As Twilight Falls

She sat there, staring blankly out the window, as the clouds chased the sun from the sky.

The sound of the doorbell brought her to her feet. For a moment, she considered pretending she wasn’t home, but what good would that do?

Gathering her courage, she went to answer the door. After all, there was always a chance it wasn’t him.

Taking a deep breath, she called, “Who’s there?”

“It’s me. Marti.”

Weak with relief, Kadie opened the door. “Come in.”

“We were worried about you,” Marti said. “I came to make sure you’re all right.”

“All right?” Kadie repeated, locking the door. “I’ll never be all right again.”

“I know how you must be feeling,” Marti said, taking the seat Kadie indicated. “But once you get used to it, it’s not so bad.”

“Not so bad? I don’t believe what I’m hearing! How can you say that?” Kadie sat down, then stood and began to pace the floor. “You tell me this town is filled with vampires, that you and the others are food, and it’s not so bad?”

“Kadie, sit down and listen to me.”

With a shake of her head, Kadie sat on the sofa, her hands clenched in her lap.

“I’m not saying it’s wonderful or that I wouldn’t leave at the drop of a hat, but it could be worse. We have the run of the town during the day.”

“So, how does it work?” Kadie asked.

“Oh, it’s all very civilized,” Marti replied. “Like I said, they aren’t allowed to feed on any of us more than two or three times a week. And as long as you belong to Vaughan, no one else can touch you.”

“Lucky me,” Kadie muttered. “So, the vampires just come knocking on your door and expect you to let them take what they want?”

Marti nodded.

“Darrick told me to be careful who I invite into the house,” Kadie said. It hadn’t made any sense at the time.

“The vampires can’t enter a person’s home without an invitation. By giving you this house, he gave you more than just a place to live. It’s a haven. None of the other vampires will be able to come in unless you invite them.”

“You mean your house isn’t yours?”

“No, all the other houses belong to the vampires.”

“How many vampires are there?”

“Nine. Eight men and one woman.”

Considering she hadn’t even known vampires existed, it seemed like a lot. “And they all live here?”

“Yes. I don’t know for sure, but I don’t think they can leave, either.”

Marti drew in a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh. “Vaughan has given you a wonderful gift, Kadie. Something none of the rest of us have.”

“The only thing I want from him is my freedom. That would be wonderful.”

Marti nodded in agreement. “But it isn’t likely to happen.”

“How long have you been here?”

“I’m not sure. I tried to keep track of the days when I first got here, but . . .” She shrugged. “What year is it?”

“Two thousand and thirteen.”

Marti stared at her. “Five years,” she said, blinking back her tears. “My daughter will be in first grade by now. Brad’s probably remarried.”

Kadie laid her hand on Marti’s arm. “I’m so sorry.”

Blinking back her tears, Marti said a hasty good-bye and took her leave.

Kadie closed the door, then went to the window. She wondered how the vampires could be so cruel, separating a mother from her family? Silly question. They were vampires. Monsters. Bloodsucking fiends.

She thought about what Marti had told her about the vampires. There were nine of them in Morgan Creek. She frowned. How many people resided here besides those she had met?

She wondered why Vaughan let her have a car when none of the other women had one. And how she was supposed to keep him out of the house when he had already been inside?

The rest of the day passed with agonizing slowness. Kadie found herself constantly watching the clock, counting the minutes until the sun went down. Would Vaughan show up when the sun set and expect her to . . . to feed him?

The very thought made her stomach churn with revulsion. And then she heard a knock at the door.

Mind racing, she moved through the house, seeking a weapon of some kind, but there was nothing more menacing that the table knives in the kitchen. They didn’t look sharp enough to cut butter, let alone kill a vampire.

If only she had listened to her father and bought a pistol. Vowing that a gun shop would be her first stop if she ever got out of this place, she went to answer the door.

Chapter 5

Kadie took a deep breath, then opened the door. As she’d feared, it was Darrick. “What do you want?”

“I just wanted to stop by and see if there was anything you needed.”

“The only thing I need is to get out of this horrible place.” He shifted from one foot to the other. “Haven’t we already had this conversation?”

“Well, we’re having it again. I want to go home. Back to California,” she added before he could tell her again that she was already home.

“Now that we’ve covered that, would you like to go to a movie?”

“A movie?”

He heard the disbelief in her voice. “What’s the matter?”

“Whoever heard of vampires going to the movies?”

“Who said anything about vampires?”

“The ladies in town, of course.”

Vaughan looked thoughtful. “So, what do you think vampires do?”

“Drink blood and kill people.”

He chuckled softly. He couldn’t argue with that.

Kadie stared at the door, wondering why he didn’t come in, and then she frowned. What was it Marti had said? Something about vampires being unable to enter a home without an invitation. Surely that didn’t apply to Vaughan, since he had been in the house before. Then again, it hadn’t belonged to her at the time.

Curious, she opened the door a little bit wider. “You can’t come in, can you?” she asked, a note of wonder in her voice.

“Told you that, did they?”

Kadie nodded. So, it was true then. He couldn’t come in without her permission. She found that immensely reassuring.

“Have you nothing to say?”

Feeling safe within the walls of the house, she asked, “Do you feed on everyone in town?”

If he was startled by her bold question, it didn’t show. “Not everyone.”