Ready Or Not

The Interesting Parts

**Daniel**

As I expected, my phone rang within minutes of hitting send. Theo.

“How? I thought all the folklore was bullshit?”

I pinched the bridge of my nose and pushed a hand into my hair, where it stayed.

“It is. Mostly. But think about it. If a vampire got staked, ever, they had to have been desiccated; mummified already. Only way there's even a chance that could have happened. So it's not like they could sit up and tell anyone whether or not the yew was actually harmful, right?”

He exhaled loudly. “Shit. So it got lumped in with the rest of the myths.”

“There's not a lot of detail here, baby. What do you think it means? How do they get us to ingest it enough to weaken us?”

“What do they do to us once they've managed it? Just how toxic is this stuff? What can they do with it?”

Good questions. All of them. “I’m gonna call Anna.”

“What will she be able to tell you?”

“She's read more books than anyone I know. She works at the library, Theo. Is there a better place to start looking for answers?”

“Maybe.”

I didn't like the sound of that at all.

My sneaking suspicion that my husband-to-be was up to no-good was confirmed when I arrived home… er… back at his place just after six that evening.

“Theo? Who is this?”

He squinted and read her name tag. “Looks like her name is Officer Anne Beghley.” He went back to reading his newspaper.

“Theo?”

“Hmm?”

“What is a police officer doing in your condo?”

“Watching CNN.”

“Why?”

“It was just on. I don’t know. You were probably watching TV last.”

“No. Why is she here watching CNN?"

“Oh. Because I wanted your help!” He got up out of his chair and walked over to me. “I was thinking we could ask her questions. Get the lowdown on whatever they’re doing. Specifics.”

“Theo,” I said, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Did you kidnap a police officer and put her under thrall?”

“The thrall came first, duh.”

“People are going to know she’s here. GPS.”

“Not my first rodeo, cowboy,” he replied as he leaned up to purr in my ear and nip at my neck.

“Ditched her phone, belt radio, and anything else that looked vaguely electronic.”

I groaned. “This is too big a risk, Theo. Why?”

“She was on her cell phone when I saw her. I caught the end of her conversation about new feeding regulations coming through. She’s with V.V.. Who better to ask than the direct source?”

I walked over to the woman. The skin of her neck was still shiny and pink. Newly healed.

“Teodoro Talbot? Did you eat a police officer?”

He laughed at me. “Kind of poetic, huh?”

“Kind of stupid.”

“Not like she’ll ever know.”