It took a monumental effort for Hiram to close his mouth; even then, his lips twitched with barely-concealed annoyance. Levi, on the other hand, was grinning merrily. He was dressed like a CEO or corporate lawyer, his suit perfectly tailored and his light brown hair flawlessly styled. But despite the expensive clothing and haircut, he looked the same to Hiram. Beneath the playful, charming facade, there was only calculating coldness. Hiram often wondered if something in Levi had been dead long before he became a vampire.

“Just the man I was looking for!” Levi exclaimed, as if they were old friends.

“What do you want?” Hiram resisted the urge to show his fangs again.

“Oh, I was just passing through the area and I figured that I’d say hi.”

Hiram narrowed his eyes. He hadn’t seen the other vampire in decades, and he sensed that Levi had some terrible scheme in mind.

“Anyway, have you heard about what happened to Emmanuel at Annwn?” Levi pretended to study the amethyst cuff links that glittered at his wrists. The question caught Hiram off-guard. He was aware that Emmanuel had associated with other monsters and sadists; he supposed that it made sense that he would have known someone as vile as Levi.

“I can’t say that I have,” Hiram replied coolly, and when Levi glanced up, he met his eyes.

“It was awful, really. He was completely drained of blood,” the other vampire said, and they stared at each other, neither looking away.

“Since when do you give a damn about people dying?” Hiram remembered all of the needless death that Levi had caused; he often killed purely for the thrill of it, and that was one of the many reasons why Hiram despised him.

Levi rolled his eyes dramatically. “I can be fond of humans, believe it or not. And Emmanuel was such a wonderful man. He procured all sorts of things for me.”

Hiram doubted that Levi was fond of anyone other than himself.

“So what exactly have you been up to, Hiram?” Levi leaned in closer, and Hiram caught the scent of cologne masking another odor, this one rotten. “What’s been keeping you busy, besides all of those clocks and books? Is there anyone special in your life right now?”

Hiram refused to let his surprise show. Levi knew about Emmanuel’s death, and it seemed that he knew about Phoebe as well. The unspoken threat hung in the air, and Hiram gave in at last, baring his fangs.

“Go to hell, Levi,” he snarled, giving the other vampire a wide berth as he turned to leave.

“Take care, Hiram,” Levi said, his smile artificially warm and his eyes frigid. “We’ll definitely be seeing each other soon.”

***

Phoebe was ripped from sleep when the huge fingers snaked around her.

She relaxed when she saw that the fingers belonged to Hiram. His expression concerned her, however. Rage and fear pinched his features, drawing his dark eyebrows together, and the hand holding her trembled slightly.

“Hiram, what’s wrong?” Phoebe asked, and his fingers tightened.

“We need to go,” he replied, moving around the apartment with urgency. Phoebe held on for dear life as he scooped things up at random and stuffed them into an old gym bag.

“Why? What’s going on?”

Hiram paused, and she felt his pulse quicken against her. “Let’s just say that my past is catching up with me.”

***

Arizona, 1881

Humming cheerfully, Levi made his way through the scrubby underbrush, stopping now and then to yank on the rope in his hand. At the other end of the rope was a disheveled man, hands bound together. His captive stumbled far behind, head hung low. The man had lost his hat during the scuffle at the saloon, and his dirty blond hair was matted with sweat. Levi supposed that he could have used his powers to mesmerize his captive and force him to come along willingly, but he enjoyed the man’s pleading and struggles.

“This is why cheating at cards is such a bad idea,” Levi said, jerking the rope hard. “You may end up getting your sorry ass kicked by a vampire.”

The man winced as he was pulled along. “Y-you’re kidding, right? You ain’t a vampire.”

Levi turned his head, his sharp teeth catching the moonlight, eyes wide and crimson.

“Jesus,” the man whimpered. He tried to back away, but another strong tug on the rope brought him even closer.

“Don’t worry, I won’t drink your blood,” Levi told him. “I need you alive.”

He didn’t seem to convince the man, who struggled more forcibly against his bindings. But his strength was meager and Levi led him along effortlessly. There was no out here to help the man; not even bandits frequented this part of the desert. The landscape was inhospitable, just sand and rocks and prickly plants. And caverns. Levi’s destination was one of those caverns. It had taken some effort to get the information from the locals; no one wanted to discuss the demon that lived out in the desert. But Levi had been gifted with a silver tongue, and one of the bar maids at the saloon had told him everything that she knew.

“The devil in the desert only comes out at night,” she had said, making a quick sign of the cross.

Of course he did; the devil in the desert was a vampire, after all.

Levi found the cave that the bar maid had mentioned. Someone had carved markings on the outside, religious symbols and warnings to whomever stumbled upon the cave. He chuckled at the symbols, knowing that they were useless, that whatever lived in that cavern barely noticed them. His prisoner gawked at them, though, and his face blanched when he saw the pitch blackness of the large opening.

“We ain’t going in there, right?” His captive asked nervously.

