I slid against the peeling front wall of the house as she walked up the steps. "If you're here to sell Girl Scout cookies, I'm on a diet," I told her.
She giggled. I hated that sound. It made the ends of my hair stand on end. "You're funny. I'm going to be very sad when I have to kill you."
"Then don't," I quipped.
She shook her head and her curls bounced. "I'm afraid I can't do that. You know too much."
"I don't know how the hell you found me," I commented.
"You didn't check the trunk of your car," she cooed.
"You know, it's not a good idea to hitch a ride with a stranger," I told her.
She reached out for me. "We can talk later after I get that box."
I gripped the box against myself and stepped past one of the front windows. "Over my dead body."
"All right." The girl snarled, and I saw her teeth were long and pointy. Also very clean. She was a dentist's dream child, but my worst nightmare. The girl jumped at me, but she got within a foot before her eyes went all wide and she stumbled back. She flung up one arm and hissed at me. "Garlic!"
I was out of the frying pan and into the fire when a shadow flew through the window beside me and the glass burst into thousands of tiny shards. They rained down on me, and I raised my arm and turned away to keep my face from turning into hamburger patty. The little girl screamed, and I peeked over my arm. The Village-of-the-Damned reject hung three feet off the ground and had her neck draped in the grip of Roland, or whatever his name was. He held her over his face and snarled at her.
"You don't know what powers you are dealing with," he warned her.
She sneered at him. "More than you know." She swung forward and kicked him in the face with the soles of her dainty shoes. He cried out and stumbled back. She dropped to the ground and jumped backwards off the porch. Her little jump dropped her fifteen yards from the porch where she glared at us with her little red eyes. "You can't protect it forever, and when you slip I'll be there."
"We'll be sure to leave the lights on," I quipped.
The little girl gave me one last parting farewell glance that promised a lot of pain, and then she turned tail and raced into the woods. That girl had small legs, but she could really sprint. In a few seconds she was gone.
That left me and the vampire. The other vampire. He turned to me and his red eyes told me he wasn't too pleased.
He stalked towards me with his hands balled into fists at his sides. "What are you doing here? I told you to keep the box safe," he growled.
You might have gotten the impression by now that I wasn't very ladylike, but I'll tell you something that'll prove you wrong. After all that stupid excitement I fainted. It was a good faint, too. I didn't even remember falling. One minute the world blacked out, and the next my eyes were fluttering open like a mad butterfly trying to escape a cat.
The world was a fuzzy television until my eyes focused on a dark shape in front of me. The shape formed into a pale face with sharp teeth. My eyes widened and I scooted back, or tried to. My back was already against the peeling front wall of the house. My legs were stretched out in front of me and the box sat in my lap.
The vampire smiled. "I'm glad to see you remember me. You hit your head quite hard on the way down and I was afraid there was some damage."
"Only the brain damage that convinced me to come here this late," I quipped. I picked up the box and shoved it at him. His nostrils flared and he leaned away from me, but not out of my reach with the box. "Take this thing back. It's got more bad luck than a valley full of mummies."
He placed his palms on the opposite side of the box and pushed it towards me. "I must insist that you keep it."
I pushed it back. "I don't want it."
"You must take it."
"No, you have to take it."
"It must be kept with you."
"I said take it back!"
The box decided to end the argument by venting some steam from beneath its lid. I'd seen this trick before and didn't want to end up with the nickname of 'Stumpy,' so I dropped it and scooted backwards across the porch. The vampire grabbed the bottom of the box and the fog crawled over his hands. I expected screams of pain, or at least an ouch, but he just knelt there holding the damned thing.
"I know the box is terrifying, but it must be kept in safe hands during the day and night," he insisted.
"My taxes are terrifying, that thing is deadly," I retorted. As I spoke the fog crawled back into its wooden hole. The vampire's hands were as pale and ten-digited as before. I frowned and pointed at his hands. "How'd you do that?"
