Without warning, the vampire stopped in an instant. I slammed on the brakes and the truck bounced in the loose dirt as the tires fought for traction while the brakes held tight. We’d just come to a complete stop when a noise from the bed of the truck made us both freeze before we turned to look. The vampire was there, stooped over and looking in the rear window at us. He met our eyes before shaking his head and hopping out.
“Why are you following me?” he asked with just a touch of sarcasm, well, really more than a touch.
“We want answers,” I said.
Just as Aaron said, “We want your gold.”
He stood outside the truck and slowly paced next to it. The crickets chirped while the frogs sounded all around us. The smell of the canal, and a slight pesticide smell mixed with a hint of fertilizer and damp earth from the fields, floated over to us. Justas the thought crossed my mind, the vampire drew in a deep breath.
“Oh, how I have missed the smell of the world. You’ve no idea how tired I am of the smell of dirt and decay.”
“You said I’m your enemy. What did you mean?” I asked, wasting no time getting to the point.
“You, I do not know, but I know your blood, and it is the same as the man who imprisoned me in that coffin so many years ago.” He was thankfully calmer now, and I hoped he would stay calm and not want to kill either of us.
“How would I know what one of my ancestors did? We’ve all lived in this fucking town since the day some asshole decided this was a good place to build. I mean literally. One of my ancestors came here as part of a wagon train and just never left.” I’d never told anyone that, and I knew Aaron had no clue and didn’t care. It was just another story my grandpa had told me anytime I was close enough to listen. To me, it was one more boring story about the olden days.
He stepped closer to me then and bared his teeth. “I know. I too was on that wagon train, and that relative was your great-great-great uncle, or some other distant ancestor. He was also my human mate that deceived me for a wealth of gold.”
“That can’t be. My grandfather’s great-grandfather came here soon after his uncle and they both bought some land. Neither of them worked in the gold fields.”
“Stupid human. They used the gold to buy the land, and if I had to guess, whatever they didn’t use is still hidden on that land.” He checked his nails again, which had not changed from when he checked them at the grave, before rolling his eyes.
“I told you there was treasure at the old farm,” Aaron said.
“There is no way you could have known that. Let me remind you, you think there’s treasure at every farm.”
The vampire huffed out a bemused laugh. “Are you two mated?”
“Us? Hell no,” I said, and felt my cheeks blaze with heat.
“Sorry, but I already have a girlfriend,” Aaron explained.
“Whatever,” the vampire said with a swipe of his hand. “If you want my help finding the gold, I will help. But for a price.”
“What price?” I asked and braced myself for his answer.
“I will feed on you, the blood of my enemy, once a week until the gold is found.”
“What happens then?”
“Then I will leave. I have no need for gold or the silly amusement of humans.”
Aaron smiled and wiggled in his seat, while I tried to stay calm and keep it all business. “How do I know I can trust you not to kill me?”
“You don’t,” he said, before showing his teeth with a wide, creepy grin. “But I am a man of my word, unlike your ancestor.”
“A vampire,” Aaron corrected.
“Fine, a vampire,” he said before holding out his hand. I stared at it and tried to consider all the possibilities. Some were not pleasant at all, while others were amazing, so without another word, I shook his hand. “It has been done.” He sneered before jumping back into the truck. “Take me to your home.”
Aaron’s eyes met mine, and I knew my own matched his nervous stare, before a grin spread across my lips at the thought of finding all that gold. “Come on, let’s do this.”
We drove a short distance to my house in silence. My parents lived on the same property as the old farm with Grandpa in a newer house that had been built before I was born. I’d always hated that I lived in the country and wasn’t close enough to walk to any of my friends’ houses, but now I was happy with the privacy. When I moved out on my own, I rented this house at the edge of town. It was old and basic, but it was perfect. I pulled up to the side of the house like I always did, and Aaron glanced over at me when I turned off the engine.
“You ready?” he asked.
“Yeah, let’s see what we’re dealing with.” I had no clue why I said that, but this whole situation was weird, and clearly it was messing with my head.
