Trapped

wasn’t as strong as Zdenik, the vampire who’d nearly snuffed me. Zdenik had been nearly as old as I was, and my magic had drained rapidly trying to hold him off. This vampire was probably only a few hundred years old, and I could tell he was beginning to think it would have been far safer to simply talk to me. He abruptly changed tactics and decided to disengage. I held on to him, my fingers digging firmly into his arms. I couldn’t let him get away to prey on humans for a thousand years. He tried to use my strength against me, lunging back in for another attack since I was pulling on his arms, and I did release one arm to block access to my throat. Almost finished. He sank his fangs into the meat of my forearm, thinking perhaps he would simply drain me the slow way, but that was fine—it would be far too slow to do him any good. I stepped back, allowing him to think he had an advantage, and his free arm clutched at me to keep me from escaping. He was hooked now, but I paid a price when I finished the unbinding.
    Some vampires sort of melt when they’re unbound and they simply splash on the floor. This guy exploded, showering my immediate vicinity and me in blood and gore. I looked fairly guilty, in other words, of a particularly heinous murder.
    » Eww, « Granuaile commented from her vantage point. She was untouched by a single drop of blood. » I ducked, « she explained.
    The lone store employee began to curse steadily and hysterically in Greek, his eyes the size of Ping-Pong balls. He had a cell phone out and was shouting into it as he ran from the store, escaping what he clearly thought was certain death.
    » We have a problem, « I said.
    » Ya think? «
    » That didn’t go the way I thought it would. «
    » I should hope not, because that would be pretty sick. You’re completely covered in viscera. «
    I turned off my speed and strength bindings and said, » I’m camouflaging us. Help me find the surveillance systems. We need to destroy all record of what happened. «
    » Right. Except for that pool of goo on the floor. «
    » Yes. They can make of that what they will. I just don’t want them to watch the video and conclude I did something magical—or conclude he was a vampire. «
    » Okay. We have all we need, right? « She held up a small basket full of the supplies we’d come for.
    » Yep. « I cast camouflage on her, and as she faded from view she said she would check the back of the store.
    » I’ll check behind the register, « I said, casting camouflage on myself. That drained my bear charm down to dangerous levels. I wouldn’t be able to maintain this for long.
    I found a few monitors behind the register, but they were using a feed generated somewhere else.
    » Back here, sensei! « Granuaile called. I followed the sound of her voice to the rear of the store, where there was a sign marked EMPLOYEES ONLY in Greek and English on a locked door. I bound the tumblers into the unlocked position and opened it. Inside were even more monitors and a black console with a tangle of cables snaking in and out of it.
    » That’s our baby. Looks like a disc system similar to the one I had at Third Eye way back when. «
    Granuaile pressed a few buttons and got several discs to eject. Searching her shopping basket with my fingers, I took out a pair of wire clippers and cut through all the cables in the back of the console. The monitors turned to snow as I did so.
    » We’d better be sure this has no hard-drive backup, « I said. » We should smoosh it. «
    » Aw, yeah, rage against the machine! Let’s do this! « I heard Granuaile shuffle backward and pictured her brandishing her staff. I threw the console down hard, rattling the case, but once the iron tip of Granuaile’s staff descended upon it, there was a significant dent.
    » Again, « I suggested.
    The console acquired two more dents in quick succession.
    » Hold off, « I said. » Let me jump on it a few times. «
    » Go. «
    I did a gleeful mosh—or was it a skank?—upon the top, which did little to it but did manage to make me feel better.
    » It’s bolted together fairly well. Let’s just take it with us and dump it into the pond in the park. «
    » Good idea, « Granuaile agreed. Sirens could be heard approaching. » I think we should exit quickly. «
    » Yes, let’s. «
    Using the last dregs of my magic, I camouflaged the security console and the discs Granuaile had removed from it, and then I carried the console out of the store