Chapter 29

"It's…It's you," Grace stuttered, her voice shaking.

"Mmmm," the creature moaned. "You smell so fucking good in person."

"You killed Jake," she gasped in horror.

"I've killed a lot of people," he laughed menacingly.

Grace's heart sped up, and she fought for air. Her legs trembled, begging her to move, to run, but she knew running would be instant death. You don't turn your back on a vampire. You have a better chance of surviving facing them straight on. That is, if you can get your UV light or stake out in time.

"You can speak like us?" As terrified as she was, Grace's curiosity got the better of her.

"Why would you assume we couldn't?" he asked, tilting his head, as amusement tugged at his lips. "We were all human once."

"B-but we were told…"

"You were told lies," he hissed, prolonging the "s."

"You killed Jake," she accused again, a single tear escaping down her face.

"That must have been the man who smelled so inviting? The man who was talking to a woman, with his cock in his hand, when I drank him dry. He was delicious, but he had a faint smell on him that has been driving me wild ever since. Your smell. I don't know why, but it's driving me insane. Your blood calls to me.

"I thought I smelled it again. I tracked the scent to you. I f ound you walking in a crowd, but the streets were too busy, and I lost sight of you. Then I caught your scent again, but on another man. I started to follow him, but the fucking demon clowns got in the way."

"That was you," Grace shuddered.

"Exactly how many men around town carry your scent?" he asked suggestively, taunting her.

"Fucking monster!" Grace tried to yell, to draw attention to them, but her fear had frozen her vocal cords, and only broken whispers could be heard. Her only hope was to try to keep him talking so someone would eventually notice them. The moment she tried to grab something out of her bag, she knew she was dead.

"I've become obsessed with finding you. Your fragrance has consumed my every waking thought. No one has been able to satisfy my thirst. And then I find you here, standing all alone, away from the UV lights. Served on a silver platter, just for me. You better be worth this torment you have made me suffer."

Grace was cursing herself. The city didn't flood the park with UV lights like they did with the busy streets. There were still a few lights along paths, but it was common practice, an unspoken rule, to avoid the park at night, or enter at one's own risk. If you did, you better hope your UV flashlight batteries were fully charged. The booths for the festival set up their own lights and extra lights were brought in, but Grace had unknowingly drifted just out of reach from the German's booth's protective glow, too distracted to notice.

"You? Suffer? You're draining people alive, but please, go on and tell me how much you've been suffering."

Grace was playing a dangerous game, provoking him like that, but she needed to distract him, keep him talking, to have the smalles t chance to grab her flashlight. Or better yet, her holy water spray or garlic OC spray. She knew the exact placement of each item and could grab them quickly, but she knew he was faster. Plus, what did it matter how she talked to him? Whether she pissed herself in fear or pissed him off, he was going to kill her either way.

He might not like my smell anymore if I pissed myself , she seriously considered.

"Maybe I'll drain you slowly. Savour you for days. By the end, you will be begging me to finish, to take your pathetic human life," he threatened.

"I'll never beg," she whispered and watched his eyes light up with the challenge.

The vampire took a slow, stalking step forward with a horrific, menacing smile spread across his face.

"If you're one of those gullible praying fools, now would be the time to do it," he warned her.

"Grace!"

The vampire's eyes snapped up from Grace's face and leered over her shoulder. He let out an inhuman snarl.

Grace was too afraid to move. Even with someone intervening, the vampire could easily snatch her and get away before anyone could process what happened. She stood frozen, staring at the vampire, who was staring at the source of the voice as it ran towards them.

Grace could see erratic UV light being thrown around her. The man had a flashlight in his hand but his running prevented a steady beam of light. The vampire didn't seem too worried about the light, as he pulled down his hood to protect his eyes. All she could see was his wicked smile, showcasing his sharp elongated canines.

Pounding footsteps drew closer and then Archer entered Grace's peripherals.

"Archer," she gasped. "What the hell are you doing here? "

"Saving you," he panted, as he pointed his flashlight toward the vampire.

Grace took this opportunity to reach into her bag. She grabbed her garlic and holy water, noticing Archer held a stake in his other hand.

"You really do make it a habit to save damsels in distress, don't you?" Grace said, never taking her eyes off the vampire.

"What can I say, I'm a hopeless romantic," Archer panted, his eyes focused on the creature.

"Okay, enough of this sappy shit," Grace said to Archer, then nodded toward the vampire. "Do your worst," she screamed at the vamp, finding her voice at last.

Two against one with a vampire still weren't great odds, but she found Archer gave her the courage to stand up against the creature.

"What the hell are you doing?" Archer said out of the corner of his mouth to Grace. "You're going to make it angry. I'm pretty sure angry vampires attack."

"If we don't finish this now, he will find me again. He said so."

"I'm bored," the vampire said, which was their only warning that he was about to attack.

The creature advanced, able to fight through the UV light with his heavy clothing and hooded cloak. Grace anticipated this, and when she saw the vampire move, she dropped to her knees, aimed her garlic and holy water up, and sprayed, hoping to hit under his hood.

The vampire screamed in horror as the sprays hit true, twisting his body away from his two attackers. Archer grabbed the back of his hood, pulling it back, exposing the creature's head, where he focused all his UV light. Grace acted quickly. She jumped up from the ground, grabbed the stake out of Archer's hand and stabbed the immobilized vampire in the heart.

The vampire screamed .

"Uh, a little more to the left," Archer corrected.

"Shit, right," Grace said as she removed the stake and stabbed the vampire again. "I don't think it's going in enough. Nothing is happening."

"Let me try. We just need to switch places. Here, spray him again while you take the flashlight from me. Keep the light on him…yeah, perfect."

Archer was now in front while Grace held the light on the vampire's head who was screaming and snarling in pain from the burning it caused. With a scream, Archer pushed the stake, which sank lower into the vampire's chest, piercing the heart, and killing the creature.

Screams and applause erupted around them. A crowd had gathered to watch the fight. Everyone was holding weapons, ready to intervene if the vampire escaped.

The creature lay on the ground, unmoving, but the mob of onlookers weren't satisfied. They cautiously came forward as one. The crowd poked, prodded, and stabbed the vampire, then removed his head for good measure. Grace watched with satisfaction as her vampire stalker was taken away by the officials who were working the event.

"Convenient they show up after we take care of the threat," Grace joked, as she tried to steady her breath. The adrenaline was still pumping through her and she was trying to calm herself down.

"Maybe it's a good thing we're trying to attract monster hunters," Archer chuckled.

"Wait, what are you doing here?" Grace asked. "You didn't mention anything about coming to the festival tonight. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you showed up."

"Grace," Archer said, giving her a knowing look.

"Archer," she said back sarcastically, missing his point .

He stared back at her, clenching his jaw, his eyes apologetic.

Grace stared back, not getting what was happening, but then she let her eyes fall from his face and noticed his purple shirt and black tie.