Ana and Teresa sat on the opposite sides of the coffee table, one on the armchair, the other one on the sofa. They were looking at each other. Daniel sat on the other armchair, visibly upset. The news he learnt earlier that day made him agitated, but also made him determined. He wanted to know what they are planning to do about the vampire hidden in the ruin at the park. They discussed it before. Actually, it was the main topic of the conversation the previous night. They reached only one conclusion – if they plan on doing anything, they would have to do it as soon as possible.

"We have to react quickly," said Teresa.

Sergeant Novik, who stood at the front door, stepped closer. The lamp cast its light on his face, making the wrinkles on his forehead, painted by worries, even more noticeable.

"I could organize a stake out," the sergeant suggested.

"No," Teresa cut him off. "He still doesn't know we found his hideout. The moment he suspects that he was discovered, he will leave. That is why we have to take action tonight."

"Tonight?" Daniel's eyes widened. "As in, this night?" Although all the drapes were pulled, he knew the sun was approaching the edge of the horizon.

"Yes," Ana replied. "Tonight, the element of surprise is on our side."

"Tonight," Daniel repeated in a quieter voice, got up and started pacing. What the women said made some sense. Still, he figured they would have more time to plan the attack. At the bottom line, he was already able to testify just how powerful was the vampire who knocked at the door a few days earlier.

"You cannot just spring into action." Concern crawled into sergeant Novik's voice. "We're talking about someone who killed three people in the past three days."

"Nights," Daniel muttered, attracting the attention of the sergeant and Teresa.

"He was injured. He needed blood to heal," Teresa stated, reminding them once more of the mysterious nature of vampires.

"You healed with only a few gulps of my blood," Daniel pointed out. "He drained three people. He got more than enough healing energy. Didn't that make him some sort of super vampire?"

"Yes, he is stronger now," Ana confirmed. She stood up and walked over to the window. She opened the curtain just for a moment. "We never said this undertake will be risk free."

Sergeant Novik stepped towards Ana. "You will have full support of my men."

Neither Ana nor Teresa responded. Ana just cast a glance over her shoulder, towards Teresa who still sat on the armchair. Daniel knew they wanted to tell the sergeant that his generous offer was useless. He saw what the cornered vampire was capable of. He was sure that just the sight of him would be enough to incapacitate the policemen.

And then there was the vampire stare. He only had to establish eye contact with one of the cops to command him to open fire on the others.

"We will not bring innocent people into jeopardy," Ana finally said. "This is our battle. It's up to me and Teresa to defeat him."

"And it's up to me to make sure that the residents of this town are safe." Sergeant Novik never broke contact with Ana's blue eyes.

"You can't do that," Daniel remarked. "You can't keep the people safe. You haven't seen what the vampire can do to humans. Do you even know what Ana could do to you right now?" He turned to the long-haired vampire before he said, "Show him."

Ana blinked several times, and with every move of the eyelids, the blue hues were vanishing from her eyes, to be replaced by amber. "Give me your gun," she calmly said to the sergeant who stared as her as if he were mesmerized.

He reached at the gun holster around his waist, took the gun out and gave it to Ana, no questions asked. She took it, pointed the barrel straight at the sergeant's chest, and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, they were blue, but the gun barrel still stared threateningly at Sergeant Novik's chest.

As if he were awakening from a dream, the sergeant shook his head, and gawked seeing Ana with a gun in her hand. His own hand automatically reached for his own weapon, but didn't find it in the holster. He observed the gun Ana was holding more attentively, and then muttered: "How?"

Daniel was the quickest to answer him. "See, that's what I was talking about. That's what vampires can do to humans. One look, and you are their puppet on a string. Your cops can avoid being commanded by a vampire only if they are blind."

Ana turned the gun in her hands and handed it back to the sergeant. He slowly took the handle, inspected it carefully from all sides before putting it in the holster. He looked up at Ana. "Something happened to your eyes. As if they changed color."

Ana nodded. "They did."

"Did you hypnotize me?"

"No, it isn't hypnosis. It's more about subduing your will to mine."

"And all vampires can do that?" Sergeant Novik turned to look at Teresa.

"Yes," the short-haired woman replied.

