by Lana Melyan
“No. Craig . . . there are only three now.”
Amanda and Kimberly stared at Hanna.
“Oh, God,” Kimberly gasped suddenly. “They’ll kill them. They’ll kill them both.”
“Kimberly, they’ll be fine,” said Hanna. “I promise, Ruben won’t have a scratch on him. You’ll get him back as new and shiny as he was.”
Riley looked at Hanna inquisitively.
“Yeah.” Hanna sighed again. “They’re dating.”
“Guys, time is running,” said Amanda impatiently.
“Right,” said Riley. “I have bad news. There are seven more of them.”
“Oh, no,” whispered Amanda. She leaned forward and covered her face with both hands.
“What? How do you know?” Hanna asked.
“I’ve been tailing them for a week. Tonight they came here. There’s a house beside the grove, and that’s where they're supposed to meet the others. I was coming to tell you.”
“Riley, what are we going to do?”
“First, I want to know how this happened. She shouldn’t be outside after dark. What was Craig thinking?”
“It wasn’t his fault,” said Amanda, “It was me. Hanna warned me, but I didn’t listen.”
Riley thought for a moment, then took out his cellphone and made a call.
“Hello, Melinda. It’s Riley.”
Amanda, who was blankly staring at the antique vase standing on the coffee table, blinked.
“Yes, I’m here,” Riley was saying. “We have a problem. . . . No, she’s fine, she’s here with us.”
Amanda gazed at him, then at Hanna.
“Melinda?” Kimberly asked, pointing her finger at Amanda.
Hanna pressed her lips together and looked down.
“They have Craig and Ruben,” Riley said into the phone. “We’ll need your help. All right. We’ll pick you up.”
“What the hell is this?” Amanda jumped to her feet. “Is this a joke? What does Melinda have to do with anything?”
Hanna and Riley exchanged a glance.
“Melinda is . . .” started Riley.
“Riley, no,” protested Hanna.
“Hanna, they’re coming,” said Riley, and his face hardened. “That means they’re going to make a move, and we have no idea what they’re planning. We can’t afford any more mistakes.” He turned to Amanda. “After your mother died, we put Melinda into your house to look after you. All these years she’s been trying to keep you safe, the same as Hanna and Craig. What happened today is unacceptable. It puts you and everybody around you in danger. You have to be careful.”
Amanda’s eyes filled with tears. Riley’s gaze softened. He walked to her and put his hands on her shoulders.
“We all care about you. I know that you’re scared and confused, but it will be over soon. What you are going to do is very important. It’s important for all of us. Believe me—you want this to happen. You’ll see.” He smiled.
“I don’t even know what it is I have to do.”
“You will. When the moment comes—you will.”
Amanda nodded.
“When you say ‘important for all of us’. . .” said Kimberly.
Riley looked at Hanna. “I don’t think I can answer that.”
“We’ll see what happens,” said Hanna.
“Hanna, let’s go.” Riley headed to the front door.
“I still don’t understand,” said Amanda. “How can Melinda help?”
Riley looked back.
“She knows some tricks. Melinda is a very special and powerful woman. Otherwise we wouldn’t entrust you to her.”
Amanda nodded again, then stepped to Hanna.
“Hanna, I’m so sorry,” she sniffed. “God, I hope they’re all right.”
“We’ll fix this,” said Hanna. “Now listen. Close the door after us and don’t open it to anybody.”
“Like they can’t break in if they want to,” said Kimberly, eyeing the windows.
“They can’t,” said Hanna. “You’re safe as long as you’re in the house. Whatever happens—don’t let anybody in and don’t step out.”
“Don’t worry about us. Just be careful,” said Amanda.
Amanda and Kimberly stood in silence for a moment after Hanna and Riley left.
