only been covered by the afghan. "They buffered the blow. It went through them, but just pierced me a bit."
Dwayne shook his head, confusion covering his features.
"She isn't a vampire, Father," Greg said firmly. "Neither am I. I'm a psychologist."
"You're her psychologist?" Father Joseph asked with bewilderment.
Lissianna saw Greg smile and knew he'd just come up with a plan. She hoped it worked. He was really starting to look poorly.
"Yes. I'm Lissianna's psychologist. You can check my ID if you like." He pulled his wallet from his pocket and tossed it on the floor in front of the two men.
Dwayne bent to pick up the wallet, keeping the gun trained on them the whole while, then juggling it about as he searched through the wallet's contents. Lisianna held her breath and waited, positive the idiot would accidentally shoot one of them before he was through. She sincerely hoped it was her the man shot; she'd just pass out at the sight of blood if Greg was shot anyway. But, in the end she supposed it didn't really matter, Father Joseph still had them in his sights.
"Dr. Gregory Hewitt," Dwayne read aloud and then frowned. "That name sounds familiar."
"There was an article about you in the paper a couple weeks ago," Father Joseph recalled.
"Yes," Greg said solemnly.
"Oh yeah, I read that," Dwayne nodded. "You're that specialist in phobias."
"Phobias are my specialty," he allowed. "But I also work with other disorders, and Lissianna's mother contacted me because she was concerned about her. Lissianna suffers from…" He hesitated, then asked, "Have you ever heard of lycanthropy?"
"Oh, hey, yeah," Dwayne said when Father Joseph just stared. "That's when people think they're werewolves, right?"
"Right." Greg nodded. "Well, Lissianna suffers from a similar ailment, only she thinks she's a vampire."
Both men turned to peer at Lissianna, and she hoped that none of her surprise was showing. She hadn't expected the tale Greg was coming up with, but it might work if they believed him.
"But she is a vampire," Father Joseph protested. "She bit Dwayne and she's bitten others at the shelter."
"Open your mouth, Lissianna," Greg ordered.
"What?" She stared at him blankly, confused by the sudden order.
"Show them your teeth," he said meaningfully, then moved to her side and caught her face, explaining, "She's resistant because she hasn't got her fake teeth in."
Realizing what he was up to, Lissianna relaxed, allowing him to open her mouth.
"See? No fangs." Greg gently used one finger to lift her upper lip on one side, then the other. It was a quick action, just long enough for them to see that her canines didn't extend past her other teeth, but not long enough for them to notice that the tips were pointed.
Father Joseph and Dwayne took a step forward, then stopped. Both men were frowning.
Greg released Lissianna and turned to face them fully as he continued, "She has ceramic teeth that she glues over her real canines when she goes out to bars to find someone to bite. Lissianna works nights because, of course, vampires can not be out in daylight. She follows all the vampire laws, shunning garlic and religious symbols."
"She ate the mashed garlic I gave her at the shelter," Father Joseph pointed out. "And she didn't react at all to the crosses in her office. If she believes she's a vampire, shouldn't she have at least reacted to them?"
Lissianna glanced at Greg, wondering how he'd explain that.
He hesitated, then said, "She wasn't in her vampire persona then."
"Her vampire persona?" Dwayne asked. "Are you saying she's like a multiple personality or something?"
Greg hesitated again, then tossed an apologetic look her way, and said, "Yes. She's disassociated with two distinct personalities. One is just—" He shrugged. "Lissianna. The other thinks she is a two-hundred-year-old vampire who walks the night."
"But—" Father Joseph broke off with a curse when his phone rang again. Pulling it from his pocket, he growled, "Yes?"
Lissianna glanced toward Greg, noting that aside from his pallor, telltale beads of sweat were gathering on his forehead. He was really suffering. Turning back to their would-be killers, she concentrated on Dwayne. Of the two, she suspected his belief that they were vampires was the more shaken by the tale Greg had come up with. Father Joseph was resisting because if it was true that they weren't vampires, then he would have to accept that he'd tried to stake an innocent woman. He'd rather believe that he was on a mission for God.
Her attempt to slip into Dwayne's presently confused mind