“Is this the girl you were telling me about, Danny? The one you just broke up with?”
“What?” It was a gasp of outrage, not a question. My hands balled into fists, and I took several deep breaths to calm down. Control your anger. You can’t let anyone know what you are.
“Can you give me a second?” Danny asked the blonde.
She tossed one more snotty glance at me and then smiled. “Sure. I’ll be at the bar.”
Danny waited until she’d walked away before speaking again. “Catherine, I was going to call you, because I’ve been thinking. You’re just sixteen; I’m almost twenty. You’re too young… it wouldn’t work out between us.”
After everything he’d said to me the previous weekend, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “You told me you cared about me, that you’d never felt this way before, that I meant so much to you…” Every item was ticked off in a low hiss. “That was five days ago, Danny! And now you’ve changed your mind?” My anger covered the hurt welling inside me. I desperately wanted him to take back what he’d just said.
Danny lowered his head, flicking his gaze around him to see if anyone else was paying attention to this scene. The dimple in his chin wrinkled when he pursed his lips, seeming to choose his words. “It’s like this, Catherine,” he began in a tone he’d never used with me before. “I thought we could have some fun, and you seemed into it as well. Right until it was time to actually have fun, and then you got all coy and hesitant. So I told you what you needed to hear. Get over it—it’s not a big deal. It wasn’t even that good. Now go on home. Isn’t it past your bedtime?”
Danny turned around without another word. He went to the bar, slung an arm around the smirking blonde, and walked away. I watched them go, transfixed, while emotions slammed over me. I had been used, plain and simple. Used like the stupid hick farm girl I apparently was. All week long I’d been worried about Danny. Worried and happy and ignorant and disposable. Tears began to trickle down my cheeks. When I’d first begun dating Danny, I’d thought maybe there was a chance I could live a normal life despite what I was. Hopelessness felt so much harsher after I’d been allowed to hope. My hurt was soon followed by despair. It must be my bloodline. Maybe I was being punished for the evil inside me, no matter that it wasn’t my fault it was there.
“He isn’t worth it.”
I didn’t know who the voice behind me belonged to, but without turning around, I nodded. “I guess he isn’t.” My voice was a rasp. I barely recognized it.
“Have a drink with me.”
“Okay.”
Still I didn’t turn around but kept my eyes on Danny and his blonde until they disappeared into the crowd. A cool hand touched my arm, making me flinch at the twinge of static electricity. I let the guy lead me to the nearby bar and sat on the stool as if in a daze. My unknown escort ordered two gin and tonics. When a cold glass was pressed into my hand, I finally glanced at my new companion.
My first thought was, he looks familiar. I know him, before realizing his face was entirely foreign to me. Black hair brushed his shoulders and his skin was almost the same pale shade as my own. But such skin. Smooth, opalescent… like cream poured over diamonds. Hazel eyes looked right into mine with a stare that seemed to pin me to my seat. The air around him held a faint crackle, as if somehow he’d managed to harness an electrical field as a coat.
Yeah, you could say I knew right away the man sitting next to me was a vampire.
“You’re staring.” He said it chidingly, but it didn’t seem to bother him.
“Yes, I’m staring,” I agreed, shock making me numb. Right next to me, sipping a drink, was a real live—sort of—vampire. I couldn’t stop looking him up and down. After months of hearing about vampires, here was one in the flesh. My mother had said they looked just like normal people, but she was wrong. With the perfection of his skin and that tingling energy coming off him, I couldn’t understand how anyone thought he was human.
A sudden fear gripped me. Could he tell what I was? Was that why he’d stopped me? My stomach gave a frightened lurch. I grabbed the gin and tonic, downing it in one swallow.
The vampire gave me a surprised glance before ordering another one. “Thirsty, aren’t you?” he remarked.
“Aren’t you?” I blurted out, then nearly choked. Smart one, Catherine.
“Of course.” He brought his glass to his mouth and took a sip, then smiled. “That’s better.”