An image of Melinda, sitting on the edge of her dying mother’s bed in the hospital, flickered in front of Amanda’s eyes. Then she thought of Riley. When he looked at her, she felt the same tumult she had experienced during the conversation with Ruben. She trusted him the moment she saw him. Why? Why didn’t Riley, who just killed two men in front of her eyes, seem like a killer to her? Maybe because she trusted Hanna? No, it wasn’t just that. Amanda didn’t think Riley was a killer because something was telling her that it was the right thing to do. Hanna said those men were already dead, and they looked dead. Within a minute they had changed and looked as if they had died months ago. They can’t get into the house, the moment you’re in, you’re safe, she remembered Hanna’s words. Who were those men? Were they . . . The tumult came back, and Amanda’s heartbeat rose. She knew the answer and, no matter how crazy it seemed, she was sure it was the right one.
Kimberly went to lock the door.
“There’s no need for that,” muttered Amanda the moment she turned the key. “They can’t come in unless you invite them.”
“Very funny,” grumped Kimberly. “I am freaked out enough without your nonsense.”
Even though Amanda hadn’t meant to say them aloud, the words just pushed themselves out. What surprised her most was that they didn’t sound like nonsense to her. Amanda was absolutely certain that those two bodies, which a little while ago were lying on the porch, were dead vampires. Riley just killed two vampires.
Kimberly went to the kitchen and looked out the window.
“They took the Jeep. What do you think they’re going to do with the bodies?”
Amanda walked into the kitchen and sat at the table.
“I don’t know,” she said absently.
Stunned by her discovery, she reversed in her mind everything that had happened in the past few days, looking for more proof. It was just a piece of wood, said Hanna when Amanda asked if Craig was pressing a knife against Mark’s back the night after the party; She shouldn’t be outside after dark Riley had said just a moment ago.
Kimberly sat down across from her. “Amanda, what’s going on?”
“Huh?” said Amanda, a little startled.
“I’m lost in conjectures. I have so many questions that I don’t know where to begin.”
“Join the club.”
“You keep saying it’s your fault. You know something.”
“Don’t you see? They got hurt because they were trying to protect me. So whose fault is that?”
“But those guys, they haven’t always been here, have they?”
“No, I never heard about them before. It started on my birthday. Remember at the lake you said you heard noises?”
“Yes.”
“Somebody was watching us.”
“But Hanna said—”
“I know. She lied, okay? She didn’t want to scare us. But I was there when she told Craig about them. She said that there were two pale guys in hoodies . . . Pale,” she repeated, amazed, then she remembered the look Craig and Hanna had exchanged at that moment.
“Pale? Those men Riley just killed, they were pale too, really pale.”
“They’re all pale,” murmured Amanda, like she was talking to herself.
“I understand now.”
“You do?” Amanda stared at her.
“If she knew someone follows us. . . I mean, that explains Hanna’s behavior. I understand why she was always so careful and suspicious,” said Kimberly, pondering.
“Yeah,” sighed Amanda. “Since then I couldn’t go anywhere without Hanna, or one of her family.”
“And you have no idea what this is all about, what those guys want?”
“No. But I have this feeling. It’s lik
e I know, but I just can’t remember.”
“Do they know? I mean, Hanna and the others.”
“Yes.”
“Then why won’t they tell you?”
The answer to this question, which Amanda herself had been seeking this all time, was now clear.
“Because it’s something bizarre, unusual, and they’re afraid I won’t believe them and it’ll only frighten me. They think I’m not ready for it. Kimberly, they don’t know how to tell you, but you can’t go anywhere alone either.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re my friend. You heard Riley. Everybody around me is in danger. Thank God Dad is not here. How would I explain this to him?”
“That’s why Ruben. . . He’s watching after me.” Kimberly looked confused. “Amanda, is he just trying to protect me?”
“No. He told Hanna he really likes you.”
“He did?” whispered Kimberly with a weak smile. It disappeared a second later. “Do you think they’ll be all right? Riley just killed two of those men. If the others find out . . . Why would Riley do that?” Kimberly’s voice was angry now. “He could have just knocked them down. He seemed like a normal guy, but he acted like a cold-blooded killer. He snapped those men’s neck so deftly, like he’s been doing it his entire life.”
