood and steadied her still nerves. If she couldn't find Peter with sight than she would use the hell hounds to find him by scent. It would be risky, but she was sure she could keep them from eating a human.
Ana rushed from her room and stole down the stairs. The hounds were in the shed behind the house. She just had to make it there and-
Ana was halfway down the last flight of stairs when the front door opened. She froze mid-step and cringed as her father stepped inside. She slapped a strained smile on her face and hid the sweater behind her back.
"Dad, I didn't think-" The words caught in her throat when she noticed the person behind her father. Her eyes widened. "Peter!"
Peter tilted his head back to look up the stairs. He was just in time to catch Ana as she flew into his arms. He stumbled backwards into the door frame as she enveloped him in a tight hug. She buried her face into his chest.
"I was so worried! What happened? Where were you?" She leaned away from him and glanced between the pair. "And why are you with Dad?"
Peter smiled at her. "It's a long story."
Lysander pushed past them and limped toward the door to the basement. "And one we don't have time to tell."
Peter took Ana's hand and followed Lysander downstairs into the lair of the mad scientist. The beakers gurgled and the burners sizzled. Strange lights danced across the ceiling. The three found the mad man at the back of the laboratory surrounded by the cages of animals. He was again attired in a filthy lab coat, and in his hand was a vial of red liquid. Roger's back was turned to them as they came up to him.
Lysander stopped three feet short of the scientist. "Roger."
Roger sighed and set the vial in its round base. He grabbed another vial and turned to the three with a smile. "Lysander, what a pleasant surprise. Are you hungry?"
Lysander stalked toward Roger who stood tall before such fury. The vampire's red eyes stood out against even the brightest of lights. He curled his lips back and revealed his sharp, glistening fangs. "I allowed you samples of my blood to create the blood substitute. What have you done with them?"
Roger sighed and set the vial back in its place. "I see you've found out my troubles. You must believe me when I say I didn't mean for anything to happen."
Lysander's hand whipped out and wrapped around Roger's throat. He stuck their faces close together. His voice was more growl than human. "What did you do with them?"
Roger nodded at the cages. "Merely a few minor experiments. A mouse here, a-"
"Rat?" Lysander hissed.
Roger pursed his lips and nodded. "Yes, a rat."
Ana's hand flew to her mouth. "Roger! How could you?"
Peter whipped his head between her and the pair of men. "What's going on here?"
Ana's face fell and she pursed her lips. "Roger injected animals with our blood we gave him to create the artificial blood we drink to survive."
Peter cringed. "That sounds bad."
Lysander shook Roger. "Where is the rat?"
Roger winced and shook his head. "I didn't expect it to be so strong so quickly and it-well, it escaped out the window," he explained as he nodded toward a narrow, high window. "Flew straight out on a nice pair of new wings, but I've been trying to catch it, and I think I might have just the thing." His eyes flickered down to Lysander's hand. "That is, if you would release me."
Lysander growled, but opened his hand. Roger rubbed his neck as he snatched a small, reddish triangle from a plate. He held it out to his company. "Can any of you guess what this is?"
Peter sniffed the air. "Blood cheese?"
Roger snapped his fingers and grinned at the young man. "Exactly! A slice of cheese infused with blood. No vampire rat can resist such a combination!" He pointed at the vials around the plate. "I just finished putting the final touches on my masterpiece when you arrived."
"But how do we tempt the rat to it?" Ana wondered.
Roger pulled out a few folded maps from inside his lab coat. "I have been studying the locations of the victim and I can safely surmise that the rat is somewhere in this vicinity." He pointed at a neighborhood a couple of blocks from the park.
Peter's eyes widened. He looked from one face to the other. "My house is on that block, and Val might be there."
Ana grabbed his hand and tugged him toward the basement stairs. "Then we need to hurry."
Lysander turned and frowned at her. "You are going nowhere. You are still grounded for disobeying me."
Her shoulders drooped. "But Dad, you're going to need all the help you can get to catch this thing."
Roger nodded. "She's right, it won't be easy catching some this small and smart. It has eluded all my traps so far."
Lysander narrowed his eyes at his daughter. "I still do not wish for you to come so far into the town."
Ana walked up and clasped his hand in hers. She looked him in the eyes and smiled. "Trust me. I can help." He pursed his lips. She squeezed his hand. "Please?"
Lysander sighed, but gave a nod. "Very well, but I will carry the boy. You will help Roger with his cheese."
Peter winced. "Yay. . ."
CHAPTER 19