I suppressed a scoff, my mother’s words ringing in my head. They’re demons, Catherine. Monsters. All they want to do is trick people so they can get them alone and kill them. We’d see about that.
“What’s your name?” My tone was steady, but nerves made me gulp my second drink as quickly as I had the first one. It was finished before he answered me.
“Anthony.”
“Anthony what?” I stared right into his eyes now, challenging him. A strange peace had descended over me. It was a savage serenity, but with purpose. Danny had dumped me, I had no friends, and my life was a constant source of shame for my mother. What did I have to lose? This vampire was out for blood, but maybe I could turn the tables on him.
“Anthony Dansen. What’s yours, beautiful girl?”
I knew he’d probably given me a fake name, and after Danny, I never wanted to hear another man call me Catherine.
“My name is… Cat.” And you are my mouse, or I am yours. May the best beast win.
He smiled, confident and predatory. “Cat what?”
I looked at his hair. It was so dark it could have belonged on a bird’s wing. “Raven.”
“Isn’t that unusual? One half on the opposite spectrum from the other.”
With an answering, cold smile, I finished my drink, signaling the waiter for another one. “You have no idea.”
***
After nine more drinks, I allowed Anthony to convince me that I was in no shape to drive. I was kind of surprised that I wasn’t drunk from all the booze, but so far so good. Anthony was very considerate, helping me as I pretended to stagger toward the exit. He’d even been a great listener as I told him how I’d been dumped by Danny. Why not? One of us was going to be dead by sunup, so no need to worry about him repeating my humiliating confession. Anthony had oozed sympathy too. It was a good act. If I hadn’t known what he was, gullible me might have bought it.
We stopped by my truck so I could get my purse, since I insisted I couldn’t leave without it. What he didn’t know was that I had a surprise inside that bag, something my mom had given me. I’d soon find out if it was as effective as she’d hoped. I gave Anthony directions in the exact opposite of where I lived. If I died, I didn’t want him to look up my family. My driver’s license was the fake one, so the address on it was bogus. In short, I was as ready as I was ever going to be.
When I climbed into his car, a lovely dark blue Passat, I put my purse between my body and the interior door. Then I pretended to snooze as we got underway, but in reality, I was reaching into my bag to wrap my fingers around a large silver cross.
I wasn’t praying; the cross had a hidden silver dagger inside of it. Some kids got new cars on their sixteenth birthday. My mom had given me a big cross that had a secret switchblade in it. Soon enough I’d find out if silver actually killed vampires, or if crosses repelled them. I would have liked to have had a piece of sharp wood too, just in case, but I hadn’t figured on running into a vampire.
Anthony drove in silence for about twenty minutes before he turned off the highway and onto a side road. I knew this because even though my eyes were closed, I could feel the ground change from concrete to bumpy dirt and gravel. Still, I continued my sleeping act. After about fifteen minutes, Anthony stopped. My hand tightened around the cross until it ached. Since my heart was pounding now, which even I could hear, I quit faking sleep and opened my eyes.
Rows of trees were in front of me. Through them, I could see the silvery outline of water. If you wanted to suck someone’s blood and dump their body
in a secluded place, this spot was postcard-perfect for it.
“Where are we?” I didn’t have to fake the tremor in my voice. I was completely alone with a monster who would most likely kill me.
“I wanted to pull off and spend some time with you. You don’t like the sound of that?” Anthony made his voice sound vulnerable and sexy. Quite an act, but then practice probably made perfect.
“I want to go home. I’m tired, a little drunk, and I think we should leave.”
There. I’d said it firmly. If I was crazy and he was just a regular guy looking for a good time, he’d put the keys back in the ignition and drive off. No harm, no foul.
To my complete lack of surprise, he smiled instead and touched my cheek. “You’re beautiful, Cat.” He moved closer, leaning in until his mouth was inches from mine. “Kiss me.”
His voice dropped to a lower, deeper octave. Smooth as the air outside. He didn’t wait for my response but kissed me, his mouth slanting over mine. Anthony’s lips were cooler than mine, but I’d been braced for him feeling cold and gross, and I was surprised when he didn’t. The thought flashed through my mind that he was a much better kisser than Danny had been too. That was completely absurd, however, because we were here to kill each other.
