"I never noticed these before," Marko said as he perused Detta's bookshelf.

He couldn't stay long and she had work to do herself but he wanted to see her. They were drawn to each other by some kind of magnetism, she unsure of what it was but he; he couldn't tell if it was blood lust or something beyond that. Marko fed nightly but it always came back to Detta and his need to consume her. This was the first time in many years that he didn't view a human purely as a food source. There was something about her that pulled him to her but he was hesitant, afraid of tearing her apart like the rest of his meals. He had already bitten her. He had to be careful but she was smart. She'd find out somehow.

Detta leaned in her chair to get a look at what he was talking about. When she noticed it was her six-foot bookshelf he was talking about, he laughed. "Kind of hard to miss. I've had it there since I moved in."

Marko gave her a 'you wiseass' look. "I meant these," he said as he pulled a book out of place. "Looks like something's piqued your interest."

Detta blushed when he saw that he had removed a book, one of many, on vampires. She quickly stood up, snatched the book from his hand and returned it to the shelf. "Guilty pleasure, I guess," she said, looking at her feet.

"What's the appeal?"

She looked up at him. "What do you mean?"

"What do you find so interesting about them?"

Detta shifted under his gaze. "The history, the mystery of it all. There are all these legends from all over the world. People of different cultures speaking of the undead and disappearing blood, people who couldn't possibly be in contact with one another, all tell the same stories. It makes you wonder whether these monsters are widespread figments of the global imagination of if there's truth to their words. These books are all research, not fiction."

Marko crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the wall, mulling over the irony. "Do you think they're monsters?"

"I—I don't know. I guess it depends on what characterization you go with. They're a species under the guise of human that need to feed to survive, just like the rest of us. We are the cows of the vampire world." Marko chuckled. "But something's there…"

He looked at her dropping face, trying to catch her eyes with his. "What?"

Detta rested a hand on a shelf. "Nothing. Just a dream…"

"Tell me…"

"Well, just like some humans like to play with their food, some vampires might like to do the same." Marko's brow furrowed, not quite understanding what she was saying. "It's just a dream, I know, but it's got me thinking…" Marko didn't say anything, just waited for Detta to continue. She sighed heavily before carrying on. "I had this dream that David was a vampire. He was going to attack me. And he mentioned you—"

"What did he say?" Marko's face almost looked angry.

"He said if you couldn't finish the job then he would. When he went to bite me, I woke up. It felt so real. I looked like I had been drained, I was so pale. I wanted to fall back to sleep with the light on but thought I was being silly," she laughed nervously.

Marko looked discontent, uneased. "I wouldn't worry about it. It was just a dream."

"I know," she said, looking at him strangely. "It was just a rather intimidating dream."

He sighed deeply and uncrossed his arms. "Maybe you should cut back on the folklore. You're going to frighten yourself into insomnia," Marko said gingerly.

Detta smiled. "Never bothered me before I moved here. Must be the town. Weird vibes coming from this town."

He walked closer to her, smirking. "Do I give you weird vibes?"

"Yes."

Marko looked shocked. "I do?"

Detta nodded. "I don't know why. I have this small feeling I shouldn't trust you."

"But you do."

"Only as far as I can throw you."

He smiled, leaning in to her. "You must be pretty strong then."

"Looks can be deceiving," she whispered into his mouth.

"Very deceiving."

He loved the taste of her lips, the blood coursing just underneath her skin, tinting them a subtle pink. He was deceiving her and she could sense something was not right with him. She was lucky not to have seen his face that night on the bluff, not only for her own sake but for his as well. He wanted to reveal himself to her on his own terms, not on David's and not on accident. David needed to back off but he had his own agenda, a private one that neither him nor the other two boys knew. They could feel it coursing through their blood, their connection to him and he to them. But they all knew how to hide things from each other if they wanted to.

Detta backed away first, not wanting to start something they both knew they couldn't finish tonight. But Marko wanted more. He returned his lips to her's, kissing her ravenously. She laughed and lifted her head up, causing his mouth to travel down her jaw and onto her neck.

"What happened to not being able to stay long?"

He nipped at her skin. "Still hasn't changed." He ran his tongue up the length of her throat, ending on her chin.

Detta looked at him, a smile on her face. "Animal."

"You have no idea," Marko growled and kissed her again.

Detta giggled under the weight of his lips. Marko was the one to part this time and walked towards the door but stopped short of opening it, hand on the doorknob. Detta looked after him and frowned. "What?"

He had to ask her. He had to know if she felt it too. He turned around and walked back to Detta, eyes intent. "Do you feel it?"

Detta looked up at him. She knew exactly what he was talking about but out of knee-jerk, she asked, "What 'it'?"

Marko looked exasperated, hoping to not have to explain himself. "This…attraction, this…connection. It's like a pull. I don't know how to explain it. Like it's…right, something that was supposed to happen…"

"Fate."

"Yes. Puzzle pieces—"

"That fit together."

"You do then."

"I can feel you when you're around. You make me empathetic, I guess," Detta chuckled. "I don't know. It runs deep."

"Yeah, it does." Marko nodded before walking over to Detta to give her a quick kiss. He looked into her eyes and saw it there, swimming in their depths, that feeling. It had lain stagnant within her, buried deep but it was starting to come forward. He was staring to draw it out. The only difference was he could control it in him, keep it away from her. But she was his open book.

Marko's eyes spoke words that he needn't say. Detta smiled lightly at him and he kissed her again, savoring the warmth of her lips before he turned to leave, this time walking out the door.

Detta returned from the store, walking into a very dark living room, the light over the kitchen sink was the only thing feeding her vision. She threw her keys on the table, reaching to turn on one of the table lamps, when it happened. It was a movement so sudden Detta didn't even have a chance to react. She only saw it in her peripheral, her line of sight marred by the darkness. Something fluttered past her eyes. Before she even thought to look, she felt the pressure on her throat.

Her eyes widened and her hands shot up, groping for whatever was around her. She tried to scream but the pressure on her neck was too much, only gurgling escaped. The hands holding what Detta knew was some kind of cord had tightened their grip, pressing her body against the one standing firm behind her.

She gasped and sputtered for air as her arms flailed wildly, attempting to connect to the head that she knew was attached to the body behind her. She grabbed at a covering on the head and ripped it off, tossing it away from them. Tiny stars stared to explode in front of her eyes. She reached out again, trying to latch onto hair but she couldn't reach. Her arms kept missing.

Detta felt the fight leaving her, her arms getting weaker. She feebly grabbed for the cord held firmly around her neck but couldn't get her fingers under it. Her feet that dangled off the ground slowed their kicking as her body started to give up. The starbursts turned into a glorious sheen of white light before Detta's mind shut down and the room was black once again.

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