“Kimberly, Riley is not a killer. He did what he had to do.”
“What makes you so sure? You don’t know who he is. You just met him.”
“Does Hanna look like a killer to you, or Ruben, or Craig? Even Melinda is in on this with them. I don’t know how to explain it to you.” Amanda struggled to find the right words. She could see now why it was so difficult for Hanna, Craig, Ruben, and now Riley, to answer her questions. “Trust me on this, okay?”
21
“My poor Amanda,” sighed Melinda after Hanna told her what happened. “You scared the hell out of her.”
“We scared the hell out of Kimberly, but Amanda,” said Hanna, looking back at Melinda from the front seat of the car, “she was in shock at first, but when she looked at Riley, her face changed.”
“She clutched her wrist,” said Riley puzzled. “Why?”
“She was wearing the bracelet on that hand,” said Hanna, then suddenly she realized why. “Riley, she felt the connection, she felt the connection between you and the bracelet.”
“My poor girl,” said Melinda again. “Those feelings are haunting her, and she can’t understand what they mean.”
Riley stopped the car at the edge of the grove and turned off the engine.
“It’s here,” he said, pointing at the road. “Around that bend.”
“Melinda, what are you planning to do?” Hanna asked.
“I am going to seal the house and make them unwelcome again. They’ll pop out of it like champagne corks. To do so, I need to get inside first. I could disable two or three, but there are too many. If they all come out together, I won’t be able to stop them.”
“I think we can help you with that,” said Riley. “This is their car; they won’t expect us to come out of it.”
“No,” said Hanna. “But they’ll probably be very curious if they think the two vampires who chased us got Amanda and are bringing her to them.”
“Let’s just hope that all ten of them don’t come running to satisfy their curiosity.”
But then they looked at each other.
“Actually that would be perfect,” said Hanna.
“Right.”
“Can we do that?”
“Let me think.” After a moment, Riley spoke again. “There’s a clearing in front of the house and a grove behind it. You two walk there from here. When you reach the house, find a place to hide, as close as you can. I’ll put the bodies on the seats, stop the car in the front yard, and run. If not all of them, I’m sure most of them will come out to look at their dead friends. It’ll be very risky to get in through the front door, so look for an open window or some backdoor which we can use. Let me know when you’re ready.”
“Take this,” said Hanna, and she handed him a stake.
Hanna and Melinda rounded the turn and kept close to the trees as they went down the road. Now they could see a big one-story house standing in the middle of the large open space. Another black Jeep and Craig’s car, which Hanna assumed Mark used to get here, were parked in front of it. Nobody was inside or near the vehicles. The porch light was on, and Hanna could see that two benches standing on either side of the door were empty, too.
Hanna and Melinda got closer to the backyard. They squatted behind the bushes stretching along the low fence and peered into the darkness. Music and voices came from the house. The voices got closer, and the next moment, they saw two men coming out from a hole in the ground under the house wall.
“What is keeping them so long?” said the first vampire. “It was two of them against a couple of girls.”
“I don’t know. That Hanna chick . . .” said the second vampire. He took a last puff from his cigarette and threw it away. “I would love to torture her myself, make her squeal like a pig.”
Hanna looked at the closed windows, at the tightly shut curtains behind them, and took out her gun.
She stood up.
“Hey, did you just say my name?”
The vampire turned to her, and she pulled the trigger. The wooden spike hit him in the chest but missed his heart. The vampire roared.
Standing beside Hanna, Melinda stretched out her arm toward the second vampire and punched the air with an open hand. The vampire flew back, hit the wall, and fell in the hole on the ground where he’d come from. Hanna jumped over the bush and ran to the first one, who lay on the grass moaning in pain. He was trying to pull out the spike, but the piece sticking out was small and thin and his weakened fingers slipped. With a stake in her hand, Hanna bent over him.