"Can the vampire from the park subdue the two of you like that?" the sergeant wanted to know.

"No." Teresa stood up and walked up to them. "It only works on humans."

Daniel felt throbbing behind his temples. He pressed on them with his hands, deepening his breathing.

"Headache?" Ana asked.

"Uh-uh," he replied. "Command me to stop feeling pain."

"I'd be happy to if it were possible." She sympathetically placed a hand on his upper arm. "Perhaps it would be a good idea to get some sleep."

He stopped massaging his temples and lifted his eyes. "What, to miss all the action?"

"You won't be of any help anyway," Teresa said coldly.

He looked at her. He didn't say anything, but he went to sit on the armchair where she sat a while ago. Silence covered them all. The only sound was the quiet ticking of the wooden clock on the wall. With each click, the night was nearing.

"There must be a way for me to help you," sergeant Novik broke the silence after a few minutes.

"There isn't," Teresa replied.

"Perhaps there is," said Ana. "Your policemen could help keep the people away from the park. We wouldn't want one of them to become his forced ally."

"Yes." The sergeant's voice was laced by a newfound hope. "That is something my men can certainly ensure." He looked around the room, pointed at the telephone and asked if he could use it.

While the sergeant was phoning the police station, Daniel asked the two vampires, "And how do we know he doesn't already have allies? What if he called other vampires after the clash with the two of you?"

Teresa sat on the couch, opposite Daniel. she leaned forward before offering an answer. "He did not call anyone. Firstly, he almost died at the hands of two women. In our word, that does not bring him honor. Secondly, should he return us to our maker, he will advance significantly on the social ladder."

Daniel looked at her and Ana with suspicion in his eyes. "And how do you know he isn't already high on the social ladder?"

Ana answered him this time. "He came alone. Vampires in high positions do not travel alone. After the defeat he did not leave town. A high-positioned vampire would go to assemble an army for retaliation. Especially if he suffered significant injuries. No, our friend," she drew quotation marks in the air with her fingers, "hopes that our creator would bathe him in honors once he extradites the two of us."

"And we won't let that happen," Teresa added.

Daniel gave their words some thought and had to admit to himself that it made sense. Still, there was one more question smoldering inside him. "Do you really have to move to action tonight?"

"Yes," Teresa responded. "As we pointed out, there is no time to waste. We wouldn't want him to kill anyone else."

"You mean to say that you don't want him to get even stronger," Daniel remarked.

"We don't want that either," said Ana.

"You have to get stronger!" Daniel exclaimed. He jumped to his feet. The movement was too sudden. He felt dizziness, forcing him to sit back down.

"Are you okay?" Sergeant Novik, who finished his phone call, couldn't hide the concern in his voice.

"No," Daniel replied. "We've already established that I'm not okay and that I'm doomed." He turned his eyes towards Ana and Teresa. "Hear me out. You need fresh blood. From the body that still has a pulse. It's right here!" To emphasize the last sentence, he pointed his thumbs at himself.

"You're out of your mind!" It was Ana's turn to jump on her feet.

"Are you really suggesting that they feed on your blood again?" Daniel had never seen sergeant Novik's eyebrows raised so high.

"That can be my contribution - a few liters of blood. You know, a chance to do something good before my time runs out."

Ana turned her back to them all. "It's out of the question."

"I have to agree with her," the sergeant added. "I will not stand by while they... kill you."

"I'm already dying!" Daniel shouted and covered his forehead with his palms. "So what if they end my misery a few months earlier than planned? Big deal! At least I'll go on my terms!"

The sergeant shook his head. "No, I won't be able to live with myself knowing that I allowed someone's son to be killed."

"Don't worry, my mother ain't gonna be too devastated."

Teresa got up. "Stop this!" She stood between Daniel and the sergeant. First she looked at one, then the other. "Why is death inevitable in your scenario? Think about it, we don't need liters and liters of blood. But we could use a slight edge; a few sips would suffice. Daniel would be temporarily weakened, but it wouldn't kill him. After all, we never planned to take him to battle with us."

Hello, my dear readers! 

It's been a while since I last updated this story, but I'm hoping to get back on track with my writing.

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Until next chapter...