A very real predator.

         His broad smile creased the corners of his pale blue eyes. The noise in the room was full of fun and excitement, and the birthday party in full swing. Melanie was turning twelve today, and the delight in her eyes shone through like a blazing fire. She would turn into a beautiful woman one day, of that he was confident. Melanie had her mothers long thick dark hair and deep brown eyes.

         His gaze fell from her eyes, running across her young mouth, down to the curve of her neck, and further still to the length of her slender arm. He longed for her tender touch despite that she was getting older. He sighed with resignation. She had been special, his favorite, but he had known one day she would become too old. Too much like a woman. Still, the sight of her brushing a lock of her hair behind an ear made him shiver with need. He suppressed the feeling, forcing himself to just enjoy the excitement around him.

         It was always like this. He would build trust in the community, ensuring he was loved by everyone around him. Then he would begin to cultivate deep relationships. He would help those innocent girls adapt to such a cruel and bitter world, give them hope, and teach them laughter. It was his calling. It was his silent creed, and he was faithful. He would help the innocent, the forgotten, the lonely and the meek.

         Vaguely he was aware of someone talking to him, and they touched his arm. He almost flinched, but he had learned to control such reactions a long time ago. He smiled before he spoke, and the warm smile was instantly returned. He had begun to realize early in life that his smile infected people, assuaged fears, and brightened lives. So he used it as though they were the only people in the room, and the effect was startling. He only ever saw it as a good thing to improve the quality of life of those around him, especially the girls.

         "I'm sorry, you were saying?"

         "No need to apologize Jeffery, its quite a raucous in here isn't?" Melanie's grandmother touched his arm in a motherly manner, again with a smile.

         "Yes, but it's quite the sound of joy," Jeffery mused.

         "Agreed young man, but it wouldn't have gone so well if you hadn't rushed to get a new cake!"

         "It was my pleasure ma'am."

         "Well, Candice was so angry at the cat for getting under her feet, that she didn't see the neighbor's dog before it crashed into her. How that dog got through the screen door so quietly, we'll never know."

         "Ah well that's hardly a reflection of how good a mother Candice is to Melanie. She rang me up after she ordered an emergency cake made at the grocery store. Don't tell her I paid for it will you? I put that $40 back into her purse."

         "Well your secret is safe with me!"

         "Thank you ma'am!"

         The party was a great time for everyone. Especially Jeffery.



------



         The children had been picked up and taken home almost an hour ago by now, except one, a small girl Jeffery didn't know very well yet. The slight girl stood shyly in the foyer, with her blonde hair hanging in short pig tails. She was dressed like any girl would be for a party, fanciful make-up, colorful sun dress, and white shoes. Jeffery had seen her at church a few times with Melanie, trying to fit in with older girl and her friends. Melanie hadn't really cared one way or the other about the girl, and the invitation had been made by Candice trying to befriend the girl. Her name was...Sarah. That was a pretty name, and she was a pretty girl to anyone else that saw her. To Jeffery, she was a radiantly beautiful flower, something no one else ever seemed to notice, the sheer exquisite nature of such a child.

         Where were her parents? They were late to pickup her up.

         "Candice?" Jeffery called into the other room. "Little Sarah is still here. Do you have her parents number?"

         "Yes, its in my phone. Could you get it? I'm washing dishes, its on the table."

         Jeffery picked up the phone and dialed the number. It rang until a polite woman said that she was away from her phone and to leave a message. Jeffery left a short polite message that said he would be bringing Sarah home soon.

         "Sarah," Jeffery said as he approached her cautiously. "Would you like to go home?"

         Sarah nodded shyly. Jeffery smiled reassuringly and grabbed the keys to his car.



-----



         Jeffery drove with one hand on the wheel and the other casually resting on the center console. He was having a hard time willing his hands not to shake, the anticipation was racking him from head to toe and he could scarcely believe his luck. He could help another little girl, and this would be a great step toward earning her trust. The things he could teach her about life, made him shiver at the thought.

Sara sat timidly in the passanger seat, feet hanging over the edge of the seat. When she spoke it was very quiet, but he hung onto every word she said.