“Anthony, don’t.” I pressed against his chest. It didn’t move him an inch. My right hand tightened on the concealed cross. “I want to go home.”
He stopped kissing me and lifted his head. I screamed, unable to help it. His eyes, which had been hazel at the bar, now glowed a clear bright green. A cruel smile wreathed his face, and yes, poking out from between his lips were pointy, murderous-looking teeth.
“I’m sorry, Cat, but you won’t be going anywhere tonight.”
His voice had lost that seductive tone. My heart hammered, seeming to be stuck somewhere in my throat. For a few moments that seemed to stretch longer, I watched Anthony bend toward my neck.
“Your eyes are glowing,” I whispered. “Guess what? Mine can, too.”
“What?”
Anthony glanced up at me right as I struck. My hand flew out, and with all my strength, I plunged that cross dagger into his back, aiming where I guessed his heart would be.
He howled so loud it shook the windows. Then he reared back, trying to reach the weapon in his body. I held on, knowing if I let go, it would be all over. With a savageness I didn’t know lay in me, I twisted the blade, wrenching it from side to side. Anthony backhanded me so hard the window cracked when my head hit it. In the split second I let go, he grabbed for the knife.
I kicked at him, my body braced against the door. Since both his hands were clawing at his back, Anthony’s face was unprotected. My feet landed with a solid thunk, snapping his head back. When his fist arced at me again, I threw myself forward, ducking to avoid his blow and groping for the knife. Fangs sank into my shoulder. I screamed as Anthony tried to chew his way up to my neck. His fists beat on my back until every one of my ribs felt broken. The pain was so great—I knew at any moment I’d pass out and never wake up. But even if I was going to die, maybe, just maybe, I could take him with me. I focused all my remaining effort on the dagger, missing it twice before finally grabbing it again. It was slick with blood, and I curled my fingers around the arms of the cross to anchor my grip. Then I scissored it madly left and right, my vision blackening as Anthony continued to tear at my shoulder and crush me with his fists. With the last bit of strength in me, I gave the dagger one final slanted thrust.
All at once, Anthony’s mouth went slack, his arms dropped, and he fell onto me as if unconscious. Even through the haze of overwhelming pain, I smiled.
My last thought before the darkness claimed me was This one’s for you, Mom.
***
Feelings returned slowly to me. My back ached. Something heavy was on me. My leg was twisted. My shoulder hurt. I tasted blood in my mouth. I was still alive.
That made me snap my eyes open. The first thing I saw was Anthony’s face. His mouth hung open, his tongue lolled out, and his features had somehow sunken and withered. He was on top of me, and I was contorted at an odd angle so that I was halfway under the glove box. The blood I’d tasted in my mouth was apparently his since it had run in a disgusting red trail from the hamburger of his back down to my face.
I spat it out, terrified, because I’d clearly swallowed some of it. I pushed at Anthony’s body but couldn’t get enough traction to get out from under him. Fumbling, I reached behind me and groped around for the door handle. Ah, there it was. One tug later and the door spilled open. I wiggled backward, twisting, until I got enough space between us to kick Anthony back and fall out of the car. From my vantage point in the dirt, the car looked like a pig slaughter. Blood was splattered on the windshield, dashboard, and seats. Add that to a ripped-up man in the front, and there was no way I could drive this into town to get my truck. Somehow I didn’t think the police would believe me if I told them the thing I’d killed in it was a vampire. “But honestly, Officer, he tried to suck my blood!” No, better not try to go public with this.
So, then. Unless I wanted to go to jail, I had to get rid of the car and the body. But how?
I gave Anthony’s corpse an assessing look. Could I burn him? It would be hard trying to torch him with just the cigarette lighter. To be honest, I was a little surprised that he hadn’t spontaneously combusted. They always did in the movies. Maybe he wasn’t really dead after all. The thought chilled me.
