“It’s directly over there,” he spoke smoothly pointing a finger to the right where the headlights weren’t shining. I reached for my seatbelt and purse. By the time I had done that the passenger door was opening before I could reach the handle.

“That’s not necessary,” I said as he closed the door behind me.

He ignored my comment and led me through the velvety black night surrounding us. The leaves crunched beneath my shoes, but only from my footsteps. There was no sign that Aiden was even walking across the same surface I was except that his hand held mine to keep me from straying too far in the wrong direction. I squinted down to maybe catch a glimpse of him floating above the ground like a ghost, but all I could see was two shades, deep black and dark grey. The skyscraping trees blocked any wind from weaving a path along the forest floor, but the upper portions of the White Pines swayed fiercely against the densely spotted night sky.

That was one of the only peaceful things I had seen tonight; the simplicity of the trees bowing to the will of the wind. Any other person might have been able to derive a clever metaphor from the scene, but I couldn’t find any deeper meaning. To me it was a sight of nature, which you hardly witnessed in the concrete jungle of the city. I could understand why so many people bought cottages. The fact that you could go stand on your front porch and see nearly every star in the sky was irresistible. For a second I remembered the times in my childhood when I would run wildly through the woods with my best friend.

“If you’d like to we could stay outside instead of inside the cottage.” Reality burst the bubble of nostalgia I had been floating in. I’d stopped walking and was staring up through the forest canopy with Aiden patiently waiting.

“Sorry I was remembering…” I trailed off. He continued to lead the way. We had already reached front porch while I was busy staring aimlessly.

“I’ll need my hand,” Aiden spoke softly. My body tensed as soon as I realized I was still holding his hand in mine. Thank goodness for the darkness, my face was turning beet red.

With his hand now free he lifted it up towards his mouth, pressing the index finger firmly against a sparkling white canine. I didn’t bother giving the words I was mouthing any voice, I was sure I wouldn’t get an answer anyway. He pressed his finger against the wood grain of the front door. There was the muffled sound of locks clicking out of place and the door swung inward.

I didn’t expect the door to have a deadbolt this far out of the city, but I had expected there to be some need for keys to open it. I was sure he had slipped me something in my sleep. I must’ve been imaging this.

“On the left by the light switch there should be a flashlight hanging,” he said as I stepped through the doorway. I blindly waved my hands in front of me trying to find a wall where the flashlight could be hanging, but I felt nothing. The door clicked shut behind him and the dim moonlight was gone. He laughed in his low voice and then flicked on the flashlight. “I guess your human eyes are worse than I thought.” He handed the flashlight in my direction.

I glared at him and snatched the flashlight away. “You’re used to the layout of the house. I’ve never seen the damn thing before. It’s only natural that I don’t know where the hell I’m going in the dark!”

He laughed again. “The flashlight is yours to carry around. I don’t usually have guests over…well none that are human.”

I shined the flashlight on him and examined him in the overly bright, blue-tinted light it emitted. “So if you’re really a vampire, why aren’t you walking around in a cloak or drooling at the veins in my neck?”

He inhaled a deep breath and closed his eyes. With a half-cracked smile he spoke, “The cloak is a stereotype anymore. The only ones who might wear that are the nomad vampires in Europe and Asia. It’s very rare to see an American vampire traipsing around in a heavy cloak. In fact, it would look more comical than anything.” He ran a hand through his hair and walked away. I turned on my heel to shine the light on him but he had disappeared. My heart started to pound despite my unwillingness to believe what he said he was. There was a mantel above the fireplace, thick with a coating of dust. To the left of that was a long, dark hallway I wouldn’t venture down if my life depended on it, and to the left of that was an extremely ancient looking couch. I could now see that there was a large window on the front of the house, but the heavy drapes were pulled tightly shut.

“As for your neck…” His cold breath was on my nape. I stiffened in fear. My heart thudded audibly above the silence of the cottage. “I only take when offered.” He had moved back from me; the distance relaxed my rigid muscles.

He had turned to face the mantel where he began lighting the dozen or so candles lining the shelf. “Electricity is a wonderful invention. I normally try to stay away from these old fashioned things,” he remarked at the several he had already lit. “But I’d rather not have to pay an electric bill for a place I hardly reside.” He blew out the match in his hand and tossed it into the fireplace. The orange light flickered across the walls of the room giving it a more peaceful presence than the single light of the flashlight had done.

“Isn’t fire the only way you can die?” I asked, watching the orange shadows dance across his pale skin.

