A sarcastic smile curved the corners of my mouth. “A moroi? You mean a vampire? No. I’m glad she’s doing alright after whatever all this was, but I don’t believe you.” I waved my hand around to indicate the bed and the blood.
Maria snorted, “Believe, don’t believe, we don’t care.”
I was dismissed and well aware of it.
As I walked through the living room, I declined several more shots of clear liquid before making it out the door.
Outside, I just stood there in the afternoon summer heat and closed my eyes.
Before I heard him, I sensed him.
Alexei.
“I’ve seen humans explain away many things. It happens every day. But you’ll see. She’s already changing.”
“Who, your grandmother?” I asked with a laugh.
“Who else? You’ve seen my mother. She’s fifty-eight years old.” He told me, stubbing out his cigarette into a glass ashtray.
“No, she’s not. She’s not your mother either—she can’t be—Kira’s younger than you. How old are you?”
“I’m thirty-nine.”
I narrowed my eyes, he didn’t look it. Thirty…maybe thirty-five.
I shivered and questioned what I’d seen.
Were they liars?
Something else?
“When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth,” he quoted Sherlock Holmes.
I could quote with the best of them.
I smirked and raised an eyebrow in challenge. “The simplest solution is likely the most probable—Occam’s razor.”
Alexei shrugged and bit his lower lip on the ring, making a slight ping.
I wouldn’t let this go so quickly. “Have you heard the saying, ‘When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras?”
He shrugged… “I’ve heard it. But instead of zebra’s, think vampires.”
I shook my head, “This is nothing but trickery and bullshit. Believing in vampires wouldn’t even be a zebra, it would be like believing in…I don’t know… a hippogriff…”
He laughed, “A hippogriff? Like in Harry Potter? Did you ever think that a lot of these legends and myths were based in truth?”
This time I laughed as I walked to my car. “Sure. Hippogriffs and vampires…”
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About the Author
T.L. lives in Colorado with her husband and two children. She’s a graduate from the University of Colorado in Boulder and an avid outdoorswoman. When she's not outside or writing, you'll find her playing the Sims, a new Nancy Drew Mystery or watching some Netflix. For more information or to contact T.L. visit her at www.TLChristianson.com.
Shades of Red Page 66