“The day is okay and the sun can be fun, but I live to see those rays slip away”

“I Love The Night,” Blue Oyster Cult

The ship’s sail billowed, a vast cloud against an overcast sky as the cool fall wind raced over the sea, bringing the smell of salt, foam, and something more sinister to his nostrils. No living thing moved on that boat; a ghost ship borne only by the wind. Still, his eyes strained, and there on the deck stood… a woman? A flowing red dress whipped about by the wind, even as she stood deathly still, their eyes met, and she smiled, even from this distance he could see the pointed fangs that protruded over her lip.

Brendan started awake, shifting as he realized he’d fallen asleep on the couch again, “Morning,” his roommate Trent muttered darkly over a cup of coffee. The senior was sipping the bitter liquid, seemingly deep in thought. “Weird dreams?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Brendan said, running a hand through his messy brown hair as he sat up.

“Same here. There’s something in this town’s water, I fucking swear,” Trent muttered. “Toss me my name badge,” he ordered, “you fell asleep on it and I didn’t want to wake you up.”

Brendan looked down at the couch, spotting the laminated badge showing his burly roommate and his name “Trent L. Chaney” emblazoned above the Stokerville University mascot, a timberwolf bearing a cartoonish grin.

“How is work going, anyway?” Brendan asked, stretching and going to get himself a cup of the coffee.

Trent scowled, “same as it always is this time of year, I spend half the night chasing ghost stories and prank calls, people in Stokersville always freak the hell out the first time a leaf turns red.”

That was early in the year too, the older folks around town said that Fall in Stokersville didn’t wait until Summer was done packing its bags before it moved in. Trent’s job was as a security guard on campus, often finding him out late at night, and dealing with the superstitious and jumpy locals, as well as the mischievous and prank-happy college students.

Brendan twisted his back, wincing at the sore muscle, then decided he’d forgo the coffee and try to get to his room for another few hours of sleep before classes.

“We’re not done talking,” Trent grumbled.

Brendan paused, scowling as he turned around. Trent was… well, there was no way around it, he was an asshole, and half the time Brendan wanted to tell him to fuck off when got in a mood like this, but… Trent was a big guy, and Brendan wasn’t, Brendan wasn’t even an average guy, he was what you’d call… well he liked to think he was wiry, but “scrawny” had been used before.

“What?” he asked, resigned.

“I saw your car smashed up out front,” Trent said, “I’m guessing that psycho you’re dating did that?”

“Yeah, Candy borrowed my car and-“

“You let her?” Trent asked angrily, “she’s got a suspended license and two DUIs!”

“Three,” Brendan groaned, covering his face with his hands, “I’ve got to go bail her out, I need you to cover a little of my share of the rent this month.”

“Absolutely not,” Trent growled, “I’m already carrying Alex,” he gestured towards the girl’s door, “and by the way I can’t do that much longer either, we need to have a real talk about the finances around here, and it’s not going to be pretty.” He glared at Brendan a moment, “my advice? Let that girl rot in jail, she’s just using you you know, have you noticed she’s only around when she wants cash or something?”

“She uh… just needs help getting on her feet sometimes,” Brendan lied. The truth was he knew Candy was taking advantage of him, but… when is a guy like me going to get a girl like that ever again? He wondered. Candy was reckless and mean, there wasn’t any way around it, but she also had a body to kill for, complete with dyed green hair and a commanding attitude that made Brendan weak in the knees. He hadn’t had a lot of women interested in him over the years, and a part of him feared that if he let Candy go, that it would be a long while before he’d meet another girl willing to give him the time of day.

Trent seemed to read his thoughts, and scowled, “you can do better, goddamn it man being alone is doing better.” He stood up, finishing his coffee in one gulp, then started for the door, “seriously, save your money for rent this month…” he growled, shuffling off to his classes.

A moment later, the other bedroom door in the house opened slowly, and Alex peaked her mussed head of black hair out, as if sniffing the air. From her bloodshot eyes and disheveled pajamas Brendan guessed she’d spent another night playing video games rather than sleeping, and as she trudged, zombie-like, into the living room and flopped in an easy chair she gave him a sympathetic smile.

“Sorry I didn’t come out earlier,” she said meekly, “it’s just, I knew he would ask about my share of the rent and… I uh…”

“I get it,” Brendan muttered. Alex had seemingly had a promising future when they’d all moved in together the year before, but her first semester of college had gone poorly, and the girl had lost her scholarship, her job, and apparently her parent’s financial backing. She’d spent the last six months coasting off savings and whatever pity she could garner from Brendan and Trent.

