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Michael had a problem.
Several problems, actually.
The first problem was that he was pretty sure he was turning into a vampire.
That should have been the main problem. It was objectively a strong contender. He could not eat normal food without gagging. His reflection looked unreliable. Sunlight had become personal. His hearing had gotten good enough that he could hear Grandpa muttering at taxidermy supplies from across the house, which was a curse no supernatural creature deserved.
The second problem was that Sam knew something was wrong.
Sam had always been nosy, but fear had turned him professional. He watched Michael over the top of comic books. He followed him from room to room under the pretense of needing snacks. He had started asking questions like “Do you feel an unusual attraction to coffins?” and “Would you describe your current relationship with garlic as hostile?”
The third problem was Nanook.
Nanook knew everything.
Michael did not know how, but he did. The dog had been staring at him for two days with solemn, fluffy judgment, following him around the house like a priest waiting for a confession. Whenever Michael came home after seeing David, Nanook sniffed his jacket, sneezed, and gave him a look that said, Really? Him?
The fourth problem was David.
David was the worst problem.
David was also the one Michael kept sneaking out to meet.
This, Michael understood, made him an idiot.
He had tried to stop after the bridge. That had been the plan. The bridge had been the line. Hanging from the railroad tracks over fog and black water while David laughed above him should have cured Michael of whatever stupid, reckless fascination had been pulling him toward the Lost Boys.
Instead, it made everything worse.
Because the thing was, Michael had been scared.
Really scared.
Not boardwalk scared. Not this-guy-is-trouble scared. Not Star-warning-him-in-a-soft-voice scared.
Falling scared.
Dying scared.
And David had watched him through it with gold in his eyes and a smile like he knew exactly what Michael would become if he let go.
Then, afterward, when Michael had staggered away furious and shaking, David had followed him down the tracks.
Not close.
Not saying anything.
Just there.
Michael had lasted all of five minutes before rounding on him. “What?”
David had tilted his head. “You’re bleeding.”
Michael had looked down at his scraped palm. “So?”
“So you keep staring at it like you’re surprised.”
“I’m surprised I’m not dead.”
David’s smile had widened. “You’re welcome.”
Michael had shoved him.
David had laughed.
Then David had caught his wrist, turned Michael’s hand palm up, and looked at the blood there with an expression that made Michael forget three separate insults.
“You’re changing,” David had said.
Michael had pulled back. “No thanks to you.”
“No,” David had agreed. “Exactly thanks to me.”
Michael should have hit him again.
Instead, he had let David tear a strip of cloth from his own sleeve and wrap Michael’s hand with surprising care.
That was the worst part.
David could be cruel, and Michael knew what to do with cruel. He could be arrogant, and Michael knew what to do with arrogant. He could be dangerous, and Michael knew, at least theoretically, that he should run.
But David being careful?
That ruined things.
So Michael kept going back.
Only for answers, he told himself.
Then, when answers became less believable, only to keep David away from the house.
Then, when David appeared outside the house anyway, only to make sure Sam did not notice.
Sam noticed.
Of course Sam noticed.
The first time Michael climbed back through his bedroom window at four in the morning, he did it silently.
Or he thought he did.
He had one foot on the floor and one knee still on the windowsill when the lamp snapped on.
Sam sat in the desk chair wearing pajamas, a headband, and an expression of grim triumph. Nanook sat beside him like backup.
Michael froze.
Sam steepled his fingers like a very small detective. “Interesting.”
Michael stared. “What are you doing in my room?”
“What are you doing coming through your window?”
“I live here.”
“Through the door, Michael.”
“The door was… inconvenient.”
Sam leaned forward. “Because it was closed?”
Nanook barked once.
Sam pointed at him. “Nanook agrees.”
Michael swung his other leg inside and shut the window. “Go to bed.”
“It is four in the morning.”
“Exactly.”
“Where were you?”
“Out.”
“Out where?”
“Places.”
“What places?”
“Normal places.”
Sam’s eyes narrowed. “Name one normal place open at four in the morning.”
Michael opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Sam slapped the desk. “Aha!”
