Abandoned

"We made love that night. And many nights after. We pledged ourselves to one other, forever." He bowed his head and drummed his fingers gently across the wood. "She saved me from death. Gave me a new life."

"And how many others have died so that you could live?" I asked.

James opened his eyes and turned toward me.

"None that did not deserve it."

"You have no right to decide who deserves death."

"Yes, I forgot. That is a right you Van Helsings reserve for yourselves, isn't it?" His eyes radiated hatred. "There are good and evil among us, just as there are among humans. But you treat us all with equal contempt, whether we deserve it or not. And I promise you, Claire did not deserve it.

"She was an exceptional madam, fiercely protective of the women in her employ. If a customer hurt one of her girls, she made certain he would never hurt anyone again. Those are the men who died at our hands.

"One night, I stopped at the brothel just as the police were leaving. I assumed Claire had been forced to discipline another customer, but when I entered and saw all the women crying, raw terror seized me. Those moments—the minutes between suspecting and knowing—were the longest of my life.

"The women told me what happened. They'd heard a scream from upstairs. Not of pleasure, but pain. Claire flew up the steps and threw open the door. She saw one of the new girls on the bed, sobbing but unhurt. Just as the girl started to apologize, the man hiding behind the door lunged forward and thrust a wooden stake through Claire's heart. The girl claimed Claire disintegrated before her eyes, turned to ash.

"I searched until dawn for Claire's killer, until the first rays of sunlight seared my flesh. But he'd vanished. I vowed that he would suffer. That his family would suffer.

"I traveled the world in search of answers. I learned of the Van Helsings, a family line that humans believed had died out long ago, but which vampires knew still thrived in secret.

"I spent years watching other vampires from the shadows, hoping to catch a glimpse of the men and women who hunted them. It took decades, but I found your father and tracked you both here."

"You vowed to kill us," I said. "So why haven't you?" I knew that keeping James talking was the only way to buy us more time.

"I never vowed to kill you. I vowed that you would suffer. And I devised a plan to make that happen.

"I paid someone to rent a unit in your storage facility for me. He was to pay in cash every month." He nodded at Amber. "Once I identified the perfect bait, I told the man to stop paying rent. Then I paid him more to tell anyone who might ask that he spent the monthly rent on child support. After a few months of missed payments, I gave Amber her new life."

"So Amber was the bait to lure me, and I'm the bait to lure my father?"

"Not quite. First, I had to unlock the one mystery I was most desperate to solve. You see, when I found your father, the vampire he was hunting overpowered him. I watched in glee as he sank his teeth into your father's neck. Then a curious thing happened. The vampire seemed to ... evaporate. How could that be, I wondered? What strange power did your blood hold? I needed to know. My plan depended upon it. Amber provided the answer."

He grinned and recited the same words I'd spoken to Amber in the woods. "When removed from Transylvania soil, Van Helsing blood shall sour and spoil. Should demons touch, their souls will boil, sent back to hell for pain and toil."

My stomach lurched. I glanced at Amber. She looked sick.

"I didn't tell him, Hans. You have to believe me!"

James traced a line in the dirt with the toe of his shoe. "Did you notice the floor? I refinished it myself. In fact, I traveled to Romania a few weeks ago to gather the material. It was expensive, but I think it was worth it. Wouldn't you agree?"

I glanced at the earth below my feet. "Little rustic for my taste."

He scooped up a handful and watched it trickle through his fingers. "I think it's perfect. This soil is the key to your family's suffering. With it, I can transform you into the thing your father hates most in this world. Tell me, do you think he's enough of a monster to hunt and kill his own son?"

"No. But I'm damn sure he'll kill you."

"Perhaps. But it won't matter. I will have fulfilled my vow. Because even if he spares your life, he will die knowing that future generations of Van Helsings will hunt his son like an animal. They will find you. And they will murder you."

