Harsh Light of Day

by Jaye A. Jones

  **

  The masculine female vampire snarled and snapped, flashing her fully extended fangs at Will and Lena. Mostly at Lena.

  Will would be an afterthought for the monster. Dessert. It was clear she was not there for him.

  No one moved. The flickering of the torches made the shadows in the room dance across the faces of the two women, and Will had to remind himself to breathe.

  But it was easy now, not to be too scared. All of his adrenaline had been used up. His body and mind were exhausted beyond anything he’d ever felt before. Will was just happy he was still on his feet, still holding his head up. And that Lena was okay.

  If they made it out alive, it would be a miracle.

  That they made it this far and were still alive was already a miracle.

  Lena didn’t seem as worn out as Will felt, but she had to be. She hadn’t eaten…well, in two decades. Would the blood she drank from him not a half hour ago still sustain her?

  He held back the desire to gag at the thought.

  “I know why you think you have to do this,” Lena said, boldly taking a step in front of Will, who didn’t protest. He was shocked she was speaking to the vampire woman so confidently.

  The vampire spat her words in a high-pitched screech that rang in Will’s ears. “What could you know, human?”

  “You think he will want to turn me back. You think he will get rid of you like he got rid of the others, and take me for his new consort.”

  The vampire’s expression was undeniable. Lena had hit a chord.

  Will didn’t think she thought it through all that well. Antagonizing a predator you were trapped in a room with didn’t seem like the best idea to him. But they were still alive. That was something.

  Besides, Will didn’t feel compelled to take the reins from Lena. His contribution would be to cower behind her, and feel emasculated about it later.

  “I will leave this place. We will disappear.”

  “He will find you.”

  “I don’t want Charles.”

  “Do not dare speak my King’s name,” the creature squawked, spit dripping from her watering mouth and off the tips of her long fangs.

  Will couldn’t figure out how she could be so relaxed, but Lena responded calmly, in an almost cavalier tone. “I don’t want to be a vampire.”

  “My King will not consider that a concern.”

  Watching the back of Lena’s head like it would give him some answers if he stared hard enough, Will understood how very little he knew about this world, their way of life. Or death. Maybe Lena’s experience gave her the assurance that she could talk their way out of this. Or bide their time.

  Looking around the dim room, Will couldn’t see any weapons, not that he felt the urge to use any. It was obviously a kitchen, but there were no cleavers or knives conveniently located within arm’s reach like there would have been in the movies. There were no utensils, no pots and pans. Nothing to defend themselves with whatsoever.

  Not that it would have done any good. But putting up a fight, even a little, pointless one would be nice.

  Lena finally spoke again after what seemed like forever to Will. “You cannot drink our blood. Even getting it on you may be dangerous.”

  This made the vampire woman shut her menacing mouth and straighten up slightly. “Dangerous? That’s absurd.”

  “Have you ever heard of a vaccine?”

  The vampire squinted and tilted her head to the side. “Vaccine?”

  “Or…antibodies?”

  The vampire squinted even harder.

  “Our blood now contains antibodies against vampire blood. This is why when I drank from him, I returned to human form. Are you prepared to be human again?”

  “I—” the vampire began, but she was completely upright now, no longer in position to pounce.

  Lena continued, taking another bold and impressive step toward the hesitating vampire.

  “If you have contact with our blood, what happened to me will happen to you. Do you remember being human, Delilah? What are you, two hundred years old?”

  “Two hundred forty four,” she muttered, and it was obvious she didn’t mean to say it out loud.

  Will was possibly starting to see vampires better. Maybe they weren’t all that different than humans after all.

  “Who knows what being human again would be like for you. I was only twenty.”

  The vampire nodded, and the next second, the blonde and her boyfriend flanked her, grabbing her arms and forcing her into the center of the kitchen. She hadn’t noticed their approach, and Will knew her heightened senses should have picked up on it.

  “Was that true?” Will whispered to Lena, who was watching with wide eyes at the three vampires struggling.

  “I have absolutely no idea,” she said, not taking her eyes off what was happening. Lena shrugged her shoulders. “It could be.”

  Will was surprised he could chuckle. “That was pretty brilliant.”

  “I was pretty smart once.”

  “Release me this instant. Would you harm your King’s consort?” the vampire woman said arrogantly.

  The blonde released the other vampire’s arm and walked away. The boyfriend didn’t let her go, and remained clutching her. Though she was trying to act like she wasn’t, she was straining to get away from him.

  “I will not do anything to Charles’s consort. You are right, Delilah.” She turned to Lena expectantly, and Lena somehow knew what she was asking.

  “Under this island,” she pointed, and the blonde disappeared. Will didn’t see her go.

  As both of the humans were looking the other way after the blonde, trying to see where she went, a shriek pierced their ears. It all happened so fast, there wasn’t time for them to fight or flee.

  The vampire’s teeth were inches from Lena’s face. She snarled, and then the blonde’s boyfriend was beside her. Will hadn’t been able to see their movements. Just their destinations.

  “No,” he said simply, but the vampire woman lunged.

  It took their human eyes many blinks to figure out what had happened. First, they saw the vampire woman’s distorted face, her mouth straining in pain.

  Then, they saw the extinguished torch that ran through her chest and out the other side.