Unbitten Read Free

change as he moved closer–to glow
     around the edges, as though lit from inside. He was able to
     move so quietly. With such physical assurance. With hunger.
    Jo was digging around in her purse again, hoping to uncover
     something that could amuse her for a few minutes. A cough
     drop would do, something to fiddle with, anything! In her
     jet-lagged, impatient state, she was completely unaware of
     her surroundings, and of the man coming up behind her.
    He was close now. He stopped for a few seconds, opened his
     mouth very wide and stretched his long, muscular arms out,
     and sank into a crouch. Something about the way he moved
     looked unhuman, reptilian.
    His powerful legs tensed; he was ready to spring.

3

    But of course, the man was no reptile. He was the only
     remaining vampire out of a small number of village
     vampires, most of whom were descended from a serf who had
     lived around year 1362 and had been turned to vampirism by
     David and Henri’s great-great-great-OK, a
lot
of greats-grandfather, when he had cut himself
     and forced the serf to drink his tainted blood. Through the
     generations, the sons drank from the fathers and became
     vampires themselves, or some perhaps had their first drink
     outside of the family, but either way, Mourency had been
     home to vampires since about 874, deep in the Dark Ages.
    His name was Pierre, and he looked in every way like the
     quintessential Frenchman he was, even wearing a blue beret
     when the weather was chilly, and smoking Gauloises. Pierre
     was a walking cliché–except for the part about
     the retracting fangs and the thirst for warm blood. Human
     blood. Skinny young women’s blood, if you wanted to
     get down to Pierre’s personal specifics.
    Mourency did not get hordes of tourists, the way the
     villages on the coast did. So for Pierre to come across
     this American girl, such a delicious little morsel, a
     little waifish really but he liked them that way, not all
     strapping and tough like some of the Scandinavians and
     Germans–it was a bit of luck, coming around the
     corner at that moment, having just gotten up to greet the
     evening, barely even begun the night’s hunting, and
     there she was, waiting for him.
    Like she was meant for me, thought Pierre, not springing
     after all but instead walking right up behind her and
     sniffing her hair. Like all he had to do was unwrap her
     like a bon-bon, and suck her, and suck her, and suck her.
    He opened his mouth very wide, as wide as he possibly
     could–it felt better that way–and his fangs
     shot down, at the ready. Pierre leaned towards the neck,
     the pale neck, faintly sweaty; he closed his eyes and
     started to reach for her as he lowered his teeth towards
     her flesh, his brain already starting to melt with
     pleasure.
    A car horn suddenly started blaring like mad. Screeching,
     horrible noise! Pierre went limp. He scrambled away from Jo
     as the car, a navy Citroën, careened into the parking
     lot. He clapped his hands over his ears and ran down the
     road, absurdly fast, around the corner, and disappeared
     into the village.
    Jo had barely realized he was behind her and he was gone.
     She jerked, startled, even though the man was already out
     of sight. Where had he come from? And what kind of town was
     this, anyway? She smoothed down her skirt and tried to
     compose herself, pushing the thought away that maybe she
     could just go back in the station and arrange to go home.
     When the woman leapt from the car and ran up to her, she
     smiled faintly. “Angélique?” she said.
    Angélique put her arm around Jo. “Are you all
     right? Did he hurt you?”
    “I’m fine,” said Jo, a little
     defensively. “I didn’t even realize he was
     behind me, it’s nothing.” It felt to her as
     though Angélique was too motherly and it made Jo
     bristle.
    “Come on,” said Angélique, taking her by
     the arm and leading her to the car, opening the door for
     her and then gathering up her