He withdrew a key from the pocket of his pants, then drove his fist into the middle of my stomach. My eyes grew wide as I wheezed and gasped, trying in vain to fill my lungs. He unlocked the shackles and dragged me by my unbroken arm across the floor to Amber.

"But first, I need to be sure. I've come too far to risk my immortality. Fortunately, I don't have to." He pulled me to my feet and thrust my arm towards Amber's mouth. "Drink."

Amber spat in his face. "Fuck. You."

I screamed as James twisted my forearm until it felt like it might snap. He released the pressure. "Drink," he repeated.

"Do it yourself, coward," Amber said.

"Very well." James snatched a crossbow bolt from the ground and centered it over Amber's heart.

"Wait!" I shouted. "Amber, please. It's okay. You can do this."

She shook her head. Her eyes welled with tears.

"Please. For me."

James pressed my arm to her lips. She opened her mouth. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

I winced as her teeth pierced my flesh. Blood flowed from the wound and dripped down my arm, falling onto the soil below.

James pulled my arm from her mouth and pinched together Amber's cheeks with his hand. "Open!"

Amber opened her mouth. Her lips and tongue were red. A drop of blood clung to one fang.

"Now swallow," he said.

Amber closed her mouth and swallowed. James and I both stared at her, waiting. For the first time, he and I shared a common goal. Neither of us wanted to watch Amber die.

I don't know how much time passed. Seconds felt like hours. At last, James seemed satisfied.

He pinned me against the wall and squeezed the puncture wound on my arm. "Don't be frightened," he said, showing me the blood that now coated his gloved finger. "Your life does not end here. It begins anew." He licked my blood from his finger and smiled.

Then his expression changed. His smiled faltered, then vanished. His grip slackened. I slid down the stone wall as he staggered backward, clutching his throat. His eyes widened in confusion and terror, and he dropped to his knees. He extended a hand toward my throat. The skin on his face shriveled and cracked, like the surface of a dry lakebed. He tipped forward, and his entire body collapsed into a heap of white ash.

I struggled to my feet, then grabbed the key from the pile of empty clothes and unlocked Amber's shackles. She threw her arms around me and pulled me tight.

I grimaced. "Easy."

"Shit. Your arm. Let me see."

"It's fine. What about your wrists?"

"I'll live." She held out her arms. The skin was red and blistered where it had touched the silver, but it had already begun to heal.

Amber stared at the pile of clothes. "I don't understand. If I didn't ... then why did he ..."

"I lied to you about the enchantment," I said. "Sorry."

"What?"

"These are the real words:

Van Helsing blood shall sour and spoil

at demon's touch. Their souls 'twill boil.

But pure of heart need not recoil.

Their souls stay clean and free from soil."

"Wait. It has nothing to do with soil from Transylvania?"

"Nope."

She stepped away and crossed her arms. "You didn't trust me after all."

"I did! Mostly."

"Mostly?"

"Yeah. Like 95%."

Her eyes narrowed.

"Okay, maybe 90%," I said. "You have to admit, it's a pretty unlikely coincidence that a vampire would show up in a storage unit owned by a family of vampire hunters. I knew something was up. I just didn't know if you were in on it. I couldn't take a chance."

"If you wanted to know whether I was pure of heart or a demon, why didn't you just ask me to bite you? As long as I didn't turn to dust, you'd know I wasn't helping James."

"True," I said.

"Ah, I get it," she said. "If I got dusted, then I couldn't lead you to James. And it would tip him off that you were onto his plan."

I shrugged.

"You're such an asshole," she said.

"Do you want to know the real reason I was so terrified about you touching my blood? It's because I didn't want to lose you. I've loved every second I've been with you. And if you were just pretending to care about me as part of some plot with James, then I wanted you to keep pretending as long as possible."

She sighed. "Fuck. That's actually kind of sweet."

I slipped my good arm around her waist. She didn't push it away. I pulled her closer and moved my mouth toward hers. Before our lips touched, a voice broke the silence.