         "Thank you," was all she said in a small voice only half above a whisper.

         "You're welcome," He drove a few minutes before speaking again. "Were your mommy and daddy going out tonight?" She nodded her head a few times, emphasizing her childish manner. She hadn't seemed very sure of her self and the other children had been merciless about how clumsy she was. So many other little girls had been that way before he had taught them. They all had learned their lessons very well by the time he was done teaching. He smiled.

         "Are they usually home pretty late?" She nodded again. "Well, we will make sure you get tucked into bed safe and sound before they get home, ok? It's been a very long day." He reached and patted her hand resting in her lap. She made no move to pull away. She looked up at him, a glimmer of trust and thanks showing through. He made no effort to remove his hand.

         They pulled into her long drive way, the lights on her porch peeking through the scattered trees, beckoning them out of the cool summer night and into the warm home. The driveway wound up the slight hill, over looking the path they had taken getting to the top. You could see a car coming up the drive for almost a mile.

He smiled.

         It was a perfect place, nestled so far from everything else, large and expansive as new estates went these days. The tall first floor, was lined in places with balustrades enclosing small balconies on the upper floors. A house this massive would be appeasing to anyone who cared for such things. He barely saw any of it. His heart was pounding, being this close to her, and the throbbing in his groin was close to being painful. He set the car in park, and went around to her side to open the door. She hopped out and went to the large front door, pulling a key from her pocket. He followed behind her a pace, giving her room to open the door. She pushed open the door, and walked into the dark foyer. He stepped in behind her as she flicked on the light switch. The lights stayed dark as he closed the door behind him.

         "The light burnt out again," she said voice wavering slightly.

         "Are you afraid of the dark?" He asked, kneeling down to look into her eyes as he held her shoulders. The reflected light from the porch showed deep fear in those beautiful eyes. He moved to hug her but, but she slipped free and ran into the dark house. He followed her trying to keep up, but she moved quicker than he had thought she would. He saw her shadow turn a corner, and he moved faster trying to follow where her light footsteps were taking her. The soft plush carpet seemed to muffle the sounds of foot falls, but he managed to round another corner in time to see her shadow as she darted for another bend. His foot caught on something and he tripped. And fell. Fell much further than his mind seemed to understand. The ground had been right below him, it should have been carpet he fell onto.

         Instead he slammed into concrete, shattering his shoulder and splintering his outstretched arm. The pain raced up the nerves in his right side, and his brain errupted in blinding shock. Jagged bone tore a long hole into his side. He screamed. Just before he blacked out, fluorescent light winked to life and he heard a child laughing.



------



         He awoke slowly, mind creeping awake as if in a haze. The floor eventually solidified within his mind, a concept that was simple enough for him to concentrate on. He wriggled his toes, wondering if they were real. The nightmare he had just woke up from had been real enough and he was glad to away from those dark twisting hallways and that painful drop. He lifted his head, and became aware of the room around him.

         The expansive room he opened his eyes to was something out of a horror movie. Neatly arranged on the far wall were tools of every shape and size one could imagine, and even some he'd had never seen before. Normal drills, saws, and pliers mixed with wicked things like curved daggers, spears and maces. There was an entire set of surgical tools laying sterilized and neat on top a large silver cart, sharp and glittering in the brutal light.

         In the middle of the room hung medieval manacles connected to a pully and winch, positioned over a drain. The concrete floor beneath looked clean and scrubbed, but the cracks showed dark stains not so easily removed. Looking at the rest of the room it wasn't hard to imagine what those stains were. His mind refused to believe what he was seeing. He must still be asleep. If it was real then why didn't his arm and shoulder hurt?

         His head dropped to look at his shoulder, and it was gone. Where the socketed joint should have been was a charred and recessed mound of flesh, his arm completely gone. Nausea washed over him, and he vomited across his stomach and down his legs. Vaguely he was aware that he was held upright by straps across his chest, legs and neck. The gloved strap holding his arm out parallel to the floor, clamped his hand shut and cut deep into his fingers and wrist. The smell of the burnt flesh finally reached his nose over the smell of vomit, and he heaved again and again, until he was dry heaving, wretching from the strain.