Nanook barked again, wagging his tail because he did not understand the investigation but enjoyed the energy.
Michael rubbed his face. “Sam.”
“No. Don’t Sam me. You look like you got dragged through a goth car wash.” Sam pointed at Michael’s jacket. “You smell like smoke, ocean, and motorcycle exhaust. Your hair is worse than usual, and you’re wearing sunglasses at night. Indoors.”
Michael slowly removed the sunglasses.
Sam gasped. “Your eyes are weird.”
“They are not.”
“They are very weird.”
“They’re tired.”
“They are spooky tired.”
Nanook trotted over and sniffed Michael’s boots.
Then he sneezed.
Sam’s face went pale. “He smells vampire.”
“Nanook does not know what vampire smells like.”
Nanook gave Michael a look.
Michael looked away first.
Sam stood, grabbing a comic from the desk. “According to Vampire Hunters Issue Fourteen—”
“I am not taking medical advice from Vampire Hunters Issue Fourteen.”
“It says early signs of vampirism include nocturnal behavior, aversion to sunlight, strange hunger, pale skin, and secretive romantic attachment to creatures of the night.”
Michael blinked. “It does not say that last one.”
Sam glanced at the page. “It’s implied.”
Michael’s face heated. “There is no romantic attachment.”
Sam went still.
Michael realized his mistake a second too late.
Sam slowly lowered the comic. “I didn’t say romantic.”
Michael looked toward the window.
Sam whispered, “Oh my God.”
“No.”
“Oh my God.”
“No.”
“There is a creature of the night.”
“No.”
“And there is attachment.”
“Sam.”
“Is it Star?”
Michael’s answer came too quickly. “No.”
Sam’s eyes widened further.
Nanook whined.
Sam took one step back. “It’s not Star.”
Michael said nothing.
Sam’s mouth fell open. “Michael.”
“Don’t.”
“It’s the blond one.”
Michael closed his eyes.
Sam made a strangled sound that might have been horror or victory. “It’s the blond vampire motorcycle jerk!”
“He’s not—” Michael stopped.
Sam pointed dramatically. “You were going to defend him!”
“I was not.”
“You absolutely were.”
“He’s not a vampire.”
Sam stared.
Nanook stared.
Michael sighed. “Probably.”
Sam screamed into his hands.
Michael rushed forward. “Keep it down!”
“Keep it down? You’re dating Dracula with a perm!”
“He does not have a perm.”
“That is what you’re correcting?”
“I’m not dating him.”
“Then what are you doing?”
Michael hesitated.
Sam stared.
Nanook sat on Michael’s foot.
Traitor.
“I’m getting answers,” Michael said.
Sam nodded slowly. “From his mouth?”
Michael’s face went hot. “I’m going to sleep.”
“You are not sleeping. We are having a family crisis.”
“You are having a family crisis.”
“I am the only one treating this like a crisis!”
Nanook barked.
“Thank you,” Sam said. “Nanook is also concerned.”
Michael opened the door and gestured. “Out.”
Sam grabbed Nanook’s collar and backed into the hall, still pointing at Michael. “This is not over.”
“I know.”
“And if the blond murder biker comes near this house, Nanook will eat him.”
Nanook wagged his tail.
Michael looked at the dog.
Nanook sneezed again.
“Terrifying,” Michael said.
Sam narrowed his eyes. “Don’t test him.”
The next night, David came near the house.
Of course he did.
Michael was in the yard trying to fix his bike under the weak excuse that engines needed attention at midnight. In reality, he had been waiting. He hated that he had been waiting. He hated even more that the waiting stopped hurting the second David appeared under the trees.
David did not walk out of the darkness.
He leaned out of it.
Like the shadows owed him rent.
Michael stood so fast he hit his knee on the bike frame. “Ow.”
David smiled. “Graceful.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Visiting.”
“No.”
David tilted his head. “No?”
“You can’t visit.”
“I’m here.”
“You can’t be here.”
“Still here.”
Michael glanced toward the house. The downstairs lights were off. Sam’s window was dark, which meant absolutely nothing because Sam had discovered stealth and was terrible at it.
David followed his gaze. “Worried your brother will see?”
