Chapter 155

Dark miles disappeared behind them as they made their way down twisting highways and lonely interstates. Verchiel kept the speedometer between 80 and 100. He deftly maneuvered the shiny sports car from lane to lane. Whenever Katelina looked through the windshield she thought of a racing video game and looked away.
Verchiel veered off of the interstate and onto a frontage road, whistling to himself. When she turned her questioning eyes to him he said simply, "I don't know about you, but I'm getting hungry."
She grunted in reply, though refused to admit how hungry and thirsty she was.
The gas station was a typical brick building with a snow capped roof and a salted parking lot. Christmas lights blinked from the glass windows and the glowing sign board reminded everyone to have "Happy Holidays". Tiny snowflakes sputtered from the sky and landed on the windshield, the clouds not quite committed to a real snowfall.
They parked close to the building and in an almost macabre moment of d¨¦j¨¤ vu, Verchiel glanced at her and said, "Just behave this time or I'll put you in the trunk."
"That would look good." She fastened her coat and adjusted the stocking hat over her unkempt hair. "I bet someone would call the cops."
He grinned and turned the car off. "That would make things interesting, wouldn't it? Now come along Kately, and be good."
"Quit calling me that! It's not my name."
He did his best to look innocent as he climbed out of the car. "You don't like it?"
"No." She was too hungry and had to pee too bad to argue with him, so she got out and slammed the door. "My mother used to call me that when I was a kid. I've always hated it."
He was beside her a little too fast, though no one was outside to notice. He gripped her arm firmly, a tight smile on his face that kept his fangs concealed, but still looked pleasant to the unwary. "That's a shame. Katelina is so formal and mature. Kately is much more fitting."
Though she was tempted to kick him, she let him walk her into the gas station. He stayed beside her past the rows of food and back to the restroom doors.
"Planning to go with me?"
He gave her a grin that said he might, but let go of her so that she could slip inside and slam the door. When she was finished, she washed her hands and tried to decide whether she should attempt an escape or not. There was no window and, really, nowhere to go, so it seemed pointless. He'd just break down the door and fetch her out.
Defeated, she headed out of the restroom. He intercepted her almost immediately and took her arm again. He steered her towards the drinks coolers where she chose a large bottle of plum tea, and then to the mini sandwich fridge where she selected a Chuckwagon. He even stayed glued to her side as she microwaved it.
He paid and waited while she ate her sandwich and two granola bars with one hand, her other arm still clutched tightly in his. He peered through the windows as though he was looking for something. She hoped for a glorious moment that Jorick was nearby, though Verchiel's casual attitude made her doubt it.
She'd scarcely chewed the last bite of her food, when Verchiel suddenly tugged her out the door. Wordlessly, he led her across the wet sidewalk towards a camper that was parked around the corner of the building. The back end of it hung out and exhaust rolled from it in large clouds.
Verchiel paused long enough to sniff the air and murmur a satisfied, "Alone," before they started their journey again. Though the forced pace was casual and nonchalant, Katelina had a bad feeling. Before they'd pulled into the gas station he'd said he was hungry. She hadn't thought about it, but now his words made her stomach cold. There wouldn't be any wild life here, so what could he feed on? Her mind whispered the one word answer, though she pretended not to hear it.
They made a wide circle of the camper and came at it from the side. The driver's door opened and a man with a thick Santa style beard got out. He paused just outside to zip his heavy parka up, then turned and moved towards the front of the vehicle.
Katelina's heart pounded and sick certainty filled her. She knew what his prey was going to be. She'd adjusted to vampires feeding on animals by convincing herself it was no different than eating a hamburger. She'd even come to terms with them tearing out each other's throats because that was a battle. To watch him feed on a human was too much for her.
She tried to get loose. "Let me go! I can't watch you kill him!"
"I won't kill him, unless you annoy me. Now be quiet."
She fell into an uneasy silence as they completed their walk. When they reached the front of the camper they found the bearded man poking at one of the tires. His fur trimmed hood and beer gut made his resemblance to the Christmas deity that much more convincing. It was bad enough that Verchiel was going to attack a human, but to ask her to willingly watch him eat Santa Claus, or even be present in the same parking lot, was just cruel and sick. It was like having rabbit for Easter dinner and telling the kids it was the Easter Bunny.
The man looked up, suddenly alert. He hid his caution under a guise of friendliness. "Hello there. Cold night."
"That it is." Verchiel eyed the man with a look not dissimilar to Popeye's friend Wimpy when faced with a hamburger. Katelina's stomach rolled.
"Having trouble?" he asked conversationally, his tight but friendly smile in place.
The Santa look-a-like threw back his hood and surveyed them cautiously. The fear on Katelina's face no doubt made him wary. "Apparently not. I thought it was getting low, but it's fine."
"Glad to hear it! I wonder if you might know where the exit for Belladora is." The man stared blankly and Verchiel used his free hand to pull a map from his pocket and flick it open expertly. "See." He waved it around. "It should be around here somewhere."
Katelina wanted to shout at the old man to run away, but she couldn't find her voice. Even if she could, it was doubtful he'd listen to her.
With no one to tell him otherwise, he fell for Verchiel's lie and quickly caught the moving map. He studied it, his brow puckered in confusion. "You're sure you've got the right area?" When he looked up, Verchiel had disappeared and there was only a wide-eyed Katelina.
"Where'd he go?"
She didn't get a chance to tell him.
Verchiel was behind him. In less than a second, he grabbed the man's head and pulled it back to expose his throat. Silently, he struck. His fangs buried themselves in the wrinkly neck. The man only struggled for a moment before he succumbed and let Verchiel feed on him.
Small snowflakes drifted around them and the gas station's Christmas lights blinked cheerily. A few feet from the holiday reality, Old Saint Nick's doppelganger was being attacked by a vampire, only no one could see them in the shadowy corner. No one except Katelina, who stood frozen to the spot, her mouth open in a perfect cartoon "o" and her blue eyes wide with horror. Soft suckling sounds reached her ears and she recoiled inwardly, unable to physically move.
The man's face started to pale and Verchiel released him, reluctance in his eyes. Before he pulled away, he ran his tongue over the still oozing mark to clean up the last drops. The man stared straight ahead, his eyes glassy. Verchiel moved to stand in front of him. "You haven't seen us," he said quietly. "You were alone."
"Alone," the man repeated, his voice as hollow as his eyes.
Verchiel gave a crisp nod of satisfaction and took Katelina's arm. "Shall we?"
She fought to keep her voice quiet as she whisper-shouted, "You sick bastard! How could you? He looked just like Santa! Do you have any idea how twisted that is?"
Verchiel stopped in his tracks and exploded into laughter. "He looked like dinner to me." Without discussing it further, he picked up the pace. He was still chuckling when he stuffed her into the car.



The Vampire's Secret
Detail
Share
Font Size
40
Bgcolor