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going to be alone with a
creature that would kill him without hesitation.
    Fear imposed itself and choked Viktor as he
watched the colonel speed off to the front of the cavalry. He felt
the lump in his throat. It was now just he and the creature, but
Viktor wanted answers and pushed away the fear just enough to lift
the edge of the blanket. The sun seared the newly exposed hand of
the creature and the horror immediately curled and clawed its way
back under the shadows of the blanket. The sudden agile movement
startled Viktor and he stepped backward, tripped over his bedding
and landed on the seat of his pants.
    His mind raced with hazards. He had last seen
a vampire in Germany. Back then, the creature was dead but somehow
held in suspension before turning to dust. Viktor, eight years old
at the time, was too afraid to closely inspect the creature. He’d
inched toward the glass coffin and focused on the tip of the
nearest fang. His heart pounded and palms became sweaty. He was
afraid that at any moment the creature would spring to life, smash
through the glass and tear at his throat. His uncle, seeing the boy
was afraid, snuck up behind him and clapped his hands loudly.
Viktor ran from the exhibit. The memory caused his heart to race
all these years later.
    He paced around the camp contemplating the
safest way to interrogate the creature then he had an idea. He
packed up the camp, tethered the packhorse carrying the creature to
his own and rode north.
    He found the perfect rye field and trotted to
the middle of it. The field was large and recently planted, the
shoots barely breaking the ground. Most importantly, not a shadow
existed for the creature to run and take cover. It was perfect, a
wide-open field with the heavenly sun above.
    Viktor dismounted and drove a stake into the
ground. Then he tied the rein of the packhorse to it. He tied a
rope to a corner of the blanket, wrapped the other end around the
reins of his horse, and then walked his animal a good distance from
the creature.
    Viktor shouted in the direction of the
creature, “Listen, I know you can hear me. I will ask you some
questions for which I demand answers. If you do not answer, or try
to harm me—I have rope tied to the blanket that protects you from
the sun. The other end is tied to my horse. One order from me and
the blanket will be jerked off your soulless body and you will be
exposed to the sun. Do you hear me?”
    There was no response, and this made Viktor
nervous. He was sure the creature was planning his death. “Do you
hear? Speak now!” he shouted.
    The creature responded, “Yes.” His voice was
almost a growl and he swiftly turned under the blanket to face
Viktor.
    “Good, good.” Viktor’s heart pounded in his
chest and crawled into his throat. He slowly approached the
packhorse. “You were captured not far from here. Where there’s one
of you, there are others. I want to know what happens to the young
women you take?”
    “I take and feed.” The creature grunted.
    “Yes, but what of the bodies? I’m looking for
my love—Princess Crimson. Missing five days now.”
    “A princess? Is she of royal blood?” The
creature groaned.
    “Yes, yes she is,” Viktor responded,
surprised by the excitement in his words. “What happens to these
women? Were you here five nights ago?”
    “Yes, I know of the princess. It is the
tracker you seek.”
    The response caught Viktor off guard and he
suspiciously wondered if the creature was lying. “You know of
Crimson? You had better not be messing with me or I swear I will
send you to a fiery hell.”
    Viktor could see the creature moving under
the blanket. It hunched up on the back of the packhorse and Viktor
stepped backwards fearful the creature was about to lunge toward
him. The creature tossed something from under the blanket. It fell
among the green shoots of the field and captivated the rays of the
morning sun. Viktor carefully approached and found the item. He
kneeled, collected the