“I would love to torture you too, honey,” she said playfully, pushing the wooden spike deeper, “but I don’t have time for that shit.” And she thrust the stake through his heart. The moaning stopped.
Hanna ran to the second vampire and found him lying senseless on the stone staircase. Behind him, at the end of the stairs, a yellow light streamed from the slightly open door.
“Basement,” said Melinda, standing a few steps down.
“Yeah.”
Hanna pressed the gun against the vampire’s chest and shot him. Then she took out her phone, stepped away from the stairs, and called Riley.
“Two down,” she said. “We can go in through the basement in the back. The front yard was clean.” Hanna hung up.
Riley drove into the front yard, came out of the Jeep, and looked around. There was nobody outside. He pulled the dead vampire’s body from the passenger seat closer to the wheel and pushed his head into the horn.
The screech broke the surrounding silence. Riley ran. When he reached the corner of the house, he stopped, leaned against the wall, and waited.
Two men showed up at the porch.
“They’re here. Go tell Mark,” said one to the other.
“Stop that beeping, you moron, we heard you,” rumbled the vampire. He remained on the porch. He waited a moment, but when the sound didn’t stop, he went down to the car.
“Are you drunk?” he shouted. He opened the door and looked into the back seat, where Riley had put the second body.
The house door opened again, and three other vampires came out.
“Steve,” called one of them, “Mark’s asking if they have the girl.”
“They’re dead,” yelled Steve and pulled back the head lying on the wheel.
The blaring stopped.
“What?”
“Paul and Brian, they are both dead,” snarled Steve, and the rest of them hurried toward the Jeep.
Riley rushed to the backyard.
Hanna and Melinda dragged the vampire’s body out of the way. Hanna was about to open the basement door when they heard another voice, which Hanna recognized as Mark’s.
“Bill. Bill?” he cal
led. “Where the hell are you?” Then he kicked somebody. “Still unconscious.”
Hanna heard a jab, followed by short groan.
“You’ll be the first one to die,” said Mark. “The moment the daggers get their powers back.”
Hanna grit her teeth. Melinda’s eyes sparkled with anger. She headed to the door.
“Mark, they’re back,” said another voice. Hanna grabbed Melinda’s arm, stopping her.
“Did they bring the girl?” asked Mark. “And where the heck is Bill? Why did he leave these two here alone?”
“Who cares? Nobody will come after them. That Hanna—she’s alone now.”
“Damn. I just stabbed him, and look at his blood,” said Mark.
“Yeah, it dries really fast.”
Melinda looked at Hanna, but Hanna shook her head. Just then car horn stopped beeping. She waited for Riley to appear. If he hadn’t come yet, it meant that many of them were still inside the house and could arrive at Mark’s side any second.
“They’re dead, Mark,” somebody bawled inside. “They’re both dead.”
“Dead? How did she do that? That little bitch,” Mark growled.
Hanna caught a noise behind her. She looked back and saw Riley.
The voices and sounds of footsteps inside the basement grew fainter.
“Let’s go,” said Hanna. “I don’t think we have much time.”
She opened the basement door and went down the wooden staircase. She took a few steps to the left, toward the shelves packed with plastic boxes, and looked behind them. In the middle of the big room, she saw Craig. He was hanging from the ropes twisted around his wrists, fastened to the pipe running along the ceiling. A knife stuck out of his chest. Beside him on the floor, Ruben lay with one stake in his stomach and another between his ribs. His hands and feet were bound with tape.
Melinda gasped. Riley knelt beside Ruben and carefully pulled out the stakes. Hanna ran to Crag and tugged the knife from his heart. Craig jerked and gulped for air. Judging by the bloody holes on his shirt, he had been stabbed several times.
“Craig,” whispered Hanna, “Craig, it’s me.”
Craig’s eyelids quivered. He slightly opened his eyes and closed them again.