You Suck: A Love Story

everything in our one night together, love.”
    She watched helplessly as he tossed his head back and his fangs unsheathed.
    Troy Lee squared off against Drew at the end of the dog-food aisle, two short fighting swords in hand.
    “Bring it, stoner,” Troy Lee said. He spun the swords. Drew fell into a crouch by the dishwashing liquids.
    “I’m fast now,” Drew said.
    “Uh-huh,”Troy said. He whipped the swords through the air in a deadly fanning motion. He’d been training since he was a child; he wasn’t afraid, especially of Drew.
    “Hey,” came a woman’s voice from right beside him. Troy Lee looked over, lightning quick, just in time to register what looked like a full moon coming at his face.
    There was a loud clang andTroy was nearly flipped over backwards when the iron skillet hit him in the forehead. Blue let it drop to her side and grinned at Drew. “I’ve always wanted to do that.”
    “House wares used to be my aisle,” Drew said.
    “Take him,” said Blue. “Let him drink some of your blood before he dies.” She headed toward a commotion in the can aisle. “Save some, boys. Mama’s got a broken nose that needs to heal.”
    J ody felt her own fangs extend and her kneecaps quiver as Elijah fed on her, but otherwise she couldn’t move. How could she have been so stupid? He was eight hundred years old-of course he hadn’t taught her everything. Of course he was stronger than she was-she was stronger than Tommy, and she had only been a vampire a couple of months longer than he had.
    If she could stay conscious, maybe when he stopped feeding she could make her move. Could he reduce her to dust like a human, or would he have to do something else? Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Why didn’t she know all of this? Why wasn’t she acting on instinct? Where was the predator mind when you needed it?
    Her vision started to tunnel down-she was losing conciousness. She could hear rapid footsteps outside, though. First below, then across the street, then below again. Elijah heard them, too, and he loosened his grip for an instant, but before she could twist away, his fingers dug into her neck and jaw again. Then a black blur flew through the window and she heard something thud on the floor over by the kitchen. There was another loud thud and Elijah released her and she fell to the floor. She tried to push herself up, but something was thrown over her and she heard a buzzing sound. She heard screaming and smelled burning flesh, glass breaking, then someone was lifting her, carrying her. She couldn’t move or even fight anymore. She let go, let herself float away, but the last thing she heard was a girl’s voice saying, “Did you feed Chet?”
    T he Emperor sat on the dock of the St. Francis Yacht Club, watching the fog wash over the breakwater. He’d gone against the advice of the homicide detectives and had left the grocery store. It was his city, and it was his place to take the battle to its attackers. He had cowered in fear long enough.
    His wickedly pointed sword lay on the dock at his side. The men, Bummer and Lazarus, were sleeping in a fuzzy pile at his back.
    “Ah, gentle warriors, how do we engage in battle when our enemy moves with such elegant stealth?
    Perhaps we should return to the Safeway and help defend.”
    Bummer’s left ear twitched, and he let out a muffled ruff in his sleep.
    A thick bank of fog was moving down from the opening in the breakwater and it caught the Emperor’s attention because it appeared to be moving across the wind from the west. Yes, it was indeed-the cold breeze was coming straight over the breakwater from the north. The fog bank bubbled thick as it moved, tendrils reached out and then were reabsorbed like the false feet of some crawling creature.
    The Emperor climbed to his feet and roused the men, snatched Bummer up before the sleepy terrier could get his bearings, and headed toward the club house with Lazarus at his heels. He crouched in a shadow by the entrance to the restrooms, holding the hounds as he watched.
    The fog bank enveloped the end of the dock, paused, then dissipated as if a fan had been turned on it, and three tall figures stood on the dock, a man and two women. They wore long coats, cashmere, the Emperor thought, but he couldn’t for the life of him remember why he might know that. They moved down the dock toward him as if they were floating. The Emperor could see their outlines in the moonlight-jawlines and cheekbones that looked as if