All right, first things first. I needed to make sure the thing in the car really was a corpse before I worried about disposing of one. I got up, leaning cautiously over the open door.
The dagger still stuck out of Anthony’s back like some macabre trophy. With a grimace, I rolled him over so he was faceup.
My stomach gave a sickening lurch. Anthony looked even worse than he had before. His skin was like cracked leather, his lips were pulled away from his teeth, his hands clawlike, and his chest seemed to shrink within itself. If he wasn’t dead, he was doing an Oscar-winning performance. Still, I wanted to be sure, so I looked around the backseat for another weapon. Some part of me was afraid if I removed the dagger, Anthony would leap up and attack me.
The backseat was useless. There was nothing, not even a toothpick. The glove box was empty of everything but registration papers, which were not to Anthony Dansen but to a Felicity Summers. I said a quick, silent prayer for Felicity, although I knew it was probably too late. Then as a last resort, I got out and opened the trunk.
“Good God.”
I spoke aloud, shocked into doing so. The trunk looked like a Hannibal Lecter starter kit. There was an ax, oversized garbage bags, duct tape, a shovel, extra clothes, and baby wipes. Baby wipes? Mentally I shuddered at the thought of why they were there. As horrifying as the objects in the trunk were, they were tailor-made to suit my purposes. Already I was thinking like a murderer.
Another tremor passed over me as I realized, belatedly, these things were here for me. It made my blood run cold to know these items would have been used in my body’s disposal, if Anthony had had his way.
A feeling of vengeful satisfaction coursed through me. Never again would anyone be bled and killed by this vampire. Now, to be sure he was really, truly dead. After a moment of contemplation, I picked up the ax. Two hours later, I was finished. Sweat stuck to me, and I felt like if I showered a thousand times, I would still never be clean. But it was done. Anthony’s head was buried about a quarter mile into the woods. His body was hidden half a mile away in the opposite direction. If that didn’t ensure he stayed dead, I was all out of ideas.
After debating with myself about what to do with the car, I settled on cleaning it as best as I could with the baby wipes. Then I opened all the windows and pushed it down to the edge of the lake. With luck it would sink to the bottom and never be seen again. As though I were dreaming, I watched the car founder in the water for a few moments before it disappeared. Then I looked down at myself. My jeans and T-shirt were ruined. I st
ripped to don the extra clothes my would-be murderer had provided—and then stopped short, gaping at my shoulder.
There was no wound. Sure, it was still red from blood, mine and the vampire’s, but where there should have been messy punctures from Anthony’s teeth, there was nothing but smooth skin. Seized with memory, I gripped my ribs. They should have hurt. In fact, I shouldn’t have been able to do any of the things I’d done in the past few hours, what with the beating Anthony had given me. But I felt… fine.
Panic surged in me. How had I healed that fast? Sure, I healed faster than anyone else when I scraped my knees or got a cut, but nothing like this had happened before. Oh no. What if…?
In desperation, I pressed my fingers to my throat. Relief coursed through me when I felt my pulse’s strong, steady beat. Then I held my breath for as long as possible before gasping and gulping in air. Okay, I still needed to breathe and my heart was still working, so no, I hadn’t turned into a vampire.
My head spun with possibilities. Could his bite have affected me this much? What about his blood? How much of it had I swallowed when it dripped into my mouth? It was all too disturbing to contemplate. Later I would think about it. Right now I had a murder to cover up. I pulled on the spare shirt. It was too long, but style was the least of my concerns. Next came the pants, which I rolled at the legs and the waistband. My bloody, ruined clothes I stuffed into one of the garbage bags. When I was farther away, I’d bury them, but not too close to the body—either piece of it.
With the last of the baby wipes, I scrubbed the blood from my hands, face and shoulders. No wonder Anthony had the wipes, they really did the trick. Lastly, I stuck the crucifix in my pants. There. I’d done the best cover-up and body disposal I could. Hopefully no one would ever find the remains of the vampire or the car. It was time to leave. I had a very long walk ahead of me.