“Yes.”
David’s smile sharpened. “Then why are you outside?”
Michael picked up a wrench because it gave his hand something to do. “Bike.”
“At midnight.”
“It’s a night bike.”
David laughed softly.
Michael hated the way that sound made his chest loosen.
“You need to leave,” Michael said.
David stepped closer. “Do you want me to?”
“Yes.”
David came closer again.
Michael did not move.
David stopped just beyond the reach of the porch light. His face looked almost human in the dark. Almost.
“Try again,” David said.
Michael’s jaw tightened. “I want you to leave.”
David’s eyes dropped to the wrench in Michael’s hand, then to the way Michael’s body angled toward him instead of away.
“No,” David said. “You don’t.”
The kitchen light snapped on.
Michael jumped.
David’s smile became delighted.
Sam’s face appeared in the back window, hair sticking up, eyes huge. Behind him, Nanook shoved his snout against the glass and immediately began barking.
“Oh, great,” Michael muttered.
The back door flew open.
Sam stumbled out wearing pajama pants, a bathrobe, and a headlamp strapped crookedly to his forehead. Nanook barreled past him into the yard, barking at full volume.
David looked down at the enormous fluffy dog charging toward him.
For the first time Michael had ever seen, David took a step back.
Nanook skidded to a stop several feet away, planted himself between David and Michael, and growled.
Sam pointed a wooden stake with a cross taped to it. “Back away from my brother, peroxide!”
David stared at him.
Michael put a hand over his face. “Sam.”
David’s mouth curved. “Peroxide?”
Sam lifted the stake higher. “Don’t pretend you don’t know what you did to your hair.”
Michael whispered, “Oh my God.”
David looked amused enough to be dangerous. “You must be Sam.”
“And you must be the worst thing to happen to this family since Grandpa’s taxidermy phase.”
From inside the house, Grandpa shouted, “Still in it!”
Sam did not look away from David. “Not now, Grandpa!”
Nanook barked again.
David looked from Sam to Nanook to Michael. “Your life is loud.”
“You should leave before it gets louder,” Michael said.
Sam nodded aggressively. “Yes. Leave. Go back to your cave or your hair salon or wherever vampires nest.”
David’s eyes flicked to Michael. “He knows?”
Sam shouted, “He knows many things!”
Michael stepped between them before David could enjoy himself too much. “Sam, go inside.”
“No.”
“Take Nanook.”
“No.”
“Sam.”
“No. I am not leaving you alone with him.”
David leaned slightly around Michael. “That’s touching.”
Sam jabbed the stake in his direction. “I will touch you with this.”
David’s smile widened. “Bold.”
Michael turned and shoved a finger into David’s chest. “Stop flirting with my brother.”
Sam made a gagging noise. “Ew!”
David looked at Michael’s finger, then at his face. “Jealous?”
Michael’s brain stalled.
Sam screamed, “Double ew!”
Nanook barked with moral outrage.
Michael grabbed David by the front of his coat and dragged him farther into the shadows. “You need to stop.”
David let himself be dragged, which was always a bad sign. “Stop what?”
“Showing up.”
“You keep meeting me.”
“Not here.”
David glanced toward Sam, who had advanced three steps and was now trying to hold Nanook’s collar with one hand while brandishing the stake with the other. “He’s entertaining.”
“He’s my brother.”
“I noticed.”
Michael’s voice went low. “I mean it, David.”
The amusement faded slightly.
David looked at him with that sharp, unreadable focus that made Michael feel like the rest of the world had stepped back.
“He matters,” David said.
It was not a question.
“Yes.”
David’s gaze moved over Michael’s face. “More than you?”
Michael frowned. “What?”
“If it came to it.”
Michael went cold. “Don’t.”
David’s smile returned, but weaker. “There it is.”
“There what is?”
“The line.”
Michael stared at him.
David looked toward Sam again, but this time not like Sam was funny. Like he was evidence.
“You’ll sneak out,” David said. “You’ll lie. You’ll follow me into the dark. You’ll hang from bridges and drink what I give you and come back angry when I call.” His eyes returned to Michael. “But him? I step too close to him, and you remember how to say no.”