He smiled. "My own soul will not harm me."
I snorted. "I may work at a diner, but that doesn't me I was born yesterday. Vampires don't have souls."
He bowed his head. "I submit to your correction, but I am an exception."
The vampire stood and walked over to me. I scooted back until my hand touched air behind me. I fell backwards over the side of the porch and onto the leaf-covered ground. It was a soft, if squishy, landing, but the pile of leaves was so deep that they covered me over my head. I came up sputtering twigs and leaves. I know I needed my vegetables, but they could have at least been cooked.
The vampire came to the edge of the porch and knelt there. "You would be more comfortable inside," he teased.
"I'd be more comfortable if you'd leave me alone," I quipped.
He closed his eyes and shook his head. "I can't do that, not anymore. You've dived too deep into the rabbit hole."
"And me without my hunting gun. . ." I muttered.
He held out one of his hands to me and caught my eyes. "I promise I won't harm you."
I glanced between his pale hand and pale face. "I suppose you haven't done any biting yet, but if I get so much as a hicky from you you're going to get a bad sunburn."
He smiled and bowed his head. "Agreed."
I took his hand and he lifted me out of the leaf pile and plopped my feet on the porch. He steered clear of my garlic-covered neck and gestured to the front door. "If you would follow me."
I wasn't feeling too smart when the vampire led me through the unlocked door and into the house. I hadn't even tried the knob before I'd knocked my head against the entrance. We stepped into his parlor. His coffin was still on the floor, but the lid was open. The inside was stuffed with red silken padding. It looked pretty comfy, but I didn't have any future plans of testing it out.
He gestured to the couch on the opposite side of the table from the coffin. "If you would please be seated." I took a seat and he placed the box on the coffee table between us. "As I'm sure you've realized, I am a creature of the night."
"And annoying," I added.
He smiled. "I prefer to think of myself as diligent."
"And I like to think of myself as rich and famous, but that ain't happening," I quipped.
"It may if you will help me," he countered.
I raised an eyebrow. "I'm listening." He tapped the top of the box. I jumped against the back of the couch. "Don't do that! It's already claimed two victims at my apartment!"
The vampire tensed. "It has killed?"
I slid back onto my cushion and shrugged. "Well, not exactly people, but I was fond of that rug."
He relaxed. "I see. I'm glad to hear it hasn't harmed anyone."
I looked him up and down. "Not to sound really racist or anything-"
"Vampires are not a race. We are a species of human outside the realm of mortality," he corrected me.
"Well, not to sound mortalist or anything, but why should a vampire care if somebody didn't die? Don't you kill us to survive?" I pointed out.
He shook his head. "Not I, but there are those of my kind who do feed until their victim is dead."
"So you're not going to use me as a twenty-four hour blood bank?" I questioned him.
He smiled. "Only if you wish it."
"Which I don't," I told him.
"Then it will not be so. As for this-" he placed his hand on the box, "-my soul knows there is no danger from its master, so no fog will appear unless I try to force my way into the box."
"So you have the key or something?" I wondered.
His smile slid off his lips and he shook his head. "No. I was only able to capture my Soul Box and make my escape. The key remains with-well, with the one who held my soul."
I held up a hand. "Wait a minute. Who'd you steal your soul from? Some guy on a street corner?"
"He can be found in those places," the vampire agreed.
I glared at him and stood. "Listen, I don't do business with anybody who isn't being completely honest with me, and you're not 'fessing up. That usually means it's more trouble than it's worth, so I'm out." I went for the door, but the vampire slipped in front of me like a floating phantom.
He held his arms out on either side of him and looked me in the eyes. "Please. I'm in desperate need of your help."
I folded my arms across my chest and leaned on one leg. "And I'm in need of answers. Either you 'fess up or you can go to the devil for all I care."
A strange half crooked smile slipped onto his lips. "I'm afraid that wouldn't be a good idea. You see, that's who I stole my soul from."
CHAPTER 8