"Step away from my son."

I pulled away and turned to face my father. He was aiming a crossbow at Amber's chest.

"Lower the crossbow, Dad." I stepped in front of Amber.

"Afraid I can't do that, Abe. Step aside."

"Dad, if you read my letter, you know Amber is—"

"A vampire. That's all I need to know."

"No. It's not." I kept my voice calm and even, but my heart hammered inside my chest.

"Mr. Van Helsing," Amber said. "I would never hurt your son. I promise."

My father ignored her. "Abe, you're young. And naïve. And—"

"And you're old and set in your ways! You don't know Amber. She's not a monster." I met her eyes. "She might think she is. But she's wrong."

"I'm sure she was a good person once. Many of them were. But not anymore. Son, this is what vampires do. Seduce. Manipulate. Kill. It's in their blood."

"It's not in hers."

"Whose idea was it to come here?" he asked. "Hers or yours?"

"We decided together."

"Bullshit. She convinced you to come. She lured you into a trap. You're just too lovestruck to see it."

I nodded at the pile of clothes. "She and I found him, Dad. Together. And we stopped him. Together."

"She'll bide her time. Set a new trap."

"Put down the crossbow."

"If I do that, you're as good as dead."

"You have to trust me, Dad. You have to let me make my own choices. Even if you think they're wrong."

His left hand trembled. "Your mother's gone, Abe. I can't lose you too."

"You won't. But if you shoot her, I promise, you'll never see me again. Put it down."

He lowered the crossbow.

"You're making a mistake," he said.

"Then it'll be my mistake."

My dad opened his mouth as if he were going to say something else, then closed it. He nodded, then turned and retreated up the stairs.

I realized I'd been holding my breath. I released it in a shaky sigh. Amber slipped her fingers through mine.

"Thank you," she said.

I squeezed her hand.

"Why didn't you just tell him that I bit you?" she asked. "That the enchantment didn't turn me to dust?"

"He's always trusted the enchantment," I said. "For once, I needed him to trust me."

*******

Amber fidgeted with the buttons on her coat, then adjusted her white wool cap. She brought an index finger to her mouth and traced the outline of her fang.

"You look beautiful," I said.

"Thanks."

"But I'd lose the hat."

"You think?"

"Definitely."

She tossed it into the back seat and ran her fingers through her hair. Then she resumed fidgeting with her buttons while I drummed my fingers against the cast on my arm. I let her stall for another minute before breaking the silence.

"Ready?"

She forced a smile. "No."

"Yes, you are. C'mon."

We left the car and stepped into the cool night air. After crossing the street, we made our way to the door. Amber glanced at me. I'd never seen her so scared, not even when James had been holding a stake next to her heart. I nodded.

She rang the doorbell and took a deep breath.

We heard shuffling and saw movement through the frosted glass. The front porch light flickered on. The door swung open.

Amber's father stood in the entryway. His eyes swept my face, then grew wide as they shifted to Amber.

"Mark?" called a woman's voice from inside. "Who is it?"

Amber's father opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

"Mark?" called the voice, more irritated now. "Who's—"

Amber's mother joined her husband at the door. She spotted Amber and froze. A trembling hand covered her mouth.

"Amber?" Her dad's voice was a whisper.

Amber gave a small wave. "Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad."

Her parents spilled onto the front porch and engulfed their daughter in a hug. All three broke into tears. I stepped back as they wept and held one another.

When the embrace finally ended, the questions started.

"Are you okay? What happened? Where have you—"

"Whoa. One thing at a time," Amber said, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "Can I come in? We have a lot to talk about."

I removed a packet of tissues from my pocket and offered them to Amber's parents. Her mom took one and eyed me warily as she wiped her nose.

"Who's this?" her dad asked.

Amber took my hand in hers. Her blue eyes met mine, and she smiled.

"Mom. Dad. This is Hans," she said. "After I died, he saved my life."