by Emily Knight
Peter rushed down the street and reached the park in ten minutes. He took a different path to avoid the spot where he'd found the drained student, and the way turned out to be longer than he expected. He reached the meeting tree ten minutes after sunset. The spot was empty. He glanced up and down the path, but there was no sign of Ana.
"Psst," a voice whispered.
Peter whipped his head to and fro, but didn't see anyone. "Ana?" he called out.
"Up here."
Peter looked above him and noticed a large bat seated on a tree limb. It swooped down and changed into a human form so smoothly that her feet landed lightly on the ground.
Peter's eyes widened and he grinned. "That is so awesome."
Ana blushed. "It's nothing. Any vampire can fly."
"You're so lucky you can do that. So is it true about the garlic and wooden stakes?" he wondered.
She smiled. "We do have an allergy to garlic, and a stake to the heart would kill just about anything."
Peter sheepishly smiled and shrugged. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He looked her up and down, admiring her assets and potential assets. "So what else can you do?"
She grabbed his hand and pulled him into the park path. "Other things, but why don't we talk about you?"
He grinned at her blushing face as they walked along the path. "You've got to be the only girl who wants to talk about someone other than yourself."
Ana shrugged and looked ahead. "I don't get a chance to talk with anyone except my dad and Roger."
Peter arched an eyebrow. "Who's Roger?"
"He's an old friend of my dad's, a scientist who has his lab in the basement," she explained. "You just missed him last night. I heard him speaking to Dad after you left."
Peter's face fell at the mention of her father. He slipped ahead of Ana and turned so they faced each other. "Yeah, about last night. There's something I need to talk to you about."
Ana furrowed her brow and scrutinized his face. "What? What's wrong?"
He pursed his lips. "As I was walking home I kind of stumbled on an almost-dead guy."
Ana tilted her head to one side and frowned. "A human or zombie?"
"This guy wasn't quite dead, but a lot of his blood was drained from his body," Peter told her.
Her blushing cheeks paled. "Were there-were there holes in his neck?"
He nodded. "Two of them."
Ana pulled her hands from his grasp and turned away. She held her forehead in one hand and shook her head. "This. . .this can't be. You must be mistaken."
He shook his head. "Nope, and the police are looking for the person who did it. They're going to be looking all over this park searching for clues."
She walked a few paces ahead of him and closed her eyes. "This is. . .this is terrible." She wrapped her arms around herself. "Dad was right. I should never have come out here."
Peter walked up and grasped her upper arms. She tilted her head back to look up into his face. He smiled down at her. "But then we wouldn't have met."
She bit her lip and turned away. "I know, but I've made such a mess of things. What if they search the woods and find my home? What if they find my dad and-" She paused and shuddered. "What if they destroy him? It would all be my fault."
Peter turned her toward and looked into her sorrow-filled face. His voice was low, but firm. "Listen to me. You didn't do anything wrong by coming out here, and the police aren't going to find you. I mean, you're not the one who killed the guy, so how can they trace anything back to you, right?"
She managed a weak smile and nodded. "You're right, I'm being stupid. It's just-well, I just don't want my dad to know we're meeting like this, and I don't want our secret to be discovered because I wanted to meet you again so much."
"He won't find out, but if you're worried we could go back to your place," he suggested.
Her mouth dropped open. "And let him find out you're a human?"
Peter smiled and shrugged. "Hey, if he didn't realize I was a human last night then he won't know tonight." He took her hand and led her down the path in the direction of her home. "Besides, I want you to show me around your home. It looks like a neat place."
"I-I guess, but it's really not that interesting," she countered.
He stopped and smiled at her. "Your vines tried to bite my hands off and your dogs are hell hounds. How can that not be interesting?"
She shrugged. "That's just normal."
"Then I want to see what other normal stuff you have around there," he persisted.
She pulled her hand from his and stepped back. "I think we'd be safer if we stayed here," she insisted.
A flashlight shone on them and a man in a uniform emerged from the trees. "Who's there?" a gruff voice called to them.
"I don't think we will!" Peter countered as he grabbed her hand and pulled her after him.
"Halt! Stop! This is the police!" the man yelled.
Peter led Ana down the path and the flashlight followed them. He took a hard left and crashed into the brush. His plan was to lose the officer, but they were bogged down by the thorns. He twisted and pulled his way through with Ana behind him and the officer behind her on the path. The policeman hesitated for only a moment before he pushed his way after them.
"Don't move too much when I catch you!" Ana told him.
He furrowed his brow and glanced over his shoulder at her. "What do you-" Her face was already furry with bat fur and the fingers he held were a small stick of a hand. She flapped her wings and latched her claws onto his collar like the night before.
Peter's feet left the ground and he tucked his legs against himself to avoid the bushes. He grinned and whooped. "Yeah, now this is traveling in style!" He looked back and watched the officer, who was trapped in the bushes, recede into the distance.
Ana pulled them up so they flew over the canopy of the trees. Peter's eyes widened when they broke through the branches. Above them was a clear sky full of countless stars. Below them was the earth covered in the fallen leaves. They climbed high enough that he could see his house from that height.
"This is still cool," he commented.
"It is a beautiful night," Ana agreed.
He looked up at his bat escort. "So we headed to your house?"
Ana sighed, but nodded. "Yeah, I guess, but you have to be careful. My dad-well, he doesn't like humans at all."
"No problem, I'll just wing it," he replied.
CHAPTER 9