Levi smirked at the man, and with a strong tug, forced him into the cave.

They both detected the presence; even the prisoner, with his ordinary human senses, felt it. Levi’s captive gasped and thrashed wildly in the darkness. The rope slipped from Levi’s hand and he cursed, grabbing for it. But before the man could flee, a low growl issued from the back of the cave. It sounded like a rabid dog, and for the first time in years, Levi experienced a cold stab of fear. He stood defensively, preparing himself for a blow.

A gust of air stirred his hair as something raced past him, moving so fast that not even his supernatural eyes could see it properly. Levi’s captive raised his bound hands, as if to ward off the thing charging at him. Roaring, the other vampire tore into the man with a brutality that even Levi found stomach-turning. Levi remained motionless, watching as the thing buried its face into the ruins of the man’s neck. It — he — drank eagerly, greedily, as if he hadn’t fed since the Middle Ages.

Levi finally approached the other vampire, avoiding the mutilated corpse on the cavern floor. The creature was nude, the man’s blood glistening on his leanly-muscled frame, and he glared at Levi with feral gray eyes. There he was, the thing that Levi had been trying so hard to find.

The Source.

“My Lord,” Levi said, bowing deeply.

The other vampire continued to glower at him, although traces of his humanity were beginning to reappear. He looked down at his red-stained hands with ever growing horror. How long has he been in this cave? Levi wondered. The legends were so ancient that the vampire didn’t even have a name. This was perfect, Levi realized. The creature would be easy to manipulate, to shape as Levi saw fit.

Still cautious, Levi sidled closer and said, “You need a name, my Lord.”

The creature stared at him, black tears streaming down his cheeks.

“How about ‘Hiram’?”

***

The night sky was rapidly disappearing by the time that they arrived at the motel. The place wasn’t exactly popular; the only vehicle in the parking lot was a Buick. But at least it was well-maintained, with a fresh coat of yellow paint on the exterior. Sensing Hiram’s agitation, Phoebe stayed quiet in the depths of his pocket as they headed into the motel office. The woman behind the counter tried to flirt with Hiram, but she gave up when her attempts were met with gruff, monosyllabic answers. She handed him the keys to a room and he left without another word.

As soon as Hiram was in the room, he pulled the curtains over the windows and then hung up a blanket for additional protection from the encroaching sunlight. Collapsing onto one of the double beds, he retrieved Phoebe and put her down next to him. A billion questions ran through Phoebe’s mind, but before she could choose one, Hiram spoke.

“I’m not a good person, Phoebe,” he said quietly, and when she tried to interrupt him, he kept talking. “I’ve told you that I can’t remember how I became a vampire. I can’t even remember most of my past. What I do remember is terrible.”

Hiram obviously didn’t want to continue but did so anyway.

“Someone found me…another vampire. His name was Levi. I was so confused and I found myself blindly tagging along with him. All vampires need to feed, but we don’t take pleasure in it. Levi did.” A muscle spasmed at the corner of Hiram’s mouth. “One night I stumbled across what he had done to a young couple, and I don’t think that he had fed at all.”

Phoebe listened, a chill creeping down the length of her spine.

“I wanted to kill him. In hindsight, I should have. But he was the only one who seemed to know anything about me. I let him go, which was a big mistake because now he’s back,” Hiram told her. “I think that he has something planned.”

“What do you think he’s planning to do?”

“I don’t know. But he knows about Emmanuel.” He paused, looking away. “And you.”

The chill in her spine became piercing cold. A psychopathic vampire knew about her, and God only knew what his intentions were. So this was why they were at a motel in the middle of nowhere. They were hiding like two fugitives.

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it,” Hiram tried to reassure her. His voice had became lethargic and slow, a sign that dawn had finally arrived. He curled up on the bed and the change that overcame him was sudden and shocking. If Phoebe hadn’t known better, she could have thought that he had died rather than fallen asleep. His skin took on a grayish hue, bruise-like circles darkening his eye sockets. Each breath was slower than the last, until it seemed like they had stopped.

Phoebe rose, making as little noise as possible.

She didn’t need to sleep near him. The bed was the length of a football field to her, and there was certainly more than enough space for her to sleep wherever she wanted. But she approached the giant, the floral comforter barely dimpling under her weight. Beneath his long-lashed eyelids, his eyes didn’t flutter. Did vampires dream? Did Hiram manage to recover his memories when he sank into sleep? Phoebe couldn’t help but wonder. She chose the spot where his neck met his chest, a huge hollow that provided a feeling of protection. Laying down so that her back was pressed up against him, she closed her eyes.

***

When night descended and Levi awoke, he was surrounded by luxury.

He never saw the point in austere living, especially when he had the time and ability to amass great wealth. So he indulged himself in whatever he wanted: a penthouse overlooking the city, rare works of art, designer clothing. The bottles of expensive wine and whiskey were merely for show; if he drank any of it, he’d be in agony. One of the few things that Levi missed about being human was liquor and gourmet food.

