He snorts. "Right. You and your partner wasted twenty cops. You must be a terminator, huh?"
"Close. I'm a vampire. I'm five thousand years old."
He snickers. "You're a psycho, and you're wasting my time." He turns again. "Good night."
I grab him by the back of his collar and yank him close, pressing his cheek next to mine. He is so startledhe hardly reacts. But his men are better trained. Suddenly I have three revolvers pointed at me. Quickly, I shield myself with Tex. My grip on him tightens, cutting off his air. He gags loudly.
"I am in a generous mood," I say calmly to the others. "I will give you men a chance to escape. Ordinarily I would not even consider it. But since my cover has been blown, I am not so picky about destroying every shred of evidence." I pause and catch each of their eyes, no doubt sending a shiver to the base of their spines. "I suggest you get in your cars and get out of hereout of Las Vegas completely. If you don't, you will die. It is that simple." I throttle Tex and he moans in pain. My voice takes on a mocking tone, "You can see how strong I am for a honey child."
"Shoot her," Tex gasps as I allow him a little air.
"That is a bad idea," I say. "To shoot me they have to shoot you first because you are standing in front of me. Really, Tex, you should think these things out before giving such orders." I glance at the others. "If you don't get out of here, I'll have you for dinner as well. I really am a vampire and, for me, prime ribs come in all shapes and forms." With one hand, I lift Tex two feet off the ground. "Do you want to see what I do to him? I guarantee it will make you sick to your stomach."
"God," one of the men whispers and turns to flee. He doesn't bother with the car. He just runs into the desert, anywhere to get away from me. Another fellow edges toward the periphery. But the remaining man the guy who grabbed me in the casino, the same one who frisked mesnaps at him.
"She's not a vampire," he says. "She's just some kind of freak."
"That's it," I agree. "I take steroids." I glance at the guy who wants to leave. "Get out of here while you still can. You will see neither of these men alive again. Believe me, you'll hear their screams echoing over the desert."
My tone is persuasive. The guy leaves, chasing afterthe first one. Now there are just the three of us. How cozy. In reality, I was not looking forward to having to dodge the bullets fired by three separate men. I allow Tex a little more air, let him say his last words. His tune has not changed.
"Shoot her," he croaks at his partner.
"You could try it and see what happens," I remark.
The hired hand is unsure. His gun wavers in the air. "I can't get a clear shot."
Tex tries to turn toward me. "We can make a deal. I have money."
I shake my head. "Too late. I don't want your money. I just want your blood."
Tex sees I am serious. My eyes and voice appear devilishly wicked when I am in the mood, and I'm starving right now. Tex turns deathly pale, matching the color of the moonlight that pours down on us.
You can't kill me!" he cries.
I laugh. "Yes. It will be very easy to kill you. Do you want me to demonstrate?"
He trembles. "No!"
"I will give you a demonstration anyway." I call over to Tex's partner, who has begun to perspire heavily. "What is your name?"
"Go to hell," he swears, trying to circle around us, to get off a lucky shot.
"That cannot be your name," I say. ""Your mother would never have called you that. It doesn't matter. You are going to be nobody in a minute. But before I kill you, is there anything you want to say?"
He pauses, angry. "Say to who?"
I shrug. "I don't know. God, maybe. Do you believe in God?"
I exasperate him. "You are one weird bitch."
I nod solemnly. "I am weird." The full power of my gaze locks into his eyes. With me boring into him, he is unable to look away. All he sees, I know, is my fathomless pupils, swelling in size like black holes. I speak very slowly, softly. "Now my dear man, you are going to take your gun and put it in your mouth."
The man freezes for a moment.
Then, as if in a dream, he opens his mouth and puts the gun between his lips.
"Chuck!" Tex screams. "Don't listen to her! She's trying to hypnotize you!"
"Now I want you to grasp the trigger," I continue in my penetrating voice. "I want you to place a certain amount of pressure on the trigger. Not enough to fire the bullet, mind you, but almost enough. There, that is perfect, you have done well. You are half an inch from death." I pause and turn down the power of my eyes. My voice returns to normal. "How does it feel?"
The man blinks and then notices the barrel in his mouth. He almost has a heart attack. He is so scared, he actually drops the gun. "Jesus Christ!" he cries.
"See," I say. "You must believe in God. And because I do as well, and I can only drink the blood of one of you at a time, I think I will let you go as well. Quick, join your partners out in the desert, before I change my mind."
The man nods. "No problem." He dashes away.
"Chuck!" Tex screams. "Come back here!"
"He is not coming back," I tell Tex seriously. "You cannot buy that kind of loyalty. You certainly cannot buy me. You can't even buy my dinner." I pause. "You must understand by now that you are dinner."
He weeps like a child. "Please! I don't want to die."
I pull him closer, whisper my favorite line.
"Then you should never have been born," I say.
I enjoy my meal
When I am finished draining the Texan and have buried him far from his car, I go for a walk in the desert. My thirst is satisfied but my mind is restless. Andy will be off work in a few hours. I should be planning how I will convince him to help me, yet I cannot concentrate. I keep thinking I'm missing something important. I contemplate the last few days and somehow I know something is missinga piece of the puzzle. This piece exists just beyond the edge of my vision. What it is, I cannot grasp.
Arturo's ghost haunts me. The world never knew what it had lost in him. What greater sorrow could there be? I ask myself how he would have been remembered if there had been no Inquisition. If there had been no Sita and no magical blood to poison his dreams. Perhaps his name would have been uttered in the same breath as that of Leonardo da Vinci, of Einstein. It tortures me to think of the lost possibilities: Arturo the alchemistthe founder of a secret science.