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I’ve had close human connections, he says. I forgot how personal this is to you.
    Still, I should not have called you self-absorbed. It’s not something one friend says to another.
    Vlad relaxes, and his thoughts turn to how we’ll approach the cave where Cecily is being held.
    “Cave?” I repeat aloud.
    “We are going to a valley where the Niaux Cave of prehistoric paintings is located. On the other side of the valley is another cave. It’s thought that in this cave, the ancient artists who left the paintings lived with their families. This cave is harder to get to and not open to the public. It’s also sheltered so one could hide a person inside, unexposed to the elements.”
    “How will we approach it?”
    “The cave has a low ceilinged entrance that opens to a wide cavern. There is no way to approach from the front without being seen. To the back of the cavern, however, there is another entrance angled down through rock. It’s narrow, but we should have no trouble navigating it. My informant said they leave two people with the girl at all times. Once inside, between us we should have no trouble subduing two humans.”
    “I hope they put up a fight,” I mumble, fingers flexing in anticipation.
    Vlad shakes his head. “Remember, Anna, Cecily will be there. We can’t damage the humans too much. How will we explain it?”
    He’s right, at some point we’ll have to bring in the police. “Did you have a plan for turning these scumbags in?”
    “At my call, my informant will notify the local police in Niaux of strange goings-on in the cave. When they arrive, our story will be that we are spelunkers who happened upon the girl and her kidnappers. We were able to surprise them and free the girl. At that point, we are out of it, and the locals take over.”
    “So I won’t be able to take even a little blood?” I whine.
    He clucks his tongue. “Trebuie doar mâncat, Anna, nu fi un pic porc.”
    I’ve never heard him speak his native language before. I raise a questioning eyebrow. “Do I want to know what that means?”
    “You just ate, Anna,” he says, “Don’t be a petit cochon .”
    Cochon? That I understand.
    We’re scrambling up a rocky hillside. Vlad’s feet hardly touch the ground. It’s not so easy for me, but I have no trouble keeping up. We reach what looks like a chimney in the rock. Vlad signals that this is our entry point. There are two backpacks on the ground as well as a coil of rope.
    I reach down and hoist one of the backpacks. “Your informant?”
    “We need to make our story plausible.” He shrugs into the second backpack and picks up the rope.  
    I peer down inside the hole. Inky darkness at first. Then vampire vision kicks in. It’s a steep drop, but the walls are narrow enough that I know I can lever myself down. I give Vlad a thumbs-up and shimmy inside.
    Silently, I chimney toward the bottom. The rocks bite into my palms. I hear voices from below—far away voices so I know they won’t see us until we want them to.
    My feet touch the floor of the cave. I step aside, and Vlad floats noiselessly down to stand beside me.
    “Why didn’t I think of that?” I whisper, rubbing bruised palms.
    We make our way toward the voices. The cave is huge, high ceilinged so we can walk upright, with a surprisingly flat floor. Here and there, we see remnants of the civilization that occupied this space. Fire pits and grooved mortars. It’s warm, not damp and cold, as one would expect. 
    The voices grow louder.
    And another sound.
    Quiet sobbing.
    It makes the blood lust flare. Blood lust for the animals who would do this to a child.
    Vlad puts his hand on my arm and shakes his head. Keep it together, Anna.
    I draw a deep breath, release it slowly. He nods when he feels I’ve regained composure and starts ahead.
    The path bends before us. We sense rather than see that the men are on the other side. Vlad puts a finger to his lips. I’ll go in first. After the men. You go to the girl.
    I