“I’m uh, thinking about maybe giving everything another shot, next semester…” Alex said, biting her lip as she noticed a quick grimace on Brendan’s face. She hadn’t showered yet that day… or the day before…

“Just uh, try to take care of yourself Alex,” Brendan said, giving her a quick smile.

“He’s right you know!” she blurted out suddenly, “you can do better than Candy… you really should just ditch her.”

“She’s a little rough around the edges,” he said defensively, “look, I’ve gotta go.” He stood up, quickly going for the door, forgoing extra sleep to avoid the awkward conversation. Alex watched him go, and he could swear her heard her sigh in exasperation as the door closed behind him.

…

“Here you go,” Brendan said, sliding the check across the counter to the court official. The woman had grey hair and a permanent scowl, she’d seen him before of course, this wasn’t his first time bailing Candy out of jail.

“Everything seems to be in order,” she growled, her voice rasped in a way that suggested years of cigarettes, even if she chewed gum now.

“Thanks,” he said with a nod.

…

Candy strutted out of the jail, a denim jacket and black booty shorts on that invited the eye to a perfectly sculpted behind, she smirked as she spotted Brendan. She tossed her green dyed hair over her shoulder and put an arm around him, giving him a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

“Thanks for the cash,” she whispered in his ear, “I’ll have to make it up to you later.”

He gulped, “awesome!” he said, fighting to keep his voice from cracking, “t-the next bus is in-“

“Next bus?” she asked, the husky tone gone as her face became a sneer, “what happened to the car?”

“You uh… had an accident with it, remember?” he said sheepishly.

“You didn’t get it fixed?” she asked angrily.

“W-well Candy, I spent my last bit of cash bailing you out, I didn’t really have any money to spare, it’s going to be hard making rent this-“

“Look, I’m not the kind of girl who dates a guy without a car,” she said with a sigh, “consider us on break until you get it running again.”

He stared, dumfounded as she started to walk off, “Are you kidding?” he asked, stunned.

She paused, then looked back at him, “Look, Brendan, you’re a sweet guy, but I’ve got needs, you know? I’ll see you around.”

“What the fuck,” he whispered under his breath, am I really that pathetic? Judging by the way he kept hoping she’d turn back around; the answer was yes.

…

Brendan went through his classes like a zombie, not rally hearing or retaining anything his professors said. He was hardly the only quiet student in the engineering department, so he liked to think his instructors hadn’t noticed. Still, he’d have to borrow notes from someone for the day. Work wasn’t much better, and his shift at the university’s book shop passed like a hazy dream.

By the time he was on his way back to the house he rented with Alex and Trent, the sun was going down. The home itself was a squat three bedroom on the edge of the college town, where the strip malls and gas stations gave way to the open rolling hills and occasional farm of the countryside. The leaves were skittering across the asphalt as he turned the key to go inside, and a cool wind tickled the back of his neck and made his hair stand up as he pushed the door open.

“You bailed her out, didn’t you?” Trent asked, sitting at the table like he’d been that morning.

Brendan froze, he didn’t want to admit it, but under his roommates withering gaze he couldn’t lie, “yes,” he admitted, “but it’s over, she dumped me.”

Trent blinked, then chuckled a moment, “you bailed her out and she dumped you as a thanks? I knew she was trash, but I had no idea…” He sighed, “you’ve put me in kind of a shitty spot Brendan, any chance you could pick up some extra shifts at the university bookstore or something?”

“No,” he muttered, “I don’t think I can, sorry…”

Trent glowered at him a moment, then sighed, “you’ve had a shitty day, we can talk about everything tomorrow…” he looked at Alex’s door, where the lights of her gaming binge were dancing beneath the crack of the door, “god this is gonna be rough…”

“We could figure something out for her,” Brendan said uncertainly, “like maybe she could-“

“You’re too nice Brendan,” Trent growled angrily, “you can’t live life just letting people suck you dry.”

“I-“

“Don’t worry about it tonight,” he grumbled, “besides, I’ve got to get going, got to spend a whole night chasing the Stokerville wolf.”

In spite of everything Brendan laughed, “do people really call in and say they’ve seen him?”

The university’s mascot was supposedly based off a savage beast that had wandered the countryside during the town’s founding. Despite the insistence of the US Department of the Interior that wolves were no longer in the area, sightings of the creature were called in every September and October, mostly as pranks.