Fortunately, there were other things that he could eat.

Levi put on a silk robe and left his cavernous bedroom, strolling into the living room. As he was passing by one of the mahogany side tables, he snatched up a vial. The liquid inside was too dark to be human blood; no, this had belonged to a vampire. Emmanuel had managed to get several vials of the stuff for him. Holding it up close to his eyes, Levi examined the blackish blood for a minute or two. Then he heaved it into the fireplace, hardly noticing as the glass shattered.

“Of course it’s worthless,” Levi spat. “Just like he is.”

One of the advantages to having a considerable amount of money was that he could hire the best talent. In this case, he had hired some of the most gifted geneticists to study the vials of blood. He had paid them a small fortune, but their reports always said the same thing: nothing out of the ordinary. Whatever the Source was, it wasn’t physical. Which meant that Levi had to try to get the information another way.

Groaning, he rubbed at his eyes. “The most frustrating part is that he doesn’t even act like a god. He acts like a small, pathetic man. All that power and it’s completely wasted on him.”

There was movement in one of the nearby Waterford crystal vases, and Levi grinned wolfishly. He bent over the tall vase, hands clasped behind his back. Inside of the vase, the tiny man blinked up at Levi. He had probably worn glasses and then lost them when he had been shrank. Levi was most likely a gigantic, monstrous blur to him. Which was sort of a blessing, because he couldn’t see the devilish smirk plastered on Levi’s face.

Emmanuel had sold most of his shrunken victims to unscrupulous sorcerers who used them for spells, but he had given a handful to Levi. They were like little living candy, mouthwateringly delicious.

“You’re one of the last ones, alas,” Levi said to the tiny man cowering in the vase. “Well, there’s also that woman, but I doubt that he’ll give her up easily. He seems to like her a lot.”

The man didn’t say anything, but that was to be expected.

“Of course, I can use that against him. I think that I can pry his secrets from him, given enough time,” Levi said, talking mostly to himself. He was contemplating this when hunger twisted through his abdomen. His stomach growled loudly, impatient.

“Now it’s time for breakfast,” the vampire announced, reaching into the vase.

The tiny man screamed.

***

Hiram found Phoebe stretched out against him, her minuscule body warm against his skin. He didn’t deserve to touch her, or anyone for that matter, but he gave into the urge. His fingertip caressed her chest, then lightly brushed her hair. He sighed, enjoying her delicate softness. If he could spend the rest of eternity doing anything, it would be this. Simply touching another person, reminding himself that he was still human. Hiram couldn’t forget that. No matter what happened, he had to hold onto that.

He felt Phoebe roll over, her arms embracing his finger.

The ever-present hunger made its presence known, but his options were severely limited. There were only two other guests at the motel; with his preternatural hearing, he could tell that they were a retired husband and wife, and he had no desire to hurt them. To distract himself, he sat up, mindful of Phoebe beside him.

“I’m going to take a shower.” Then, feeling oddly bashful, Hiram said, “You can join me if you want.”

Phoebe nodded, so he scooped her up.

The motel bathroom was small, hardly bigger than a closet, but at least it was clean. Setting Phoebe down on the edge of the tub, he began to undress. He noticed how she watched him appreciatively, and she averted her eyes shyly when she realized that he had caught on. Hiram turned on the water, stepped into the shower. Phoebe didn’t move from the edge of the tub, and it occurred to him that she was leery of the water crashing down like a flood around her. He lifted her up and brought her closer to his torso, bending forward slightly so that his back shielded her from the full blast of the water.

This time, she explored him, her touch faintly ticklish. Phoebe started near his navel and worked her way down from there; he had to lower his hand to help her. When she reached between his legs, her touches went from being ticklish to heavenly. Hiram was astonished at how swiftly his body responded; he may have been alone for years and years, but his body remembered. He dug his fingers into the tiled wall, his strength causing them to crack loudly. In his other hand, Phoebe wrapped herself around his hardness, her tiny mouth all over him. Hiram wanted to tell her where to lick, but somehow she knew, and he shuddered in delight.

He didn’t last long, and neither did the wall. It crumbled down into the tub, raining down bits of tile and drywall.

Hiram turned the water off and exited the tub, careful to avoid the sharp fragments of tile. He wrapped one of the thin towels around his waist and then looked down at the woman kneeling on his palm. She was so lovely, so perfect, so delicious…

Remember how she tasted, the hunger whispered insidiously. Like joy. Like life. Don’t you want to experience that?

No. No, Hiram refused to let the hunger control him.

To be on the safe side, he put her down on one of the beds. As he dug through the gym bag, trying to find some clothes to wear, he said, “I’m a hopeless case, but you’re not.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Phoebe asked.

“I’m stuck as a vampire, but we can find someone to restore you to normal size. I know a few mages. They may not be able to help me, but they can probably help you,” Hiram said.

He saw the fragile hope emerge in her eyes, and he smiled sadly.