“It’s one of the best ways to make sure we’re dead, but it’s not the only way.” He pursed his lips into a frown. “Not that you’re thinking of that…”

“I was just curious as to whether it frightened you to be near to something like that,” I said. The wax began dripping down several candles.

“No, candles aren’t a threat to me. If you were standing there holding a flamethrower or a blow torch,” he smirked and added, “or perhaps a bottle of absinthe with a lit match…”

I was reminded again of the incident that had created this mess. I supposed it was better to be in this situation than vampire food, or at the very least in jail. But being stuck in this limbo between reality and fantasy was confusing enough to drive me insane after a long period of time. I could only hope that things would be cleared up soon.

I flicked off the flashlight and dusted off a place to sit on the couch. The antique wooden frame creaked as my weight was set on the cushion. When I looked up he was gone again. “I really wish he would stop disappearing like that,” I mumbled.

There was a clank of glass from the dark hallway. I switched on the flashlight and tried to steady my heart rate. Aiden reappeared from the hallway, the flashlight’s beam greeting him as he broke from the darkness.

“I can’t offer you absinthe but this is alcoholic just the same. Some of us find it a bit over the top to carry absinthe in our cupboards,” he said sarcastically.

“I’ve never been impressed by it. I drank myself sick on the stuff when I was younger. I never quite got over associating the bitter taste of absinthe with vomiting.”

He laughed and passed me a heavy bottomed glass with what seemed like bourbon in it.

“So you drink regularly too?” I asked as I sipped the liquid. It wasn’t like any bourbon I had tasted before, smoother than any cheap bottom shelf brand I ever bought.

“It’s more out of habit than anything. I was an alcoholic in my past, but after I was turned the habit stuck with me. Occasionally, I can feel some sort of effect, but it’s usually after downing a whole bottle to myself. Being drunk around humans isn’t always the smartest idea…I’m sure you can imagine.”

Thankfully I didn’t want to imagine what happened when that was the case.

“More importantly I’d like to know why you drink so much. You handle yourself very well, but I know you hardly go a day with out a drink or two.” He set his drink on a small end table next to a wooden chair I hadn’t noticed before and sat down.

I bit my lip and hesitated to answer.

“I can smell it on you. I’m sorry if the question was inappropriate.” But he still wanted an answer.

“No, it’s fine. It’s just that most people don’t notice. It’s been a while since I had to explain myself. In fact, every time I did have to explain myself it always resulted in losing a friend or ending a relationship. I guess you can understand if the question makes me feel uncomfortable.” Uncomfortable wasn’t really the right word; anxious and pathetic was more like it. So many memories, good and bad, had been drowned out with the burning taste of alcohol. I couldn’t exactly remember when it was that drinking evolved from medication to habit to addiction. Now that I looked back on it most of my recent friendships had been forged by alcoholism and never matured past that stage.

“It keeps my demons at bay,” I summarized.

“Cheers to that.” He raised his glass and swallowed down the last of the liquid.

I could feel the strong alcohol creeping into my senses, and I loosened up muscles I hadn’t realized I was tensing.

“So what is the plan? Am I expected to just stay here and live for the rest of my life as your captive? Or is there a grand plan you’re waiting to unfold?” I tucked my feet underneath me.

He smiled in a way that shouted, ‘don’t tempt me’. “I’ve been debating that since the moment I sought you out at the club tonight.” He licked his bottom lip and leaned his chin against his knuckles that would’ve made Rodin’s The Thinker jealous. “There are many options, and almost all of them involve your death.” He paused. “On the other hand, the idea of adopting a Bonnie and Clyde persona is enticing to me, but I don’t know how you feel about the matter.”

I stared at him blankly. “I’d rather have some more realistic options.”

“Then in that case if you would please cock your neck to the side and try not to scream-”

I smiled sarcastically. “You’re hilarious you know that?”

“Ah, but it wasn’t a joke. The only option you have is becoming one, or running. Vampires are notorious hunters. They will find you. When you have eternity there’s very little to do but waste time in one way or another. They would consider it a game to hunt you down and tear you limb from limb; drinking every last drop of blood pulsing through your veins in the process.”

I spoke flatly, “Forgive me if your threat had little effect on me.”

“Once again, you’re wrong. It wasn’t a threat. Of course I would be by your side trying to protect you in any way possible. Regardless of what we chose to do you should know that the result, whatever it may end up being, will end with my death. It was suicide to even think about protecting you in the first place. In that one decision I betrayed my own kind and anyone who sees fit to put me in my place will also be having my head, along with yours.”

