3

He thought fast and ran over to an oil lamp that

was setting on the fireplace mantle. It was lit and shining bright; one of the main sources

of light in the room. With the lamp in hand he walked back over to where he stood

before, only this time Bohdan was standing behind the altar like was the pastor.

“You’d burn your church to the ground?” Bohdan asked.

“If it meant saving my life I would,” the pastor replied.

“Funny you didn’t mention your wife in that statement. Guess when it comes down to it,

saving your own life is what really matters.”

“I meant her too,” the pastor said.

“Nice catch. Now put up or shut up, toss the lamp,” Bohdan said.

“Only if I have to, if you attack I’ll burn the church to the ground with you in it.”

“How do you expect to get out? If I can’t make it, neither can you.”

“I’ll find a way,” the pastor replied. “Now get out before I light you up.”

“All that will happen if you throw that lamp is you burning down the building. I will survive

and come back another day to finish what I started. Either way, you lose.”

“What do you expect me to do? Let you kill us both?”

“Good job, you included her this time,” Bohdan said. “Your wife was in the middle of

making me an offer before you barged in.”

The pastor looked at his wife then back at Bohdan. “What offer?”

“She said she’d get me all the parishioners I wanted.”

“For what?”

“I wish you’d of came back earlier, I really don’t like repeating myself. Like I said, I’m a

vampire,” Bohdan stated, this time showing off his long yellow fangs.

“By the grace of God,” the pastor said. “Are you a real pastor?” Bohdan asked. “Or are you scamming the people of this town

with that as well?”

“I’m as much a pastor as anyone else.”

“I see, what did you do before you were a pastor?”

“I was in the army, I told you that.”

“And before that?”

“I worked for the railroad a bit, and farmed. What did you do?”

“I sold gipsys back to the south, I was a bounty hunter I suppose,” Bohdan replied.

“But you said you were in the war.”

“I was until I left, I didn’t care for it much, and there was profit in gipsy sales.”

“A vampire that sold gipsys?”

“I wasn’t always a vampire. I was turned by a gipsy, a gipsy vampire. Killed the bastard

after that. Like a mosquito.”

“How long have you been a vampire?” the pastor asked.

Bohdan thought for a moment. “Going on thirteen years now I suppose.”

“You’ve been living on the blood of humans for thirteen years? How come I never heard

of you?”

“I’m very good at what I do, I come into a town, clean it out and leave before I get

caught. Except for that one time, but that’s in the past. So we have a deal to discuss. Do

I kill you both now, or do you send me a supply of victims? I’m use to hunting on my

own, but if you want to get them for me, I can try that.”

“Yes, we can get you as many as you need,” the pastor said.

“You realize the second you turn on me, the deal is off and I take you both,” Bohdan

said.

“We understand.”

“No, I don’t think you do actually, I think I need some collateral.”

“What do you mean by that?” the pastor asked.

“Maybe collateral isn’t the right word, what I need is to prove to you that if you gosh me

over, I gosh you back. Maybe I should visit your house, see your kids.”

“No!” the pastor shouted, you stay away from my children!”

Bohdan expected that reaction, but he didn’t think his point was clear. He needed an

example that would guarantee that the pastor and his wife would never turn on him. All

he needed was one of them, the other would prove to be more a value hanging from the

town square disemboweled. And that’s exactly how they found the pastor's wife, the next morning, hanging from courthouse bell tower, white, lifeless and drained of all

blood. Her intestines spread on the ground in a heap covered in flies picked over by

birds.

The funeral for the pastor’s wife was held early in the day leaving the pastor alone in the

evening to meet for bible class, a class the pastor scheduled at the request of Bohdan.

The pastor’s wife was killed without Bohdan feeding off of her, something he regretted

in hindsight so now he needed new blood. He needed to feed at least once a week and

tonight the pastor was bringing fresh meat to the table.

Bohdan hid in the back storage room of the church while the class was held for a small

select group of people. A group the pastor thought would make good targets for the

vampire. Seething with anger over the murder of his wife, the pastor had no choice but

to carry out the wishes of the vampire who slaughtered her and left her out to hang in

the public square.

The class was scheduled for an hour and the hour was up when Bohdan heard the

pastor offer up a last prayer for the night. Now the plan was for the pastor to keep one

person behind so Bohdan could end his/her life and drink of their blood. Bohdan put his

eye up to a crack in the doorway watching to see who the pastor would ask to stay. The

group was a mix of two families, four adults and four children, three girls and a boy.

Bohdan wanted a girl, he always preferred them over males.

The crowd dispersed and all the members of the bible study left the main room of the

church heading out the main door. Bohdan was confused and as time went on became

angry that the pastor didn’t keep one of the girls behind. When the room was empty,

Bohdan opened the door and stepped into the church behind the altar. From there he

scanned the room looking for the pastor, he was not to be found.

“Don’t worry, I have one coming back,” the pastor said as he walked back into the room.

“Which one?” Bohdan asked.

“Angela,” the pastor replied. “The oldest daughter, she’s going home to get a book and

bring it back. I asked her to show it to me.”

“Good, how long will it take?”

“She lives three miles from here, it will take an hour for her to get back, you can wait.”

“It’s dark outside, do you think her parents will allow her to be out at night alone? What if

her father returns with her?” Bohdan asked.

“I can’t help that. I told you I’d find you parishioners to kill and I did. How you do it is

your business, not mine.”

“I can’t kill a grown man as easy, and he will have help, his daughter will be here as

well.”

“You don’t know that, she will probably come alone. We don’t have much crime around

here, at least before you showed up,” the pastor said.