“Jaysus, Alvin,” Collin says. “It’s a vampire. And it’s coming right for us.”
I turn back to Rafa and mouth “vampire” as obviously as I can. To his credit, he doesn’t startle, even a little. He just gives me another head nod, removes one of the stakes from his belt, and takes a position just to the side of the door.
Everyone in the room is dead silent.
Except for their breathing. And heartbeats. And little involuntary shifts, clothing rubbing against itself, along with a million other things I can totally hear. If I pay attention, I can tell the difference between Rafa’s pulse and everyone else’s. It’s thicker,strongersomehow. I can take in all of that—and I’ve just been aware of my enhanced paranormal senses for a few minutes. A vampire could potentially have centuries to practice.
The velvet tip, tip, tip continues, then stops for an excruciating moment halfway down the hall.
Then the footsteps become a run. Toward us.
Rafa must catch my frightened expression because his body tenses and his lips become a grim, murderous line. He pulls back the stake in his right fist to his shoulder.
ThenWHOOSH! The door rips open and a gray suit with claws and fangs flings itself into the room in a blur. Rafa is on the creature instantly, grabbing its neck and stabbing down hard with the sharp wood. But the vampire is so fast, the weapon just brushes past the monster’s shoulder, and they both go tumbling down, carried by momentum.
Hunter and vampire now roll on the floor in the center of the room, twisting back and forth furiously as Rafa tries to get on top to pin the monster in place. Both of the wooden chairs get slammed. (One even gets kicked in the air—I’m not sure by who—and it smashes into the bars on the next cell. A tall girl with long, stringy black hair flinches and stumbles back to her cot.) (She doesn’t scream, though!)
The vampire is hissing like an angry cat. Rafa just seems to growl. It’s an incredible racket, and I’m afraid they’re going to crash into me at any minute. Obviously, I can’t focus on the lock. All I can do is stare over my shoulder and hold the tension in the cylinder so when Rafa does get the upper hand, I won’t lose any of the progress I made. (There are only a few more stacks to go!)
Luckily, my faith in the Monster Hunter is not misplaced. It doesn’t even take long. He’s strong enough that once the chairs are out of the way, he’s able to twisthis full weight on top of the vampire and pin both the creature’s arms above its head with one hand. Then in a flash, he raises his sharp wooden stake with the other, bicep flaring with force. The vamp can do nothing but look up in terror. It’s over.
Until it isn’t. Because Rafa freezes, staring down, eyes wide.
For a hot second, I wonder if he’s somehow been hypnotized or charmed or something. I don’t know enough about vampires to rule it out.
The Hunter’s eyes aren’t vacant, though. Instead, they soften with confusion and recognition—and his voice comes out in a strangled rasp.
“Dad?”
Uh, what the what now?!
The vampire smiles, fangs hidden. “Rafa. Thank God you’re here. You’vesavedme.”
His expression is warm. Grateful. Trustworthy. Fatherly.
And, of course, complete bullshit. It has to be.
“Rafa! Don’t trust him!” I cry out, as quickly as I can.
I’m desperate for him to hear me. And he does. He looks to me, confused, distraught, distracted. And that’s all the creature needs.
As a Monster Hunter, Rafa is stronger than an ordinary human and he’s got mad skills. But a vampire can have the strength of up to ten men and the speed of a hungry cobra. With a furious burst, it twists its torso, spinning Rafa onto his back and freeing its arms. And then before the Hunter can react, the creature hammershis forehead with the base of its palm, twice. Rafa slumps to the floor, out cold.
I stare, jaw loose, shoulders twisted around, as the vampire smoothly rises to its feet. It coolly peers down at Rafa, while it casually brushes an errant wrinkle out of its silky jacket with the back of its fingers. I’m still holding tension in the keyway with the tools.
Collin’s voice is right up to my ear, and he sounds scared. “Alvin, let go of the lock. We’re in trouble.”
You think?
25
The vampire considersRafa’s unconscious form, his lower lip pushed up in a pout. “You know, I’ve done my best to keep him safe and away from all this. But I suppose this day was inevitable.” He fluidly swivels on his heels to take me in. Velociraptor smile. “So… who would you be?”
Turns out Rafa’s father is a handsome man. At least as far as dead guys go. He looks like he was in his early 40s when he was turned. He’s got his son’s strong jaw but has mocha eyes to Rafa’s hazel ones. His cadaver-pale skin still retains a bit of south-of-the-border bronze. He’s shorter than his son, and his muscles are more compact, but not by much. The charcoal suit with peaked lapels looks custom and drapes his form in high-class, athletic lines. There’s a glimmer of ozone-tinted magic under his shirt near his throat.
“Keep him talking, Alvin. I just— I just need a minute. Feck!” Collin darts in close enough that I feel his breath now. It’s ragged.
I don’t think we’re actually going to get a minute. But the Avatar of Knowledge is doing his looking-up-and-scanning-the-ceiling thing. Guess I’ll figure it out!