This did have a bit of an effect on me. While I had little or no regard for my own life, another person’s demise shouldn’t be taken as lightly.

“I suppose some part of me had hoped you would be leaning more towards the outlaw idea like I was…” He shifted his gaze to the moonlight creeping from the bottom of the drapes.

“You can’t expect me to run away.”

“And why not? That’s all you’ve done your entire life.” His words cut sharply through the air and pierced my calm demeanor. My breath was quick and shallow. The blood rose to my face and my ears burned with anger and embarrassment.

“Would it be easier if I told you, you have no choice in the matter?” He looked me in the eye with a cold stare.

“When push comes to shove, I have no option but to shove back.” I stood up and grabbed my purse from the dusty floor it had been sitting on. “I’ll be calling a taxi if you need me.”

He crossed a leg over the other. “You think a taxi will come out here? Better yet, do you even know where ‘here’ is?” he mocked.

“Not at the moment, but in case you really have been trapped inside a coffin for the last twenty years there are GPS navigators on cell phones now.” I reached into my bag and retrieved my cell.

“And the best question of all, do you really think you get service?” He cocked his head up at me.

I flipped open the phone and sure enough there were no bars indicating service or roaming. I snapped it shut. “Maybe you’ve only had Sprint in your long, vampire lifetime, but my cell phone gets service anywhere, even out here,” I lied.

He rose from the chair so quickly his movements were still blurred in my vision when his hand was already clutching mine. “You’re a terrible liar, but I’m willing to work on that.”

“Let me go!” I tried to wrench my arm free but his grip was vice-like against my feeble attempts. My gears shifted into fear mode again.

He pressed a finger against my lips to silence me. I could see just how much I was shaking now that he was standing perfectly still so close to me.

“You must trust me just a little if you followed me here, Cali…right?” He trailed his finger against my cheek in attempt to calm me. Just the tone in which he spoke my name would’ve been enough. There was sympathy in his words. He understood how I was feeling. Either he was a terribly good actor, or he genuinely meant to help me.

I nodded, calming myself a bit.

“You have to understand that life is not always as simple as it should be. There are many things you can’t even imagine out there aside from the human world that reach far beyond the existence of vampires. I never promised that you would come out of this alive, but I do promise I will keep you safe.”

He could see the unconvinced look in my expression. He sighed and removed his hand from my face. “What do I have to do to convince you?” He ran his hand through his hair. With an annoyed tone in his voice he continued, “I’m being serious about everything I’ve said.”

I ran my teeth against the inside of my lip trying to figure out what would convince me that he absolutely was a vampire as he said he was. It wasn’t a question you might have already thought about before like those trivia questions people ask; ‘What five things would you bring with you to a deserted island,’ so that one day when you found yourself being shipped off to a deserted island you could actually prepare yourself with a little forethought. The typical things came to mind like, ‘show me your coffin’, but from what I gathered all the stereotypical vampire traits I had seen in the movies were completely off. So what was supposed to convince me if I couldn’t see his inch-long fangs or shove a cross into his palm and watch it burn him?

“I mean, after being attacked by Alexander tonight I hoped that would be proof enough. Does it not strike you as odd that all of his skin was black despite the fact that the fire only scorched his face? You realize that burns hardly turn black unless they are contracted from extreme heat, right? None of that struck you as odd?” his voice rose slightly towards the end of his rant.

I swallowed hard. “I haven’t seen many burn victims in my life, but yes it did seem a little strange,” my voice was firm.

“But you still think I’m making all of this up?” he said as he rolled his eyes.

I spared him the spiel about how all my life I had wished there was something more to life than the monotonous cycle I had been prepared from since grade school, and how I had given up on anything existing other than the boring routine of work and half-interesting hobbies just after high school. “I’m willing to accept that there’s something out of my control going on, and it now involves me, but outside of that-” He clapped his hand over my mouth with such force I tasted the blood on my tongue where my teeth were cutting into my lip.

‘Don’t move.’ His lips hadn’t moved, but his voice was perfectly clear. My knees went weak for a second and I wobbled in place. Had he mentioned he could speak to me inside my head I would’ve believed him right away.

‘I said don’t move!’ and then he cursed out loud. My feet left the ground and the walls around me blurred. I clutched on to whatever part of his body it was that was keeping my legs from tearing apart from my torso. I couldn’t open my eyes, the air stung my eyes at that speed we were moving. I heard the backdoor fly open and I felt the outside air against my skin.