As Twilight Falls

Sunday morning, Kadie returned to the cemetery. She studied the two newest graves, but there was no way to distinguish one from the other. She told herself again it didn't matter. Mona and Leslie were beyond caring. Tears stung her eyes as she carved Mona's name on one of the crosses, and Leslie's name on the other. She thought about Saintcrow. He had taken more of her blood than he should have the other night. Had he taken too much, she might be buried here, another casualty in an unmarked grave.



Blinking back her tears, Kadie bowed her head and prayed for the courage to endure what could not be changed, prayed that Saintcrow would relent and set her and all the others free, prayed that her parents would be comforted and not give up hope. Her father had become distant ever since Kathy took sick. More and more, he'd been away from home, and when he was there, he was always preoccupied. Men in dark suits came and went at odd hours of the day and night. They rarely stayed long, thank goodness. Her father never spoke of them. She knew little more than their names, but there was something about them that Kadie found disturbing.



Unable to hold back her tears, Kadie dropped to her knees and prayed for Kathy, pleading for a cure to be found before it was too late, praying that Kathy would hang on until Kadie got home. She had never mentioned her sister to Saintcrow, but maybe she should. Surely, if there was the slightest bit of compassion in his soul, he would relent and let her go home.



Driving back to Saintcrow's house, she found herself thinking about vampire hunters. Until she came here, she had never believed vampires existed. Now it seemed that not only were they real, but there were people dedicated to destroying them. She could almost sympathize with Saintcrow and the others. It would be awful to be hunted, to have a price on your head. Still, the vampires could hardly blame people for hating them when they preyed upon humans. Maybe if the vampires could drink animal blood, people wouldn't hate them so much.



Even as the thought crossed her mind, she knew she was being naive. After all, how could you expect someone to give up what they needed to survive? Still, she couldn't help wondering if they'd ever thought of it? Tried it? Vampires did it in the movies all the time.



It was still on her mind later that night when Saintcrow appeared. Without thinking, she blurted, "Can you live on animal blood?"



"Excuse me?"



"I was thinking about what you said, about being hunted. Maybe if your kind stopped preying on my kind, we could all live together without killing each other."



"All live together?" He laughed, his dark eyes filled with amusement.



Kadie stared at him a moment, her cheeks burning with embarrassment, before turning on her heel and running up the stairs to her room.



He was right behind her, his hand closing over her shoulder, stopping her flight before she reached the door.



"Let me go! No wonder people hate you! You're despicable!"



"Kadie." He turned her to face him. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have laughed at you, but . . ." He shook his head. "You're so young, so innocent."



"I am not!"



"A leopard can't change its spots, and vampires can't stop being vampires. It's possible for us to survive on animal blood for a time, but sooner or later, we have to have human blood. There's no way around it."



"Do you like it? Human blood, I mean. Isn't it . . . gross?"



"No. Some is sweeter than others." He drew her slowly into his arms. "Yours, for instance, is remarkable. Warm, sweet, pure."



"Blood is blood. How can mine be any different from anyone else's?"



"Because you don't smoke. And you don't drink to excess. And you don't do drugs. And you never have."



"You can tell all that from my blood?"



Nodding, he drew her closer still, then lowered his head and brushed his lips across her throat.



And just like that, she wanted him. She knew it, and when his gaze met hers, she had no doubt that he knew it, too.



It was only a matter of time.



"Tonight, Kadie?" His voice, low and filled with the promise of sexual delights, made her stomach curl with anticipation.



Why not tonight? She wanted him. How much longer could she deny it? How much longer could she deny him?



"You want me." His hands stroked her back, ever so lightly. "You know you do. Why fight it when it's what we both want?" He pressed butterfly kisses to her cheeks, her eyelids. "You're so beautiful. Say you'll be mine tonight."



She closed her eyes, on the brink of surrendering, when she heard Shirley's voice in the back of her mind, predicting that, sooner or later, the monsters would kill them all. Quinn had killed Leslie. How could she have forgotten that?



With a low growl, Saintcrow released her. "I'm not Quinn," he said, his voice tight. And then he was gone.



Kadie wrapped her arms around her waist. She told herself she should be glad he was gone. It was for the best, after all. So why did she feel so bad?



He stayed away from home for a week this time. Teaching her a lesson, she thought. Proving to her how much she would miss him. And miss him she did.



One night, she gathered her courage and drove to the tavern in town, hoping to find Vaughan. As luck would have it, she found him sitting at the bar, alone.



"Well, well," he drawled. "Look who's here. What happened ? You get tired of Saintcrow?"



"No," she said, taking the stool beside him, "I just felt like a night out on my own. Anything wrong with that?" She glanced around. Besides Vaughan, there were four other vampires in the tavern, all sitting at separate tables.



The silent woman, Frankie, was tending bar. She looked at Kadie, one brow raised.



"I'd like a glass of root beer," Kadie said in answer to her unspoken question.



"You didn't come here for a glass of soda," Vaughan remarked. "Why are you really here?"



Kadie nodded her thanks when Frankie brought her drink. Picking up the glass, Kadie gestured at the other vampires. "Don't you guys like each other?"



"Not much."



"Are there really hunters on the outside?"



He nodded.



"Is it true that you can't leave here?"



"Yeah. Taking refuge here sounded like a good idea at the time. Safety in numbers. A secure location. A ready supply of . . . a ready supply. It was good for a while, but after forty-odd years, I'm ready to take my chances with the hunters."



Forty years in this place? Kadie shuddered. "Why won't Saintcrow let you go?" She knew what Saintcrow had told her, but she was curious to hear what Vaughan would say.



"He thinks he knows what's best for everyone, just because he's the oldest. Sure, we came here seeking a place to hide, but we didn't know he was going to keep us here forever. I don't know about the others, but I've had enough."



Kadie sipped her drink. "So, we're all in the same boat."



"Yeah," Vaughan agreed. "And it's time for a mutiny."