Vampire Affliction by Eva Pohler Page A

smart.”
    “They’re right outside,” Phoebe said.
    Hector stepped back and gawked. “You can talk?”
    The little girl blushed and nodded.
    Hector hugged Phoebe once more. Gertie sensed that he was too choked up to speak. She flew down beside them, and, together, they opened the door all the way and peered outside their chamber.
    A legion of vampires was lined up all along the narrow corridor.
    “Where’s Damien?” Hector whispered.
    “On Vladimir’s back,” Phoebe said. “Just like a little backpack.”
    Gertie and Hector exchanged looks of concern as Phoebe led them from the room.
    “This way,” she said. “Vladimir is waiting for us.”
    Hector took Gertie’s hand, and they followed Phoebe past the line of vampire guards. The tunnel eventually forked. They took the corridor to the right. Gertie searched for Jeno among the faces and reached out with her mind, but she could not find him. When the tunnel opened up into a much larger chamber, Gertie realized why she hadn’t seen Jeno. He was bound by chains to the stone wall. Was he to be executed, too? Would Vladimir kill his own son?
    Jeno, are you okay? She reached out to his mind, but it was blocked and he did not answer.
    Across the room, with Damien on his back, stood Vladimir. He instructed two vampire guards to chain Gertie and Hector to the wall alongside Jeno. Gertie’s knees were so weak with fear that she found it easier to fly a few inches from the ground than to walk.
    One of the vampires forced her back against the wall as the other chained her. A very large vampire stood in the center of the room holding a very heavy ax.
    A beheading. This was the way she and her friends would die.
    I don’t want to die, she said to all who might be listening. I didn’t mean for Homer and the others to get killed.
    Phoebe was sobbing now, but Gertie refused to cry. She didn’t want to spend the last few moments of her life in tears.
    Vladimir stepped toward the middle of the room and said, “My brothers and sisters, today we mourn the deaths of ninety-eight of our friends and family members, our fallen champions of the uprising.” He took a scroll from the inside of his cloak, opened it, and then read the names of every person who had died, starting with Homer. “Aesop, Agatha, Bartholomew, Bernice….” When he had finished, he said, “It’s important to remember that each of these warriors were people just like you and me, hoping for a better future. Most of the gods and humans don’t see that. They think of us as creatures rather than people; but we are people, and we demand justice.”
    As the vampires in the cavern applauded, Gertie was overwhelmed by the thought that all those lives were on her conscience. She had been responsible for their deaths.
    No. Hector said in her mind. The vampires were responsible for those deaths. They were the ones who decided to attack humans. You did the right thing.
    Vladimir silenced the crowd. “History has shown us that if a civilization is in need of change, a monumental effort must be made, and that effort usually involves brute force, violence, and sacrifice.” Vladimir stepped closer to Hector. “Injustice never fixes itself. No one in power willingly gives up his power. If people are subjugated, they must take the power for themselves.”
    Several of the vampires shouted words of approval.
    “It’s unfortunate, but necessary,” Vladimir said. “Gertrude’s act of betrayal has sent the message to our enemies that we are weak and divided and that our cause is not to be taken seriously.”
    The crowd moaned a horrific “boo” to express its disapproval.
    Gertie’s knees nearly buckled beneath her. She hovered when she couldn’t stand.
    Vladimir lifted his hand for silence and said, “I took her in as my own daughter, and she betrayed me. She betrayed us . Nearly one hundred lives were lost and our efforts have been severely thwarted. For this, Gertrude Morgan must die.”
    A roar of applause