Michael’s throat tightened.
David sounded curious.
Worse, he sounded almost envious.
Sam shouted from across the yard, “Michael, stop having intense whisper time with the vampire!”
Nanook barked in agreement.
Michael closed his eyes. “I hate my life.”
David smiled. “No, you don’t.”
Michael opened his eyes.
David was too close.
He always was.
“Don’t come near Sam,” Michael said.
David held his gaze. “All right.”
Michael blinked. “What?”
“I said all right.”
“You’re agreeing?”
“Try not to look so wounded.”
Michael frowned. “Why?”
David leaned closer, voice low. “Because you asked like you meant it.”
Michael’s pulse kicked.
David saw.
Of course he did.
Then Nanook broke free.
The dog charged.
David vanished straight upward.
Michael looked up just in time to see David floating lazily above the yard, coat stirring, looking deeply offended as Nanook barked up at him.
Sam pointed triumphantly. “Ha! He fears the dog!”
David looked down. “I respect the dog.”
Nanook barked louder.
Grandpa opened a window. “What’s all the barking?”
Sam yelled, “Vampire!”
Grandpa squinted into the yard. “Which one?”
Everyone froze.
Michael slowly turned toward the house.
Sam whispered, “Which one?”
Grandpa shut the window.
David laughed.
Michael had never wanted to disappear more.
The third time David got bold, it was on the boardwalk.
Michael had promised Sam he was not going to meet him.
Technically, he kept that promise.
He went to the boardwalk for Star.
That was what he told himself until David appeared beside him at the ring toss booth and said, “Liar.”
Michael nearly threw a plastic ring into a tourist’s face. “Would you stop doing that?”
David leaned against the booth. “No.”
Star stood several booths away with Laddie, pretending not to watch. Paul and Marko were near the arcade harassing a popcorn vendor. Dwayne stood in the crowd with the calm menace of a man who did not need to do anything to be effective.
Sam was not supposed to be there.
Which meant, obviously, Sam was there.
Michael spotted him thirty seconds later behind a cotton candy stand wearing a baseball cap, sunglasses, and a fake mustache.
Nanook sat beside him wearing a bandana.
Michael stared.
David followed his gaze.
Sam lifted a newspaper in front of his face.
The newspaper was upside down.
David’s mouth curved.
Michael groaned. “I’m going to kill him.”
“You’re very popular tonight.”
“He followed me.”
“So did I.”
“I know.”
David picked up one of the plastic rings and tossed it perfectly onto a bottle neck without looking. The booth operator blinked.
Michael glared. “Showoff.”
David accepted a stuffed bat as his prize.
He held it out to Michael.
Michael stared at it. “No.”
David’s smile widened. “Take it.”
“No.”
“It suits you.”
“I hate you.”
David dropped it into Michael’s arms.
Across the boardwalk, Sam lowered the upside-down newspaper and gasped in betrayal.
Michael quickly shoved the stuffed bat under his jacket.
David looked delighted. “Afraid he’ll know?”
“He already knows too much.”
“Does he know you like me winning you things?”
“I do not.”
David leaned closer. “You’re holding it.”
Michael threw the bat back at him.
David caught it, laughing.
The sound made Michael want to punch him.
Possibly kiss him.
Mostly punch him.
Sam appeared suddenly at Michael’s side with Nanook, mustache half peeled off. “Fancy seeing you here.”
Michael stared. “Are you serious?”
Sam adjusted the mustache. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“You followed me.”
“You followed him.”
“I did not.”
David said, “He did.”
Michael turned on him. “Not helping.”
Sam pointed at David. “You. Stay ten feet away.”
David looked at Michael. “Is he always this bossy?”
Sam snapped, “I learned from watching you.”
Michael made a sound of despair.
Nanook sniffed David’s boots.
David looked down.
Nanook sneezed.
Sam nodded gravely. “Confirmed.”
David crouched.
Michael tensed. “David.”
David glanced up. “Relax.”
“That word has never helped anyone.”
David held one hand out to Nanook.
Nanook sniffed it.
Growled.
David smiled faintly. “Smart.”
