Eleventh Grade Burns(36)

Vlad forced his eyes away. He had to get a grip, or the garlic wasn’t going to be enough to keep him down. He was going to tear through Eddie Poe’s little neck and devour every drop of his blood. And even Eddie didn’t deserve that ... no matter how much Vlad wanted to do it.

Eddie snapped a few pictures of Vlad, then sat down just a few feet in front of him and said, “I can wait all day. Sooner or later you’re gonna have to show me fangs.”

The smell of Eddie’s btood—oh man, it was AB negative—filled Vlad’s nostrils. He could feel his will breaking. He was going to bite Eddie and get a taste. He had to. Eddie had practically invited him to dine. Fueled by hunger, Vlad pulled on his restraints and felt the duct tape stretch and begin to break. The garlic wasn’t enough to keep him away from the taste of the rubies hidden within Eddie’s small veins. Vlad needed it. Just a taste. Just a small taste.

A familiar voice entered the clearing. “Eddie, are you crazy? What are you doing?”

Eddie was snapping tons of pictures, but the voice was enough to distract Vlad from his momentary weakness. Barely, but enough. He looked up and saw Joss dropping his messenger bag on the ground beside Eddie. Joss looked at Vlad, tilting his head curiously. “Your eyes are purple. Why do they do that?”

Vlad blinked, collecting himself. “I ... I don’t know.”

Joss spied Eddie’s hand and clucked his tongue. “Is that what’s causing all the commotion?”

As Joss took Eddie’s hand and examined the cut, Eddie yanked it away. “It’s the only way to get proof.”

“By sacrificing yourself?”

Eddie wilted, but Joss patted him on the back. “The garlic was a good idea, but not enough, I think. Vlad isn’t like other vampires.”

Joss glanced back at Vlad and said, “Are you, Vlad? You’re something else. Something ... special.”

Vlad pulled at the tape again, but it refused to break. Every cell in his body felt ill.

Joss crouched down and smiled, withdrawing his stake from the bag—the same stake that had been buried in Vlad’s chest a year and a half before. His words were but a whisper. “So let’s find out what.”

Joss ripped the garlic away and flung it over the shrub. As he did so he jumped back, but not fast enough. Vlad snapped through the duct tape like it was tissue paper and moved so fast that Eddie had barely taken two quick breaths before Vlad crushed his camera with one hand and turned to face Joss, fully at the ready.

If they wanted a fight, they were going to get one.

Eddie looked scared; Joss looked mildly concerned. Joss’s voice was smooth and calm as he spoke, but tinged with surprise. “You move faster now. Something your uncle taught you?”

Vlad growled, ready to rip Joss’s limbs from his body. “No. Something my enemies taught me.”

A small smile tugged at the corner of Joss’s mouth. “What else have you learned?”

Vlad’s fangs shot from his gums. The smell of Eddie’s blood was making him crazy but Joss’s presence, his taunts, were worse. He snapped his teeth at Joss, only barely hearing a tiny whimper from Eddie, and said, “Why don’t you come find out?”

“Vlad! Don’t!” Henry stumbled into the clearing, breathless.

Vlad whipped around, completely on edge. He could smell Joss’s blood now too—A positive, tangy. If he didn’t feed soon, he’d go mad. “Henry, just get out of here. I’m handling this.”

But Henry didn’t leave. Instead, he moved to the most dangerous spot in the clearing—directly between Vlad and Joss. He looked from his best friend to his cousin and back. “Not like this. If you two want to kill each other, fine. But not out in the open, in the middle of the day, where anybody could see. You owe me that much. You both do.”

Joss kept a firm hold on his stake, staring Vlad down. He wasn’t about to quit, no matter what he owed Henry.

And the blood ... oh man, Vlad needed that blood.

Vlad looked at Henry, who was pleading with his eyes, and his fangs shrank back into his gums. As his sanity slowly returned, he realized that Henry was right. He did owe him that much. Never mind the fact that he’d been ready to do just that, to extinguish their lives completely. Self-loathing wormed its way into his chest and settled there, festering. Though his famished hunger remained, he shook his head and tugged Henry’s sleeve. “Come on. Let’s get outta here before I drain Eddie dry.”