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attempting to create for her brother.
    "Is he more powerful than the vampire?" Joshua asked hopefully.
    "Way more," she said firmly, weaving a fairy tale for the child, wanting to believe it herself. "He's a magical warrior with shining gold eyes. The vampire can't stand looking at him because he sees himself reflected in those burning eyes and is frightened by his own ugly appearance."
    There was a small silence, and then Joshua touched her face with his fingertips. "Really, Alex? Will the hunter really come and save us?"
    She saw no harm in giving him hope. "We just have to be brave and strong. He'll come for us, Joshua. He will. We'll stick together and outsmart that old vampire." Her words were slurring, and with her blood supply low, her body temperature was dropping, her strength ebbing quickly. Alexandria didn't see how she could possibly survive until nightfall. Her lashes drifted down again, so heavy she had no way to lift them.
    Joshua didn't want to tell his sister, but she looked terrible. Horrible, even. Her mouth was swollen and black. White salt covered her skin, giving her a monsterish look. Her hair hung in grayish-white strands all around her face, and he couldn't even tell its natural color anymore. Her clothes were torn and streaked white, and strings of kelp hung off her skirt and her ragged, torn nylons. Her legs had hundreds of beads of blood on them where something had nibbled away her skin. Even her voice sounded funny, and her neck was swollen and raw looking. But Alexandria didn't seem to notice. Josh was very scared. He sat down next to her, took her hand, and waited while the sun slowly fell from the sky.
    Alexandria was aware the moment the sun went down. She felt an uneasy stirring of the earth and knew immediately that the vampire had risen. She put an arm around Joshua's shoulders and pulled him close. "He's coming," she whispered softly into his ear. "I want you to go out of the cave and be very quiet and stay out of sight. He'll try to use you against me, try to hurt you in some way. Maybe he'll forget you if you stay out of sight."
    "But, Alex," he protested.
    "I need you to do this for me, honey. Stay very quiet, no matter what happens." She kissed him quickly. "Go now. I love you, Josh."
    "I love you, Alex." He ran from the cave and pressed himself against the cliff wall.
    Alexandria watched him go with troubled eyes. The tide was coming back in again, and he was only six years old. Then, though she heard no sound, she suddenly knew the vampire was watching her. She turned her head and met his stare.
    "You look a bit worse for wear," he greeted her congenially.
    She remained quiet, simply watching him. His grotesque smile stretched across his face. He crossed the distance that separated them and, lifting her wrists, examined them. He brought one to his mouth and, staring into her eyes, licked the blood from the painful wounds.
    Alexandria winced visibly, trying to jerk her hand away. He tightened his hold until he threatened to crush bone. "You want me to release you, do you not?"
    She forced herself to be still and endure his hideous touch. When the cuffs fell to the ground, she struggled to get to her feet.
    "You wish to leave this place?" he asked softly.
    "You know I do."
    He caught her neck with one clawed hand and jerked her to him. "I am hungry, my dear, and it is time for you to choose whether the child lives another night or dies."
    She didn't have the strength to fight him, so she didn't even try. She couldn't stop the cry of pain that escaped her as his fangs sank deeply into her neck. He made a growling noise as he fed, his fist in her tangled hair holding her still while he drank greedily. She knew her life was sliding away from her, down his throat. She was suffering from loss of blood and hypothermia. Nothing seemed to matter.
    Yohenstria felt her slump against him and had to catch her in his arms to prevent her from falling. Her heart was laboring, her breathing shallow. He