Page 17 (2/2)

I looked at the barkeep He aze, then very deliberately turned and walked toward the back room The man next to me didn't seem to notice; his ar e an inch, and he frowned, too drunk to realize as happening

I waited until the barkeep vanished through the door, letting it swing shut behind him, before I turned to my assailant

He leered at ht, little girl You want some of this, don'cha?" Behind us, a few et up; either they wanted in on the fun, or they thought they could take ether The rest watched behind their tankards, tense and wary, s of fear

"Corabbed o all night"

I smiled "Can you now?" I said quietly

And lunged at his into his throat

When the barkeep returned, I was already gone He would find the bodies-the ones stupid enough to stay and fight- lying where they had fallen, a couple in pieces, but er had been sated, and better here, in this outpost full of bandits and murderers, than anywhere else Better these kinds of ether in the ruins of an isolated cabin, trying to keep warm I was a monster who killed and preyed on human life; I could never escape that, but at least I could choose what kind of lives I took

Outside, the snoas falling again Thick flakes clung to ht black hair, but I didn't feel them The bitter chill couldn't touch someone as already dead

I gavea line of cri it into the sheath onover frozen mud Aroundfroht; the humans were all inside, huddled around steel dru fire and alcohol between theirl in the long black coat, walking down the path between shanties Just like the town's other visitor, I'd coht Leaving carnage behind me

About a hundred yards away, a wall of corrugated steel and wire rose into the air, dark and bristling It was uneven in places, with gaps and holes that had been patched and repatched and finally forgotten about A fliainst the creatures that lurked outside the wall If things continued here with no change, this little outpost would eventually vanish off the face of the earth

Not my problem

I leaped to the roof of a shanty leaning against the wall, then over the wall itself, landing lightly on the other side Straightening, I gazed down the rocky slope to the road that had led me here, now invisible beneath the snow Evenin from the east, had vanished beneath the layer of white

He was here, I thought as the hipped o I'ap

Dropping fro behindas h, uneven pave it cru off in two directions One path curved away, circling the tiny outpost before heading south; the other continued east, toward the soon-to-be-rising sun

I gazed down one direction, then the other, waiting And just like at the last crossroads I'd hit, it was there again That faint pull, telling me to continue northeast It was h I couldn't explain it completely, I knehich direction would lead s I'd found on my travels, like the unfortunate family in the settle fast, but I was catching up, slowly but surely He couldn't hide from me forever

I', Kanin

Daas a couple hours away I could cover a lot of ground before then, so I started off oncedown the road toward an unknown destination Chasing a shadow

Knoere running out of time

I walked through the night, the wind icy in my face, unable to numb my already cold skin The road stretched on, silent and eled rerown, buildings cruue that wiped out most of humanity and the rabid outbreak soon after, most cities had been reduced to empty husks I'd found a few settle free despite the constant threat of rabids or invasion from their own kind But the majority of the population existed in the vareat, walledin territories where the coven provided food and "safety" in exchange for blood and freedo more than cattle, really, but that was the price of vampire protection Or, that's what they wanted you to believe Monsters existed on both sides of the wall, but at least the rabids were honest about wanting to eat you In a va on borrowed time, until the killers who smiled and patted you on the head finally showed their true colors

I should knoas born there

The road stretched on, and I followed as it snaked through white forests grown up around sprawling towns and suburbs, until the sky turned charcoal-gray and sluggishness began to dragoff the road, I found a faded ranch house choked eeds and brah the porch and coiled around the roof, s the walls, but the house itself seemed fairly intact I easedinside

Small furry creatures scurried into the shadows, and a cloud of snow rose frolance at the siely undisturbed

On the wall closest to me sat an old yellow sofa, one side chewed by rodents, spilling dirty fluff over the floor Memory stirred, a scene of another time, another house like this one, empty and abandoned

For just a ainst the cushions with his elbows on his knees, pale hair gli in the darkness I re blue eyes as they gazed at htness in my chest when I'd had to turn away, to leave him behind

Frowning, I collapsed to the sofatheto my lashes I couldn't think of him now He was in Eden with the others He was safe Kanin was not