start?”
“ Completely dead but it’s only a loosened lead. He’ll have no proof it was tampered with.”
“ Well done. Is there anything you can’t get into or out of?”
Alex smiled. “Very little.”
“ Then you’ll have to advise me on a new alarm system.” Frankie passed her handbag to Alex. “Get my gun out, will you?”
Alex did as she asked.
“ There’s a silencer in the glove compartment, can you screw it on for me?”
He found the silencer and attached it. “Silencers make guns less accurate.”
“ Yes but I’m not going up against a vampire unarmed and I don’t want people hearing and calling the police. Do silver bullets kill vampires?”
“ Only if it’s a head shot.”
“ I’m suddenly wishing I’d put more hours in at the range.”
“ Any shot will slow us down, especially silver. We feel pain just like you do and if we lose enough blood we’re weakened.”
“ Good to know.” Neither mentioned how quickly she’d been disarmed last night.
Alex could hear her erratic heartbeat and knew she was afraid.
“ I won’t let anything happen to you,” he assured her.
“ Thanks.”
Frankie drove to the end of Marine Drive and parked.
“ Where are we heading?” Alex asked.
“ Don’t know. Somewhere down here is a brick building he used to play in, partially hidden in a mound or hill so we walk until we see it.”
“ And if we don’t?”
“ This is the closest beach to where he lived as a child so I’m guessing it will be close but if not, we try other beaches.”
As they headed out onto the sand and began walking, Alex took her hand.
“ I hope you can see better than I can,” she told him, squinting at the grass at the edge of the sand. Dusk had officially given way to night.
“ I can,” he assured her. They walked in silence for a few moments. “This could almost be romantic.”
Frankie smiled. “Except we’d be staring out at the moonlight bouncing off the waves, not looking for a grassy knoll.”
“ True.”
Frankie hesitated for a moment. “Alex, about last night,” she began, then faltered. She scowled at weakness, she was a modern woman, this sort of stuff was supposed to be easy.
Alex turned to her. “No regrets?” he asked, sounding slightly worried.
“ No,” she assured him. “Not really.”
Alex frowned. “Some… concerns, then?”
Frankie took a deep breath and ploughed straight in. “It’s just that we didn’t use any protection. I should have said something but… I guess I wasn’t really, I mean I don’t-”
Alex cut her off. “Frankie, you needn’t worry, I am incapable of carrying disease.”
“ And children?” her voice was slightly squeaky. She prayed that myth was true.
“ Some of us can father children with mortals, but it’s very rare and I am not one of them.”
“ You can? I thought you were…” she couldn’t think of a nice way to say dead.
Alex grinned at her hesitance. “When we’re changed a lot of things are improved; our reflexes and our senses for example. As well as that, any natural talents we have are also enhanced. If one was a talented musician in life, they would be exceptional after the change but if one was only a studied musician without a natural talent, there wouldn’t be a great improvement, save for the natural advantage of better hearing and dexterity.”
“ So if a man is very fertile in life-”
“ He will also be so as a vampire.”
“ So how is it decided which gifts are enhanced?” she asked.
“ Only those gifts which are part of us, those which are hardwired into our human DNA, whether we practice for them or not, are enhanced by the change.
“ Oh,” she was silent a moment, thinking. “So do you have any gifts?”
He smirked. “One or two.”
“ But you won’t tell me what they are, will you?”
“ Where’s the fun in that?”
“ Can I ask you something?”
“ Of course.”
“ If you’re so hard to kill, why aren’t there more of
“ Completely dead but it’s only a loosened lead. He’ll have no proof it was tampered with.”
“ Well done. Is there anything you can’t get into or out of?”
Alex smiled. “Very little.”
“ Then you’ll have to advise me on a new alarm system.” Frankie passed her handbag to Alex. “Get my gun out, will you?”
Alex did as she asked.
“ There’s a silencer in the glove compartment, can you screw it on for me?”
He found the silencer and attached it. “Silencers make guns less accurate.”
“ Yes but I’m not going up against a vampire unarmed and I don’t want people hearing and calling the police. Do silver bullets kill vampires?”
“ Only if it’s a head shot.”
“ I’m suddenly wishing I’d put more hours in at the range.”
“ Any shot will slow us down, especially silver. We feel pain just like you do and if we lose enough blood we’re weakened.”
“ Good to know.” Neither mentioned how quickly she’d been disarmed last night.
Alex could hear her erratic heartbeat and knew she was afraid.
“ I won’t let anything happen to you,” he assured her.
“ Thanks.”
Frankie drove to the end of Marine Drive and parked.
“ Where are we heading?” Alex asked.
“ Don’t know. Somewhere down here is a brick building he used to play in, partially hidden in a mound or hill so we walk until we see it.”
“ And if we don’t?”
“ This is the closest beach to where he lived as a child so I’m guessing it will be close but if not, we try other beaches.”
As they headed out onto the sand and began walking, Alex took her hand.
“ I hope you can see better than I can,” she told him, squinting at the grass at the edge of the sand. Dusk had officially given way to night.
“ I can,” he assured her. They walked in silence for a few moments. “This could almost be romantic.”
Frankie smiled. “Except we’d be staring out at the moonlight bouncing off the waves, not looking for a grassy knoll.”
“ True.”
Frankie hesitated for a moment. “Alex, about last night,” she began, then faltered. She scowled at weakness, she was a modern woman, this sort of stuff was supposed to be easy.
Alex turned to her. “No regrets?” he asked, sounding slightly worried.
“ No,” she assured him. “Not really.”
Alex frowned. “Some… concerns, then?”
Frankie took a deep breath and ploughed straight in. “It’s just that we didn’t use any protection. I should have said something but… I guess I wasn’t really, I mean I don’t-”
Alex cut her off. “Frankie, you needn’t worry, I am incapable of carrying disease.”
“ And children?” her voice was slightly squeaky. She prayed that myth was true.
“ Some of us can father children with mortals, but it’s very rare and I am not one of them.”
“ You can? I thought you were…” she couldn’t think of a nice way to say dead.
Alex grinned at her hesitance. “When we’re changed a lot of things are improved; our reflexes and our senses for example. As well as that, any natural talents we have are also enhanced. If one was a talented musician in life, they would be exceptional after the change but if one was only a studied musician without a natural talent, there wouldn’t be a great improvement, save for the natural advantage of better hearing and dexterity.”
“ So if a man is very fertile in life-”
“ He will also be so as a vampire.”
“ So how is it decided which gifts are enhanced?” she asked.
“ Only those gifts which are part of us, those which are hardwired into our human DNA, whether we practice for them or not, are enhanced by the change.
“ Oh,” she was silent a moment, thinking. “So do you have any gifts?”
He smirked. “One or two.”
“ But you won’t tell me what they are, will you?”
“ Where’s the fun in that?”
“ Can I ask you something?”
“ Of course.”
“ If you’re so hard to kill, why aren’t there more of
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