someone below. I glimpsed a familiar figure in the alley. Hmmm. Lacking experience, but not tenacity. I could work with this.
I leapt onto the next, lower rooftop. Then I saw a second figure in the alley with my stalker. Backup? I took a closer look. Nope, definitely not. We had a teenage girl and a twenty-something guy, and they were definitely not together, given that the guy was sticking to the shadows, creeping along behind the girl.
The girl continued to walk, oblivious. When she paused to adjust her backpack, he started to swoop in. Her head jerked up, as if she’d heard something. He ducked into a doorway.
Yes, you heard footsteps in a dark alley. Time to move your cute little ass and maybe, in future, reconsider the wisdom of strolling through alleys at all.
She peered behind her, then shrugged and continued on. The man waited until she rounded the next corner and slid from his spot. When he reached the corner and peeked around it, I dropped from the fire escape and landed behind him.
He wheeled. He blinked. Then he smiled.
“Thought that might work,” I said. “Forget the little girl. I’m much more fun.”
He whipped out a knife. I slammed my fist into his forearm, smacking it against the brick wall. Reflexively his hand opened, dropping the knife. He dove for it. I kicked it, then I kicked him. My foot caught him under the jaw. He went up. I kicked again. He went down.
I leapt onto his back, pinning him. “Well, that was fast. Kind of embarrassing, huh? I think you need to work out more.”
He tried to buck me off. I sank my fangs into the back of his neck and held on as he got to his feet. He swung backward toward the wall, planning to crush me, I’m sure, but my saliva kicked in before he made it two steps. He teetered, then crashed to the pavement, unconscious.
I knelt to feed. I wasn’t particularly hungry, but only a fool turns down a free meal, and maybe waking up with the mother of all hangovers would teach this guy a stalking lesson he wouldn’t soon forget.
“Die, vampire!”
I spun as the teenage girl raced toward me, wooden stake on a collision course with my heart. I grabbed the stake and yanked it up, flipping the girl onto her back.
“That’s really rude,” I said. “I just saved your ass from a scumbag rapist. Is this how you repay me? Almost ruin my favorite shirt?”
She leapt to her feet and sent the stake on a return trip to my chest. Again, I stopped it. I could have pointed out that it really wouldn’t do anything more than damage my shirt—vampires die by beheading—but I thought it best not to give her any ideas.
She ran at me again. I almost tripped over the unconscious man’s arm. As I tugged him out of the way, she rushed me. I grabbed the stake and threw it aside.
She lifted her hands. Her fingertips lit up, glowing red.
“Ah, fire half-demon,” I said. “Igneus, Aduro, or Exustio?”
“I won’t let you kill him.”
“You don’t know a lot about vampires, do you? Or about being a vampire hunter. First, you really need to work on your dialogue.” “Don’t talk to me, bloodsucker.”
“Bloodsucker? What’s next? Queen of Darkness? Spawn of Satan? You’re running about twenty years behind, sweetie. Where’s the clever quip? The snappy repartee?”
She snarled and charged, burning fingers outstretched. I sidestepped and winced as she stumbled over the fallen man.
“See, that’s why I moved him.”
She spun and came at me again. I grabbed her hand. Her burning fingers sizzled into my skin.
“Fire is useless against a vampire, as you see,” I said. “So your special power doesn’t do you any good, which means you’re going to have to work on your other skills. I’d suggest gymnastics, aikido, and maybe ninjitsu, though it’s hard to find outside Japan these days.”
She wrenched free and backed up, scowling. “You’re mocking me.”
“No, I’m helping you. First piece of advice? Next time, don’t telegraph your attack.”
“Telegraph?”
“Yelling, ‘Die, vampire’ as you attack from behind may add a nice, if outdated, touch, but it gives you away. Next time, just run and stab. Got it?”
She stared at me. I retrieved her stake and handed it over. Then I started walking away.
“Second piece of advice?” I called back. “Stay out of alleys at night. There are a lot worse things than me out here.”
I spun and grabbed the stake just as she was about