Part 1365 – Elsie = Cute Little Girl?? Probably Not.

Hildreth stayed on his knees as the woman hauled the vampire away.

She was not having an easy time of it. Matt was no sixty-pound weakling. But she had refused Hildreth’s help.

She had refused it with a ton of verbal abuse and strong threats of physical harm.

So, he stayed on his knees as she struggled to haul the vampire away.

Hildreth contemplated the tracker button in his hand.

A day will come when someone will attach this to that vampire. The Collectors will come and take him away.

He will be dead.

And Barbara, most likely than not, will never know.

She won’t be able to say good-bye to him.

She won’t be able to bury him and visit his grave.

He’ll just, one day, be gone from her life. And she will never know how or why.

But what else can we hunters do?

What are our options?

Let the vamps take over?

Leave their bodies lying in the streets? Yeah, there’s a nice mental image.

Take their bodies to the morgue for their loved ones to claim? Maybe. But what will they do with the vamps who are too old to be claimed? Do we just hand those vamps to The Collectors?

He stood and stretched out.

I think I’m thinking way too much.

Hildreth leaned his head back. “mmm. Should be dawn soon.” He looked up at the sky.

Elsie.

I want to run to her.

He smiled.

If I start running now, I should be able to beat her to the cemetery.

***

Elsie left The Harmonic Smithery.

She pulled out her brand new weapon and admired it.

The design was clean and unfussy.

She flicked it open and locked it into place.

The blade was so clean and smooth. It begged her to touch it.

To feel the silk of its metal.

I wish I had something to try it out on.

“You know—-”

Elsie looked up.

A man with overly processed hair and a fake orange tan grinned at her.

It wasn’t a very nice grin.

“—-cute little girls like you shouldn’t play with such dangerous toys.” He grabbed her hand. “Come with me and I’ll show you what you can play with. Mmmm?”

She held the switchblade to his throat.

He stiffened.

“Who the heck are you calling ‘cute little girl’? Me?”

His grin wobbled nervously. “Uhhh…yeah?”

His grin disappeared altogether as she grazed the blade down his throat, leaving a thin trail of red.

“It seems to cut skin okay. Let’s see how it is on material.”

He turned pale. “What the…”

She removed the blade from his skin.

Before he could exhale his relief, she pressed the blade into the middle of his shirt.

He released her hand and tried to back away.

She grabbed his arm. “Hold on. I’m not done here.”

“What the heck, lady? You some sort of psycho?”

She drew the weapon straight up, slicing through his knit shirt without any difficulty. “Only if you make me angry.” She released his arm.

He ran away as fast as he could.

Elsie unlocked it and flicked it shut.

Yes.

This will definitely work.