I heard a car coming up the driveway. Daddy moved faster down the stairway. I opened the door and rushed out to see Buddy returning.
“Oh, no!” I screamed into the bright headlights. He stopped the car and opened the door.
I could feel the wave of icy air hit my back. Daddy was in the doorway. I charged forward as Buddy stepped out.
“Hi,” he said, not realizing anything. “Your sister called and explained, and—”
“Get back in the car! Hurry!” I shouted at him.
He froze in place and then looked past me. I could see the shock in his face. I didn’t have to turn around to know why. I lunged at the passenger door and shouted again for him to get into the car.
He did, but he looked too frightened to do anything more.
“Start the engine. Back out of here. Go!” I shouted, and punched him in the right shoulder hard enough to shake him out of his daze.
He fumbled with the key. The engine started, but as he put the car into reverse, a great shadow rushed over the windshield. It threw us both into complete darkness for a moment.
“Back up and drive out!” I cried.
He did, and when he turned to go down the driveway and away, we heard a piercing scream that sounded as if all of the metal in the car, all of the metal around us, was being peeled away. The car bounced. Buddy nearly missed the turn and sent us off the road, but somehow, he managed to keep the wheels from being caught on the edge. The car felt as if it were being heaved down the remaining portion of the hill. When we reached the end, he couldn’t stop. We shot out into the heavy, fast traffic of Sunset Boulevard. Drivers hit their brakes. One car turned off the road. Another slammed into the rear of the one in front of it. Another hit that one. Horns blared. Buddy spun to his left and accelerated until we were away from the mess. Then he slowed down. He checked his rearview mirror and started to pull to the side of the road.
“No, don’t stop,” I said. “Keep going.”
He looked at me. His throat was probably still too tightly closed for him to speak. He nodded and drove on. Finally, he took some deep breaths and asked me what he had seen.
“Your own horrible death,” I said.
“What?”
“Why did you come back?”
“Your sister called me and told me you were crying hysterically. She asked me why you hadn’t brought me home and what you had told me. I didn’t see any reason not to tell her, so I did. She said you were being too dramatic and that your father had heard you crying and told you that you were ridiculous and you should have brought me to see him. She thought it would be a wonderful surprise if I would just return, so I did.”
“I should have realized she wouldn’t give up.”
“Give up what? What was that, Lorelei? I mean, I thought I saw a gigantic man with arms connected to his hips with… it looked like wings, bat wings, and his eyes… who or what was that?”
“That was my daddy,” I said. “I was supposed to be the one who brought you to him, not Ava. It was my time, my turn to be his best daughter.”
“I don’t understand. Bring me to him for what?”
“Nourishment,” I said.
“Nourishment? What is he, a cannibal?”
“No. He doesn’t want all of you, just your blood, what’s in your blood.”
“What are you saying? Your father is…” He shook his head. “You’re not telling me that your father is a vampire, are you?”
“We’ve never used that word, and I’ve never heard anyone else say it.”
“You were supposed to bring me to him? That’s why you were seeing me now, making love to me?”
“At first. But I couldn’t do it, Buddy.”
“Why not?”
“I do love you, and that’s something we’re not permitted to do.”