Nanook barked.
David stood. “Very smart.”
Sam narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Do not compliment my dog.”
“Why?”
“Because he doesn’t need your validation.”
Nanook wagged his tail.
Sam looked betrayed. “Nanook.”
David looked delighted again.
Michael grabbed Sam by the sleeve and pulled him aside. “What are you doing here?”
“Saving you.”
“From what? Carnival games?”
“From him!” Sam whispered loudly, pointing at David, who absolutely heard. “He is integrating into your life.”
Michael blinked. “What?”
“He’s everywhere! The yard. The boardwalk. Your jacket.”
“My jacket?”
“You smell like him.”
Michael froze.
David smiled from several feet away.
Sam saw Michael’s face and grimaced. “Oh, come on, Mike.”
Michael lowered his voice. “Sam.”
“No. Don’t Sam me. He’s doing vampire creep stuff.”
“He hasn’t hurt you.”
“Yet!”
“He said he wouldn’t.”
Sam stared at him. “And you believe him?”
Michael glanced at David.
David stood under the boardwalk lights with the stuffed bat dangling from one hand, watching Michael with that infuriating, patient amusement. But there was something else too. Something Michael had started noticing more often when Sam was involved. Not softness, exactly. Observation. As if David were trying to understand the invisible thread that made Michael step between danger and his brother every time.
“I believe he knows I’d hate him if he did,” Michael said.
Sam’s expression changed.
That was not the answer he expected.
It was not the answer Michael expected either.
Sam looked toward David, then back at Michael. “Would you?”
Michael swallowed.
“Yes.”
The word hurt in a way he did not want to examine.
Sam heard it anyway.
He stepped closer. “Mike, that’s not good.”
“I know.”
“No, I mean it’s really not good.” Sam’s voice softened. “If hating him would hurt, then liking him is already a problem.”
Michael looked away.
Onstage near the beach, a band started playing something loud and terrible. The crowd cheered. The boardwalk lights flickered in the wind.
Sam said, “You don’t have to tell me everything.”
Michael looked at him, surprised.
Sam’s mouth twisted. “I mean, you should, because I am clearly the brains of this operation. But you don’t have to.” He glanced at David. “Just don’t lie and make me feel crazy.”
Guilt hit harder than Michael expected.
Nanook pressed against his leg.
Traitor dog.
Michael crouched and scratched behind Nanook’s ears. “I’m sorry.”
Sam crossed his arms. “For lying or for vampire flirting?”
“Sam.”
“Fine. One crisis at a time.”
Michael stood. “I don’t know what’s happening.”
Sam’s face softened, younger now without the fake mustache helping his dignity. “Yeah. I kind of figured.”
David’s voice drifted from behind them. “Touching.”
Sam whipped around. “No one asked you.”
David held up the stuffed bat. “Peace offering.”
Sam stared. “Is that for me?”
“No.”
Sam’s face hardened. “Then no peace.”
David’s eyes shifted to Michael.
Michael fought a smile and lost badly.
Sam groaned. “You’re hopeless.”
Then the crowd near the stage surged.
Someone screamed.
Not carnival-scream.
Real scream.
David’s head turned first.
Michael felt the shift in him instantly. Amusement vanished. Predator replaced it.
A man stumbled out from behind the concert platform, clutching his neck. Blood shone between his fingers.
Sam went pale. “Oh no.”
Nanook growled.
David’s gaze sharpened. “Not ours.”
Michael looked at him. “What does that mean?”
David’s eyes swept the boardwalk.
“Someone else is hunting.”
The words dropped cold through Michael.
Then, across the crowd, he saw Star.
She stood rigid near the carousel, Laddie behind her.
Beside her was a woman in red.
No.
Not a woman.
Something that smiled with too many secrets and looked at Michael like she already knew his name.
David stepped in front of him.
Michael’s anger flared by habit. “Don’t.”
David did not look back. “Take Sam home.”
“Excuse me?”
“Now.”
Sam whispered, “For once, I support the vampire.”
Michael ignored him. “Who is she?”
David’s jaw tightened. “Trouble.”
The woman in red smiled wider.
