Page 54 of Blood Mosaic

“I’m sorry for what I said,” she told her mother. “I don’t want you to be alone.”

“Humph.” Anna crossed her arms. “Tell me about the vampire.”

“I’m probably going crazy.”

Anna shrugged. “All myths come from somewhere, Tanya.”

“You don’t think I’m delusional?”

“You?” Anna snorted. “You didn’t even like to read the stories about the wizard boy when you were young because you thought they were silly. You read Crime and Punishment when you were thirteen. You have no natural imagination, so you wouldn’t make something like that up.”

She didn’t know whether to be insulted or relieved. “I am so boring.”

“Not boring. Practical.” Anna nodded. “So you saw a vurdulac?”

Oleg was so far from tales of hairy wolf-men who drank human blood she nearly laughed. “I don’t think he’s anything we know about.”

“So what did you see?” She raised a hand. “You know what? Don’t tell me; no good for both of us to have nightmares.”

“In an odd way, he was protecting me.”

“What do you mean?”

“We were walking along the waterfront after dinner?—”

“So he eats food?”

Tatyana had to think about it. Yes, Oleg had definitely eaten food. He’d also drunk wine.

At least she thought it was wine.

Of course it was wine—her glass had been poured from the same bottle.

“He eats food, and he drinks wine.”

“Vampires don’t eat food,” Anna said.

“Maybe this one does. Maybe he’s not a vampire.”

“How was he protecting you?”

Tatyana steered the car through a narrow alley of ash trees and up the hill to the old house that was nestled in the rolling orchards and lavender fields that surrounded it.

“We were walking back, and I wasn’t paying attention. We turned in to an alley and there was no one around. Then these men—there were eight or nine of them, I think—they just walked into the alley and they were drunk. I’m sure they were drunk and maybe high too. Some of them had knives.”

“Oh Tanya.” Anna reached across and put her hand on Tatyana’s arm. “They could have done anything.”

“Oleg told them to leave us alone.”

“This is a mistake. You do not want to bother me and my friend.”

“This is a mistake. You should leave now or I will kill you.”

“He told them twice, Mama.” She turned past the last ash tree and into the farmyard where a low stone wall surrounded a beautiful cottage. A barn was built across from it, and a rusted tractor was silhouetted by the full moon.

She parked the car between the house and the barn, finally able to think clearly. “He told them twice to leave us alone. But they ignored him, and he killed them all. He was so fast.” She shuddered. “It all happened in moments. Just… minutes. Maybe less.”

“Then he came after you?” Anna was reaching for Pushkin. “How did you escape?”

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