“Every time someone says they’ve seen that furry fucker I’ve got to go wave a flashlight around on the off chance it’s a wild dog or something loose on campus,” Trent said, rolling his eyes. “Closest I’ve ever come to seeing him is a pair of frat boys in cheap rubber masks.” He sighed, “like I said, try to unwind or something tonight, we can deal with the money problem another time.”

“Thanks,” Brendan said, walking towards his room, despair setting in again. He hadn’t expected Trent to go so easy on him, but pity apparently went a long way.

And you are pretty pitiable, he scolded himself, you bailed a girl out of jail and she just laughed and walked right off… He sighed, thinking about the cost to fix his car on top of the rent issue… at least we’ve got a decent bus route close by.

He lay in his bed, glancing around his room. A few models of various science fiction franchise starships littered his desk, along with his engineering textbooks and a pair of painted miniature wargaming models. None of it really pulled his attention or offered an easy distraction. For a moment he thought about asking Alex if she wanted to game with him, but then decided against it, Alex had her own problems, and burdening her with his just seemed like a recipe for disaster.

“Fuck it,” he muttered, standing up and getting out of bed, I’m going for a walk… Where to exactly? He wasn’t sure, just somewhere else.

He stepped out onto the front porch, the cool night air hitting him in the face and making him wish for something a little heavier than the sweater vest and long sleeves he’d worn to campus that day. Still, he decided to press on, he wouldn’t be out for that long probably, just long enough to clear his head a bit.

The house the three of them rented had a backyard that ended in a treeline, and beneath the soft glow of the full moon Brendan walked around the house and began searching for a little used trailhead that the landlord had showed them when they’d first moved in. Brushing aside some of the undergrowth he found it easily enough, and with the moon as bright as it was the lack of lighting along the wooded trail wasn’t going to be a problem.

I wonder where this goes, he thought, idly stepping down on the woodmulched path. Someone maintains it, he reasoned, looking at the relatively fresh layer of woodchips leading into the forest, so it’s got to go somewhere…

The woods were fairly quiet, the bugs and frogs that filled them with noise during the summer having gone as the leaves turned. The only sound he heard was the occasional wind through the branches above, or his own footsteps, crunching slightly against the woodmulch path.

After maybe fifteen minutes of walking, he saw the path opening up at what looked like the end of the small forest. Curiously he stepped out, seeing the mulch path become cobbled stone. His heart leapt a bit as he looked beyond, seeing rows of tombstones stretching into a fog that was rolling in.

He shivered slightly, and it had nothing to do with the chill in the air. Not sure what else to do, he started up the path, out of the trees and into the midst of the graveyard.

Is there a church or something up here? He wondered. If there was a house of worship, or a funeral home, the fog rolling in was getting too thick to make it out, and the moon was growing hazy overhead. He glanced back at the trees, wondering if there would be enough light to take it on a return trip with the suddenly murky air. I’ll just find the road, he decided, I can’t have walked that far-

A long lupine howl caused his blood to freeze, then like a firecracker his heart took off, pounding as he looked around for the source of the noise. The road, he decided, suddenly going back through the woods had lost all appeal. He gulped and took a step forward, suddenly very aware of how loud his own footsteps were on the stone walkway.

There was a sudden flapping sound from out in the mist, and Brendan fought the urge to run, “H-Hello?” he called. That leathern sound echoed again, as though someone were whipping a rug to get dirt off of it, but as the mist swirled ever thicker, he saw less and less, and he nearly whimpered as he realized he couldn’t even see the headstones more than a row or two in front of him.

Oh fuck, he thought, calm down, there is NOTHING out here, there is-

He heard a giggle behind him, and with a scream he ran forward, the mist swirling around him as he bolted down the stone pathway. The uneven cobblestones proved his undoing, and he felt himself tipping over before he’d even realized he’d tripped, hitting the stones with a jolt of pain as he scrambled to turn himself over and see his pursuer.

A shape appeared in that swirling vapor, a dark silhouette with pointed ears, and a pair of glowing yellow eyes that tracked him as he moved. Brendan tried to scream, but no sound emerged from his throat as the figure got closer… but as it did, he felt his heartbeat slow, the dark shape became a girl, maybe his age, another university student? And those glowing golden eyes revealed themselves to be something closer to hazel as she smiled, taking in his frightened appearance.

