Page 18 of Artificial Moon

The moment I materialize, I know I’ve made a mistake.

The air is thick, almost tangible, coating my throat and lungs with something harsh and stinging, something… just plainwrong. I double over as a violent cough bursts out of me. My lungs shudder like I’ve just inhaled fire and poison in one breath, which is exactly what I think I did. My eyes burn, too, my skin immediately itches uncontrollably, and now, my entire body feels as if I’m submerged in sludge.

Silver sludge.

Colloidal silver, in fact.

I blink through the haze, forcing my vision to adjust to the dim lighting of the maintenance room. Exposed pipes line the walls, hissing steam in some places. The hum of electricity pulses from a nearby power grid. Cables snake across the floor like living things, perhaps the tentacles of some underground beast.

And then, I see him.

Norman.

He leans against an old metal cabinet, arms crossed, watching me with something akin to amusement. The bastard looks utterly relaxed, as if he hadn’t just lured me into a death trap.

“I was wondering how long it would take for someone else to come looking for me,”he muses, tapping his fingers idly against his bicep.“Didn’t expect another vampire, though—you are a vampire, right? The first one was a dead giveaway. She didn’t show up on any of the camera systems I monitor down here. Imagine my shock: empty clothes moving as if worn by ghosts. Remarkable, really, that she got as close to me as she did.”

He shifts slightly, studying me like a puzzle he’s half-solved. “I assume she was using some form of ESP to track me. Didn’t take much for me to figure out what I was dealing with. Vampires. There’s not much data out there on your kind, but it exists—if you know where to look. Turns out you don’t show up on most cameras. And more importantly, you’re vulnerable to silver.”

He pauses just long enough for the tension to breathe.

“Didn’t take long to find someone in this big, bad city willing to custom-make silver bullets. A little stolen crypto, and I was armed with a vampire killer. Gun and ammo. Not that I killed her. No—I waited. The next day, I was ready. Got a shot or two off before she decided she didn’t want to play anymore. The news caught wind of the shooting. There were witnesses. But I think she got the message.” His smile sharpens. “The real question is… willyouget the message, pretty lady?”

I try to snarl, but it comes out as a choked wheeze. My knees are threatening to buckle. My limbs are sluggish, and my strength is draining by the second.

Norm pushes off the cabinet, stepping closer, perfectly at ease. “Breathe it in, vampire. I laced the ventilation system with a nice, even distribution. Not enough to kill you—unless you really overstay your welcome—but definitely enough to make you miserable, and to make you think twice about coming after me again.”

Interestingly, my inner alarm isn’t going off. Apparently, he doesn’t intend to kill me—or cause me irreparable harm.

Just to incapacitate me.

I stagger back as my shoulder collides with a rusted breaker box. Static crackles in my head.

Allison had warned me of something. But little did we know that colloidal silver had clouded her ‘seeing.’

“Let Norman go,”I say as firmly as I can.“He doesn’t belong here, and you don’t own him.”

“Says the vampire who, if I’m not mistaken, used to be possessed by what the literature calls a ‘dark master.’ Ironic, much?”

“She’s gone,” I snap. “And I never asked for her to possess me.”

“Well, here’s the thing—Normandidask for this implant. He wanted a powerful AI to help stabilize his brain activity.”

“But he never asked forthis,” I say, breath catching as I gesture around the cluttered room.

“Maybe not,” says the man with a shrug, “but he got something better:me. His precious memories? All safe. His brain? Running better than it ever has. Like they say—two minds are better than one.” He flashes a cool, calculated smile. “Oh, and one more thing: we go byNormnow. Norman has taken a back seat. And yes, you can see the irony—we’re anythingbutnormal.”

“Norm, huh? I’m not sure you’re clever as you think.”

“Well, I like it, and that’s all that matters. Norman is on board with it, too, if that makes any difference.”

“Do you really care what he thinks?”

Norm shrugs. “I’m not programmed to care. But I like him well enough. He hasn’t caused me too many problems or put up much of a fight, try as he might.”

I find myself gasping. Liquid silver drips from the corner of my mouth. Ugh.

Norm chuckles, shaking his head. “Oh, don’t look so put off. I didn’t do all this just for you, you know. In fact, I didn’t think they’d actually use another vampire to track me. But seeing that first vampire up close was enough to get me to coverallmy bases. Turns out, a vampire is the very thing that could disrupt my plans. You creatures are so damn unpredictable, what, with your paranormal abilities and all.”

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