         "Ah, you're awake," a cheerful voice said. The speaker was a slender teenage boy, clad only in simple jeans. He smiled at Jeffery. There was no kindness in those deep blue eyes, but something like joy or happiness. Genuine happiness.

         "Where am I?" Jeffery managed despite the taste of bile still on his tounge and down his throat.

         "Home," was all the young man said as he walked into the room and started pulling tools off the peg board arranging them on the wide counter. In the corner of the basement was a narrow stairs leading up towards a lighted room above, and the ceiling was broken only by what looked like a trap door. The fall had been real. Was she real? Before his lips could form the question, Sara's entrance answered.

         She strode down the steps with graceful movement, that belied her young age. She wore a black jump suit, and even chained he felt his naked body respond. She cooly regarded him as she entered the room, arms loose at her side.He blinked, and she was in front of him near enough to reach out and touch if he wasn't held down so. She had moved twenty feet in a heartbeat, and fear began to grip his mind. This couldn't be real, he was still asleep! He screamed aloud for his mind to wake up, for the nightmare to end. She finally spoke.

         "Ah, his fear is ripe," the boy commented. She pursed her lips.

         "Yes, he is a good catch," she said as if she were talking about a fishing trip, as though he had never been a threat at all. "Play."

         Confused, Jeffery wondered what she had meant, but then an image flickered to life on a far wall. It was a video he had made years ago, of the first girl he had helped. The images brought a smile to his lips, as the young girl appeared on the screen and he swelled with pride knowing how much he had helped her. The first time he had pinned her to the bed and pulled the clothes off her, that had been special. He helped her through the tears and coaxed her to sleep afterward. It had been precious to him. He almost forgot the room he was in, and by now he was fully erect. The screen went dead and Sara stood watching him with emotionless eyes, considering.

         Suddenly, her tiny hand gripped his throat and started crushing his wind pipe. His eyes bulged, and as he looked down on her, she floated several feet off the ground. She released his neck, back handed him across the temple, and ripped long ragged cuts across his chest so fast he felt them all happen at once. He choked on a scream that tried to get out, but he was caught in a rasping breath for air. Sara silently stood just out of reach as he gulped oxygen into his lungs, wiping her gory hand on a towel. The boy watched from the corner, eyes bright with excitement.

         "Gabriel, hang him up,"as Gabriel moved to do as she said, she sat in a tall high backed chair Gabriel had moved closer to the center of the room for her. "So, Jeffery, I'm glad you could join us this evening. I am Anabella, and this as I'm sure you are aware is Gabriel. We hope you enjoy your stay within our humble home."

         Jeffery gasped as Gabriel released the straps holding him up. Jeffery swung his left arm at Gabriel's face as soon as his hand was free. Gabriel slapped the feeble swing away, and moved Jeffery with surprizing ease and gentleness to the manacles. Jeffery's left hand was pulled upward forcing him to stand on his toes in order to release the tension on his shoulder.

         "Madame, how would you like to start?" Gabriel asked diffidently. She sat as if considering, her lips pursed in thought. Her deep eyes bore through Jeffery, the pain in his chest and head was starting to subside, but that stare held him.

         "I think with knowledge this time, with the why," Anabella rested a slender arm on an arm rest. "Your kind has been around for many years, did you know that Jeffery? I had the pleasure of meeting a particulary demented one many years ago, and Gabriel too, although Gabriel was not so long as that. We invite your kind to dinner from time to time, and you are a special guest while in our home. You see, we have been at this for a very long time, but there seems to be no end to the house guests, so we keep on. We know what you are, Jeffery, can you guess what we are?"

         Jeffery's mind thought as fast as he could, but nothing he had ever seen would have prepared him for this. He'd seen movies, read books, but those had all been old fairy tales. Again his mind failed to accept what was happening. His body however began to shake with fear.

         "Yes, Jeffery, we are vampire and tonight you pay for a crime almost 500 years old."