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his eyes would be reflecting brightly even in the
dim conditions.  He immediately lowered his gaze, an instinctive gesture of
submission.  Lake did not move any closer, and Ryan backed slowly toward the
path that led around to the garages.  When he reached the corner that would
take him out of the Vampire’s line of sight, he turned and walked quickly back
to the garages and his room above them. 
    For two days afterwards he waited for something to happen. 
Maybe he would be let go on some pretense that was believable. 
    “Sorry, things are just not working out,” or “We don’t
really need the extra help anymore,” he imagined the House Manager would say. 
But no one came to fire him, and he began to think that he had imagined the animosity
he saw on the face of the Vampire.
    I didn’t imagine the red eyes, he reminded himself silently,
and so he continued to be wary. Then came the disagreement with Sara, and he
began to think it might be an opportune time to leave for a while, find the
others, and relax a bit. 
    On the following night, while he was replacing the last
burned-out bulb, a light next to the driveway, he heard footsteps casually
walking toward him.  Alexander Lake strolled out of the shadows across the
pavement further along the length of the drive.  He made as if to pass by Ryan,
who was still kneeling at the edge of the pavement with the light bulb in his
hand, but then he paused and turned back.
    “Your name is Ryan?” He made it an inquiry, and from his tone
he clearly expected an answer.
    Ryan swallowed and answered, “yes, sir.” 
    He chanced a quick glance at the face of Vampire, but then
looked quickly away again, maintaining the submissive posture he had adopted
the night in the garden.  
    “You’re Sara’s brother, are you not?”  His questions
remained casual, and he showed no malice.  He gave every appearance of mild
curiosity and no more.
    “Yes, sir…Stepbrother,” he added, wanting to make sure that
Lake did not think that Sara shared his blood. 
    “That makes sense,” Lake commented without explanation. 
“That is the last light that was out on the property, isn’t it?” He gestured
toward the light at Ryan’s feet.
    “It is,” Ryan answered. There were hundreds of lights on
the estate, but he knew that he should not be surprised that Lake knew exactly
when he was replacing the last one.
    “Good.  Aurora loves her lights.  She misses the sun, and
she can’t get enough artificial light to replace it.” He turned to walk on, but
over his shoulder he said flatly “I’ll be seeing you, Ryan.”
    When he was gone, Ryan let out the breath he was holding. 
Ryan was a big man, but he knew he was no match for a Vampire over a thousand
years old. 
    “Oh, he knows our names, Sara,” he muttered under his
breath.  “And he notices a lot more than you think.” He would not be
underestimating Alexander Lake again anytime soon. 
    He packed his bags that night and left in the morning.  He
told Sara he would be back, but he knew she would be safer if he stayed away,
at least as long as she was living among Vampires. 

 
    five
    Alex walked on down the drive leaving the young man behind
him.  He was not concerned about showing him his back.  He knew that Ryan would
not do anything foolish.  Besides, he could still sense exactly where he was and
smell Ryan’s submission. 
    A Were on his estate! He shook his head.  The man
was clearly not aggressive and seemed to be mostly interested in looking out
for his sister. Stepsister, he corrected. She was not a Were, and she
obviously did not know anything about Ryan either.  He doubted she even
suspected the existence of such creatures.  Weres were much more
secretive than Vampires, especially over the last couple of centuries.  Most
humans did not know and would not believe that they even existed. 
    There were a few exceptions, mostly scattered among the militant
terrorists that protested against