Page 39 of Abiding Blood

I safely returned to the farmhouse where we were sheltering. As I walked to my car, I rested my hand on the hood. It felt like an artifact from another life. We’d filled it with gas the night before. The car was in good condition, and the roads were snowy but navigable. If I left right then, I’d probably have another five or six hours of daylight to put distance between myself and this new threat. I thought it over for another minute or two, then started packing.

21

VINCENT

The sun had set, and I opened my eyes and listened for sounds from above. The house was ominously quiet. I suppressed the growing sense of dread. There was only one way to find out if Julian had stayed.

Unbolting the door took only seconds, but I stood there for nearly a minute before I had the courage to turn the handle. I listened the whole time, but there were no sounds, not even the thudding of a beating heart. It was no surprise to find the living space cold and dark. All of Julian’s belongings were gone, except for the gun, which still rested where I’d placed it the night before. It was almost as if we’d never been there at all.

I let out a breath. What did this mean for me, for my future?

I never should have left the decision to the human. When had I ever given my prey a choice?

No. I halted my train of thought. It would only take me to the same dark place as that lodge in the mountains, where captive humans lived in squalor, completely at the mercy of bloodthirsty monsters. I would do everything I could to avoid being the monster here. I would change. And I realized I cared about what happened to Julian and hoped he would find safety, even if that safety wasn’t with me.

I went back down to the basement and grabbed my pack. I would have to move on. Was it worth trying again? Could I even find someone else willing to consider such a bargain? Was it better to accept fate? Was it time to face the fact that I probably wasn’t going to survive this; that one way or another, it was just a matter of time before this life came to an end? If that was so, what did it matter if I lost my mind alone or with a group of similarly mad vampires?

But it did matter.

To me, it mattered that I should try to hold on to who I was, to preserve what I could for as long as possible. Now the question was, could I do that alone?

I exited through the front door and stepped onto the porch. I was so lost in thought that I almost missed the fact that Julian’s car was still parked where we’d left it the night before. I halted, puzzled, unable to grasp its significance. Then I spotted Julian sitting in a chair at the far end of the porch, wrapped in a blanket, with Samson on his lap. I’d been so distracted by my initial disappointment that I hadn’t thought to extend my senses wider to search for the man.

Julian still wore the same clothing as the night before and didn’t seem to have gotten much rest. He looked up as I came closer.

“I thought it would be best to pack the car early to give us as much time as possible to drive tonight,” he said. “How did you sleep?”

“You’re still here?” I asked, ignoring the question. I still couldn’t fully believe that Julian had chosen to stay.

“Yeah,” he sighed. “I’m still here.”

“Why?” I asked. I couldn’t help but wonder what would make Julian want to stay with someone like me. I leaned back against the porch railing and waited.

“Well, I’m still unsure about our…bargain. However, I don’t know what’s out there, and I don’t think it’s best to face whatever it is alone.

“I went for a walk today. I didn’t see another living soul the entire way. I’m pretty sure I saw several bodies, though.” He stared into the distance as his expression grew blank. “I never thought it would get this bad. I thought it would be over by now, and I could return home, back to my job, back to my life. I guess all that is over now. I hadn’t believed it until today—not even after everything I witnessed last night. I suppose, when it comes down to it, I just don’t want to be alone.” He looked up at me then.

I nodded. “I don’t want to be alone either.”

Julian got up and walked to the car, tucking the cat, blanket and all, into the backseat. “Would you mind getting the rifle?” he asked. “I just… I just don’t…”

I took one look at his face, went back into the house, grabbed the gun and ammunition, and stowed them in the car as well.

We set off for our second night of travel, and things felt easier between us. Our flight didn’t seem as desperate this evening, and we were more relaxed as we turned and continued north.

“How much further do we have to go to get out of the territory or whatever?” Julian asked once we’d rejoined the highway.

“I believe that if we travel more than half the distance one of my kind can cover in a single evening, we will be beyond their reach.”

“Your kind?” He snorted. “Vampires. Just say vampires. It sounds ridiculous, sure, but this whole thing is so far outside of normal.”

“Indeed. I was attempting to be…diplomatic.”

“Uh-huh.”

“As I was saying, if we drive for at least three more hours, we should be okay. I doubt they will find us easily, even if they wanted to; traveling by car will have obscured our scent.”

“Scent? They can find us by our smell?”