“I’m very sorry, I did not vant to frighten you,” she said, her voice a thick accent he couldn’t quite place. She extended a pale hand to help him up, and he couldn’t help but note how cold that grip was as she helped him back to his feet.

“Oh uh, no problem,” he said with a weak smile, “I just… tripped,” he lied.

Now standing face to face with her he was able to get a better look, she stood maybe an inch or so taller than he did, with pale milky white skin that contrasted sharply with the mane of jet-black hair trailing down her back, standing out just as sharply against the long red dress she wore. He blinked a moment, that was probably the oddest thing about her, it was like she was wearing something he’d expect to see at a renaissance festival, hanging low and obscuring her feet, giving her a look almost like she was gliding as she walked to his side.

“I’m Valeria,” she said with a small smile. He blinked a moment, her canines seemed… no, she smiled again, a normal smile, like the pointed ears from earlier it was a trick of the light and his own nerves, he was sure of it.

“Brendan,” he said shakily, his heart still pounding from the “chase.”

“Like me I see that you are valking alone,” Valeria mused, looking out into the mist, “vould you care to accompany me for a time?”

“Uh, sure!” he said, and his heart started beating rapidly again for a reason that had nothing to do with fear. This girl, Valeria, she was stunning, with an ample porcelain white cleavage that invited the eye to the very hem of that low cut dress, and rounded hips that he tried not to stare at as she hooked an arm around his, gently guiding him further into the graveyard.

“B-Best to stick together,” he said nervously, “I heard a uh…” don’t tell her you believe in the wolf you fucking dork! He scolded himself, “A coyote, or maybe a stray dog howling earlier,” he said with what he hoped was a brave smile.

Her eyebrow raised, “oh, the volf? He is far from here, and recently fed I think… he vill not trouble us.”

“You can tell all that from a howl?” he asked, perplexed.

“Volves of that sort are more common in the old country,” she said dismissively.

“Oh, so you’re a foreign student or something?” he asked, grunting slightly as she pulled him along. She’s strong, he thought, impressed, and all maintaining that almost-gliding walk of hers too… or maybe it was him who just needed to hit the gym more?

“I am here to further my education you might say,” she said with a small smirk, “as vell as tend to some family business… I had gone out for a flig- a valk, to try to perhaps meet some friends, but it vould seem I am poor at it.” She turned to him and smiled, those pointed teeth, definitely not his imagination, gleaming slightly in the moonlight, “and vhat of you Brendan? Vhat brings you to this lovely cemetery?”

“Oh,” he laughed nervously, “I’ve just had a really rough day and wanted to clear my head, I’m broke and my girlfriend left me, a walk sounded nice.”

A small smile crossed Valeria’s face, and he could swear she hugged his arm slighty tighter, “That is unfortunate, but if there is no voman in your life, then there is no one who vould object to you spending a little more of your time vith me, yes?”

“Uh, I guess not,” he said, a smile crossing his face.

“You are a student at the university?” Valeria asked, her pale fingers playfully walking up the chest of his sweater vest.

“Yeah?” he replied, sweating slightly, he wasn’t used to a girl coming on to him this strong… even Candy had never been like this.

“Is good,” she murmured, “I have things I must attend to there, I vill need some help… vith many things really…” she pursed her lips, “vhat is your trade? Your employment?”

“I’m studying engineering,” he blurted out without hesitation, “but I work at the university book shop.”

“A man of sound mind then,” she mused. She slowly moved in front of him, giving him a warm smile that revealed those suspiciously long canines in full, “look me in the eye please,” she said quietly.

He raised an eyebrow, but did so, and suddenly felt his face go warm, his thoughts fuzzy. He tried to blink, and found he couldn’t, those golden eyes set in Valeria’s beautiful milky white face were drawing him in like magnets.

“Brendan,” she said in a humming voice that seemed to reverberate in his skull, “you vill listen and obey.”

“I will listen and obey,” he repeated, even as his consciousness tried to rebel, suddenly aware of how it had been hijacked.

“I am going to tell you somethink, and you vill not be scared, you vill not run,” she said, keeping her gaze on him.

“I will not be scared, I won’t run,” he repeated, nodding numbly.

She took a breath, and the trance was broken, he blinked a moment, looking at her as she smiled broadly at him.

“You seem like a man who is in a position to benefit from an offer I have, but you must understand it. To begin, I am a vampire,” she said simply.

