Page 59 of Starved Until Sunset

“How much older?” Oliver said.

“He’s thousands of years old.”

“Jesus,” Demetrius whispered.

“Yeah, probably hung out with him. So, they all lived together in their dwelling, doing their vampire thing.”

“Dwelling?” Oliver said.

“Their lair or nest,” Demetrius said.

“But Xavier didn’t want too many vampires taking people, because that would attract too much attention from the living. So, they made sure not to turn anyone they bit.”

“How do they turn someone?” Oliver asked, lowering his voice and leaning forward. “Is it like in the books and movies?”

“I asked Michael that last night,” Clarabell said. “To turn someone, a vampire will drain a person’s blood, almost to the point of death. That usually takes at least three bites to accomplish. Once the intended reaches that point⁠—”

“Intended?” Oliver said, glancing at Demetrius with a sneer. “That sounds a bit romantic, don’t you think?”

Clarabell shrugged. “It was his word, not mine. Anyway, once the victim…” She gave Oliver a raised eyebrows look. “Has been bitten, an exchange of fluids happens, either vampire saliva or blood enters the bloodstream of the bitten. When the victim is drained of blood after the third bite, they become a vampire at sunset the following day.”

“Gross,” Oliver said. “So three bites and you’re pretty much done.”

“Right. So, for many, many years, Xavier didn’t allow them to turn anyone else. A little while after he’d been turned, Michael decided he didn’t like killing people and he started hunting animals. He and Xavier and Aldrik had many arguments about his change of heart, and eventually they kicked him out. Michael wandered on his own for a time, but he made up his mind to work toward stopping Aldrik and Xavier once and for all. He knew they’d come to this country years before, and so he moved here as well and has been going from town to town, trying to stop them.”

“This is crazy,” Oliver said.

“From what Dr. Graham told me, Aldrik will move into a town and find a human to help him,” Clarabell continued.

“His very own Renfield,” Demetrius said.

“Right.”

“But who here in Parson’s Hollow would he have convinced to help him drain people of blood?” Demetrius sat back. “It would have to be someone evil, right?”

“Could be someone desperate for money or the promise of eternal life,” Oliver said. “I mean, if these vampires have been around that long, they’ve probably got a bunch of money stashed away.”

“Absolutely,” Clarabell said. “And they’ve learned all the tricks about hiding it from the government.”

“So, someone living beyond their means or eager to live forever.” Demetrius tipped his head back and ran his hands up and down his face. He realized he was wearing the fresh pair of gloves and swore quietly before getting to his feet and moving toward the door, pulling them off. “Can they hypnotize people, too?”

“Oh, yeah. They can do that. Don’t look them in the eye,” Clarabell said.

Before Demetrius reached the door, the lock buzzed as someone keyed in the passcode on the other side, and Tracey Mumm entered the room. She started slightly at the sight of him standing so close.

“Why are you lurking inside the door?” Tracey said with a scowl. “I nearly had a heart attack.”

“Sorry. I need new gloves.” Demetrius dropped them in the bin and grabbed a fresh pair, but didn’t pull them on as he returned to his seat.

“What are you losers researching today?”

“Losers?” Oliver said.

“Vampires,” Clarabell replied, turning a page of her book. “Got any insight for us?”

“How much time do you have?”

They all looked at her, then each other.