Page 81 of Starved Until Sunset

Demetrius left the unconscious young man and took a crucifix from Eileen. He approached the older man struggling with Michael and pressed the crucifix against the back of his neck. The reaction was immediate. The crucifix grew hot in his grip, and a line of smoke curled up from the burning flesh. With a shriek of agony, Michael’s attacker bolted, leaving a cloudy trail.

Transferring the crucifix to his other hand, Demetrius wiped his palm and fingers on his pants. It relieved some of the sting, but the tingling sensation lingered. Next time, he would wear work gloves.

Michael looked over his shoulder and smiled grimly. “Thanks.”

“Can you hold her?” Demetrius asked. Behind him, he could hear the young girl talking quietly with Amelia and Eileen.

“I believe so. But we’ll need to act quickly and move away from the busy sidewalk.”

“Take her to the other end of the alley,” Demetrius said. “We’ll be there soon. Anything we can do for this man?”

Michael looked over at the man on the ground. “He’s still breathing, so it wasn’t a third bite, which is good. He should come around in a few more minutes.”

“How would we know if it was the third bite?” Demetrius asked.

“He’d be dead,” Michael replied in a matter of fact tone. “The third bite drains what remains of the blood.”

“Oh,” was all Demetrius could say as his stomach knotted. “And that’s all that’s needed to turn someone into a vampire?”

“Yes. The sunset after a third bite, if there’s been the slightest transfer of blood or saliva between vampire and human, the human will awaken as a vampire.” Michael adjusted his grip on struggling woman. “Meet me at the other end.”

And he was gone, moving too fast for Demetrius to follow. He squinted into the shadows gathered at the other end of the alley and saw Michael push the still struggling woman against the wall and hold her there. He tamped down an inner voice crying out about elder abuse, then turned to Amelia and Eileen.

“Let’s get this man comfortable and go to the other end of the alley.”

The girl had dropped onto a bench situated across from the mural-painted wall. Demetrius and Amelia got the man up and, nearly dropping him a few times, more or less transferred him safely to the bench beside his friend.

“He’ll be awake again soon,” Demetrius said. “And you two should get off the streets and out of town before sunset tomorrow.”

She stared at him and nodded.

Eileen had already started off down the alley, the sound of her cane echoing off the buildings. Demetrius and Amelia caught up with her just before they reached Michael, and Demetrius was glad to see that Oliver and Dave had arrived. Deputy Walsh was there as well, looking increasingly uncomfortable as she watched Michael restrain the struggling elderly woman.

“Where do you sleep in the daylight?” Michael asked as he clamped down tight on the old woman’s wrists.

“With our father,” she said, and then she stretched her head forward and snapped her fangs. “In the dirt of the country you abandoned.”

“I see my brother has been talking with you,” Michael said. “Where is that place? Tell us where he’s holding Dr. Baldwin and the others.”

“You’ll never find them in time,” the old woman said, snapping at him again. “They’ll have joined us by the time you find them. And the streets of this town will be drenched with blood.” She looked right at Demetrius, and a shiver went through him at the hatred and hunger he saw in her eyes. “You’ll never get the stain out of this place. It’s been here for generations, and here is where we will thrive.”

A long blast of holy water hit her face, splashing onto Michael’s hands and chest as well. She let out a piercing shriek as Michael gave a startled cry and released her, pulling back hands that trailed smoke. She clutched at her face and, with hate burning in her eyes, peered at them through her smoking fingers.

“All of you will join us.”

In a flash of movement, she was gone.

Demetrius looked over his shoulder and saw Amelia give a single, decisive nod as she lowered her squirt gun. “She really was going on, wasn’t she?”

“Amelia,” Demetrius said, shocked at her actions. “We needed her to find out where Cody and the others are being held.”

“Amelia’s correct, actually,” Michael said, waving his hands in the air to ease the sting. “That woman was most likely trying to keep us here until Aldrik or Father came to her aid.”

“How would they know?” Walsh asked, looking around, then lowered her voice. “Telepathy?”

“Oh, no. Nothing that grand. Just incredible hearing.”

“Oh, that’s all,” Oliver said drily.