He wanted to be scared, but… the emotion just didn’t come, so he smirked instead, “yeah, I guess now looking at… all of this,” he gestured at her, “it was kind of obvious… god I’m an idiot.”

“Do not be so hard on yourself,” she said with a shrug, “no vun has guessed it so far, though there seem to be many more strange people afoot at nights here than there are in my homeland…”

“Are you going to kill me?” he asked, he felt his heart flutter a little, he knew he should be scared, but whatever enchantment she’d put on him was holding, for the most part.

She just laughed, “Oh my no Brendan! If I vanted that I vould have simply come for you vhen you left the forest.”

“Ah,” he gulped, rationality fighting against the bonds of the mind control again, “well, what do you want then?”

She giggled, stalking towards him in that strange gliding way again, her fangs bared, “Vhat do you know of vampires?” she asked, placing a palm on his chest playfully as his back hit a large crypt, ending his backwards flight.

“Uh, y-you don’t like the sun, garlic, or crosses,” he stammered.

She scowled and rolled her eyes, “it seems ve are indeed forgotten here… Vhat I need, vhat I have been searching for these nights, is somevun to act as my familiar, to care for and guard my home during the daylight hours…” she gave him the biggest smile yet as she licked her lips, that pale pink tongue sliding over her long fangs menacingly, “and of course, be an occasional food source…”

Brendan’s eyes went wide, “I uh…” he gulped, suddenly very aware of how it made his neck pulse outward. Whatever spell was keeping him from panicking was clearly being pushed to its limit.

“Shh…” Valeria said with a giggle, running a pale finger through his hair soothingly, “it vould not be a one sided arrangement of course, those villing to become a vampire’s familiar enjoy many benefits, you mentioned you had difficulties vith money? My coffers are deep.” She ran a hand up his face, a tingling sensuous gesture as she hugged herself against him, gently kissing his neck, “I could also help you forget those troubles vith your voman…”

Brendan’s face was almost as pale as Valeria’s, everything that had happened so far was so outside his realm of experience… vampires, familiars, a girl being interested in him!? He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again, then opened, then closed it a second time.

What the hell am I even supposed to say to that?

Valeria parted from him, a small frown on her face, “truly your villpower is admirable, to resist a vampires seduction so vell…”

Yeah, willpower, not being too awkward to say anything, he laughed at himself, and seeing the gesture, Valeria smiled a little too.

“I am hungry Brendan,” she said, pouting slightly, “I have not fed since coming to this country…”

He raised an eyebrow, “really? Why not?”

“I do not vish to simply take vithout asking,” she muttered, and for a moment her cool demeanor was gone and she seemed… embarrassed? “I… I did not think it vould take this long to find somevun suitable.”

“Suitable?” he asked with a frown, “what do you mean by that?”

She bit her lower lip, smiling, “among other things you are… I believe the vord is cute?”

He sighed, yeah, she wants to drain you dry, but so did your last girlfriend, at least she’s being nice about it… he thought with a smirk, “and you… feeding, I won’t die?”

She shook her head, still smiling.

Fuck it.

“Okay, go ahead.” He closed his eyes, wincing and arcing his neck towards her, waiting for the sharp pain… it didn’t come, and nervously he opened his eyes.

“There is no bite,” she giggled, gently tapping him in the center of his forehead, “that is a… different kind of vampire.”

He frowned, “different kind of vampire? There are different types? What do you-“

He gasped as she seemed to grow taller, he spun, watching the graves seem to stretch, rising as his vantage fell. He looked up at Valeria again, who was smiling and seemed to have a satisfied look on her face, as though she was drinking a tall glass of cool water after a hot day.

“Yes… your flavor is spectacular!” she crowed, looking down at him with a smile as his size dwindled further. She stood over him, twice his height now, that hungry expression still on her face as her hands hooked under his armpits, lifting him before her like a favored stuffed animal.

“Y-You’re shrinking me!” he shouted in shock.

“It is how my kind feeds,” she giggled, “did you think I vanted to suck your blood?”

“Yeah,” he admitted, still stunned, “w-will I grow back?”

“Vhen your essence replenishes itself,” Valeria said, a blissful expression coming over her face as he began to shrink further. He watched as her pale face grew ever larger, that happy smile stretching like a billboard in front of him as he sunk into her cupped hands.

