Page 31 of The Vampire Trap

“You’ve always been the most precious person in my life, Zadie. More so than Jane—” His voice shifts from gentle and wistful to sharp. “—vapid, contemptible girl.”

… the other, beyond a stack of broken crates, is the dirt road running parallel along the city’s eastern edge. Grooves are scratched into the corners of buildings. The demons that lurk in the forest’s depths will grow bold when they sense prey is near. Their long, misshapen claws move in the imitation of shadows cast by bare tree branches—ready to solidify into razor-sharp talons, digging into whatever they can grasp as they drag themselves as close as they dare to the light.

“Why did you bring me all the way to this part of town?” I ask quietly. “If the?—”

Benjamin releases a long-suffering sigh. “I have to end this tonight, Zadie… for you—everything has always been for you—to keep you safe.”

He takes a step closer. Then another. I want to back away, but there’s no telling how he might react if I do. There’s something off about his eyes. Almost empty. Ben continues to chip away at the distance between us until he’s barely more than a hand’s length away.

“Zadie?” he says my name as if he’s unsure, and I have no choice but to feign ignorance for as long as I can.

He grips my shoulders with a fierce grip, making me wince. “Zadie, I promise I’ll break whatever spell he put on you.”

“What are you talking about?” I hope he doesn’t notice the warble in my voice.

“It’s not your fault. He must have done something to hold you in his thrall without you noticing.”

“I’m not?—”

“Then explain why you’re here.”

“I—”

“Withhim,” he adds. “I saw him kill that woman with my own eyes.”

I flinch at the blatant contradiction to what he said moments ago.

“He killed that woman after poisoning her, then I followed him to you.” With every word, his grip tightens and his demeanor more bitter. “There’s no other explanation for why you’d allow him to hold you like that in public. This has to end tonight. I will make sure it does.”

I’m unsure if Benjamin realizes he mentioned the use of poison—something he wouldn’t know, even if what he says were true.

A dark smear on his neck catches my eye. Up until now, his cravat had hidden it. As if seeing evidence of the truth up close has heightened my senses, the tang of damp copper clings to him.

“I-I don’t understand,” I stammer, unable to drag my gaze from the blood.

He notices. Reaching up, he sweeps his fingers over his neck. They come away wet. Only then does he let go.

I move back as far as I dare, trying to stay in the light made dim by the weather.

Benjamin rubs his fingers together, chuckling. It’s a humorless and dark sound; with it, the look of a mad man settles over his features—a shadow superimposing itself over him, transforming my closest friend into a complete stranger. He was one of the warmest people I’ve ever known. Now he is cold.

Tears form behind my eyes, the pressure of it bringing on a dull pounding against my skull. How could I not notice what his hatred was doing to him? A fissure forms within my heart, speaking and cracking until it breaks.

“I’m scared, Ben.” I sniffle and hold my hand out to him. “Will you take me home?”

I’m unsure if this is a desperate attempt to reach him through this madness or hope that he will think I don’t know the truth after all.

“I will do everything within my power for you.” He reaches for my hand, but nothing about him rings true.

Taking a half step back, I trip over something, barely managing to right myself. With certain death before me, I will have to take my chances with the threat of demons sensing our presence behind me. Slowly, I back up, careful where I place each step.

“But I can’t take you home yet… not with you likethis, anyway.” The corner of his mouth twists up, turning his words into a sick joke.

Like this…

The unspoken meaning is as clear as if he shouted it:Not while you still live.

There’s no use pretending anymore. I continue to move back, hoping to gain some distance between us.

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