“H-How small are you going to-“

“I think I am done, for now,” she said with a smirk, looking down at her toy sized captive. “Very filling, many thanks…”

“W-What now?” he asked, shivering as her fingers coiled around him. They were suddenly warm, as though the size she’d drained from him had recalled the digits to life.

“You vill find yourself restored by sometime tomorrow,” she said, a happy glow still over her face, like she’d gotten what she really wanted as a birthday present, “until then…” she giggled, “vell… you are mine.”

“Y-Yours?” he breathed.

“Yes, my pet,” she laughed, cupping him in one hand as she traced her fingers down his leg, gripping the bottoms of his jeans and giving a slight tug. He started in surprise as his pants began to slide off. “You already bear my mark!”

“Mark?” he asked, instinctively his hand went to his neck, and he gasped as he felt two small wounds, as though she had bitten him.

“They vill appear there after a feeding,” she said with a shrug, “bite or no bite, you vill bear the mark, it vill mark you as mine and keep anyone or anything else from attempting to take a bite.”

“G-Good to know,” he muttered, feeling his pants slide free, and his underwear with them.

She licked her lips eagerly, looking down at his exposed form as she hooked a fingernail under his shirt next, slowly raising it up, leaving him naked as it went over his head.

“Vhatever girl left you is a fool,” Valeria said, a hungry expression coming over her face as she lifted his body closer to those golden eyes, the yellow orbs taking in every inch of his exposed body. He shivered slightly, “Oh my, how inconsiderate of me…” She straightened, then brought his body over the massive canyon of her breasts, her cleavage exposed by the red dress in a sight that made Brendan’s heart pick up again. “You should be varm enough in here…”

He felt his body lower, dangled by one arm as she parted her breasts to admit him, and a moment later he was tucked securely between the milky white orbs of flesh, pressing against his naked body with a velvety softness that made his head spin and his eyes roll back in his head every time they rubbed against him.

He looked down over the edge of her dress, and almost squeaked in fear. The ground was falling away, for a wild moment he thought she was shrinking him further, but he realized that she was… flying!? Her red dress billowed around her as she rose into the misty night air, the moonlight reflected in her golden eyes as she smiled down at him briefly.

“Is this your first time flying?” she asked, hovering slowly over the forest as she climbed higher.

“W-Without a plane, yeah,” he muttered, snuggling deeper into her breasts, both to secure himself and to hide from the bitter cold wind, which seemed to bite so much harder at this height.

The wind seemed to die somewhat as she rose a little higher, and he looked down in awe at the twinkling lights of the moonlit town of Stokerville, each shop and streetlamp a small glow in the murk of the mist that had settled over the town.

The soft flesh of Valeria’s breasts held him steady as he felt himself relax, the troubles and worries of the day slipping away as the vampire bore him slowly through the sky. He wasn’t sure when it happened, but his eyes slipped closed, and he feel into a deep slumber.

…

Brendan groaned, blinking awake as the first rays of light came in through the window.

What a dream, he thought, smiling to himself at the memory. If only more of them were like that, I wouldn’t mind…

He stretched and lumbered out of bed, then froze. He was naked, and he looked to his side with a start to see that his clothing was folded neatly on the nightstand.

“No fucking way,” he breathed, realizing that his bed was now almost up to his chest… there was no denying it, he was… shorter, than usual. He looked up at his dresser mirror, barely able to see over the top of it, but standing on his tiptoes he could make out the two red phantom fang marks on the side of his neck. He broke out in a cold sweat as the implication hit him. “I-It was a dream,” he muttered weakly, protesting to himself in spite of the dawning understanding of what had really happened the night before.

D-Didn’t she say I’d regrow by sometime today? He thought madly. He spotted a small square of paper on top of the clothes, and reached up eagerly to grab it.

Dearest Brendan, it read, in a flowing and flowery red handwritten script, I returned you to your bed once you fell asleep, I am sorry we did not get to spend more time together, but I suppose the first feeding can be quite draining. When the sun sets, come to my home at 1313 Wormwood Avenue, that we may discuss our arrangement.

Your Eternal Mistress, Valeria Tepes.

Not sure how I feel about that eternal mistress thing, he thought, reading the letter again to be sure he understood it, would she come for me if I didn’t go? He wondered.

He stopped, then chuckled a little madly, looking around at his much larger room. Part of him wanted to get in his car and drive in any direction as fast and for as long as he could manage, another, much stronger part of him, said there wasn’t anything in the world that would keep him away from 1313 Wormwood Avenue at sunset.