Then she vanished into the crowd with Star gone beside her.
Michael’s stomach dropped.
David swore softly.
Michael grabbed his arm. “David.”
David looked down at the hand, then at Michael.
For one second, the boardwalk chaos blurred around them.
“Go home,” David said. Not mocking. Not commanding. Almost pleading. “Take your brother and go.”
Michael’s grip tightened.
Sam tugged Michael’s sleeve. “Mike. We should go.”
Nanook barked once, urgent.
Michael looked at David, then at the place Star had disappeared.
This was exactly the kind of danger he kept telling himself he did not want.
His pulse hammered.
David saw the decision forming and smiled like he hated it.
“You’re not going to listen,” he said.
Michael swallowed. “No.”
Sam made a strangled noise. “Michael!”
David leaned closer. “Then don’t bring him.”
That landed.
Michael looked at Sam.
Sam looked back, scared and furious and stubborn enough to follow Michael into hell just to complain about the temperature.
Michael crouched in front of Nanook and grabbed the dog’s collar. “Take Sam home.”
Sam sputtered. “You cannot give my dog orders!”
Nanook barked.
David said, amused despite himself, “Apparently he can.”
Michael looked at Sam. “Please.”
Sam froze.
The word did what yelling could not.
Michael’s voice softened. “I need to know you’re safe.”
Sam’s face twisted. “That is so unfair.”
“I know.”
“You can’t just older-brother me after lying all week.”
“I know.”
“You better come back.”
“I’ll try.”
“Bad answer.”
Michael pulled him into a quick hug.
Sam stiffened, then hugged back hard.
“Don’t die,” Sam muttered.
“Don’t follow.”
“I hate you.”
“I know.”
Sam pulled away and pointed at David. “If he dies, I’m killing you.”
David inclined his head. “Fair.”
Sam blinked, thrown off by the agreement.
Nanook nudged Michael’s hand once, then turned and tugged Sam away by the leash with startling determination.
Sam stumbled after him. “Nanook! I am the leader in this partnership!”
Nanook ignored him.
Michael watched until they disappeared into the crowd.
David moved beside him. “He loves you.”
Michael nodded. “Yeah.”
“You’re lucky.”
Michael looked at him.
David’s face had already gone cold again.
“Come on,” David said.
They ran into the dark behind the boardwalk.
Finding Star was easier than expected.
Too easy.
David led Michael through alleys and service corridors, across sand and beneath rotting stairs, following a scent Michael could only partly understand. Blood. Perfume. Fear. Star’s incense-soft warmth. The red woman’s sharper trail, like roses left too long in a closed room.
They found Star near an old funhouse entrance.
She was alone.
Michael rushed forward. “Star!”
David caught his jacket and yanked him back just as the mirrors around the entrance lit up red.
Star lifted her head.
Her eyes were wrong.
Not gold.
Clouded.
“Michael,” she whispered.
The funhouse doors creaked open behind her.
David’s hand remained fisted in Michael’s jacket.
Michael did not pull away.
A voice echoed from inside the funhouse, female and amused.
“David. Still putting pretty boys in danger?”
David’s smile turned lethal. “Still hiding behind mirrors?”
The woman laughed.
Star blinked slowly, dazed. “I’m sorry.”
Michael’s chest tightened. “For what?”
David said, “Michael.”
Too late.
The mirrors flashed.
For one second, Michael saw David reflected a hundred times, all black coat and pale hair and gold eyes.
Then one reflection moved wrong.
A hand reached from the glass and grabbed Michael’s wrist.
He shouted.
David caught his other arm and pulled.
Something on the other side pulled harder.
Michael felt cold glass close around his fingers.
David snarled and yanked him backward, tearing him free. The mirror shattered. A woman screamed from inside it.
Star collapsed.
David released Michael and lunged forward, dragging Star away from the doorway as the funhouse lights exploded one by one.
Michael knelt beside her. “Star?”
Her eyes cleared slightly. “She wanted you to come in.”
David’s voice went flat. “I noticed.”
“Who is she?” Michael asked.
Star looked at David.
David did not answer.
Michael’s anger sparked. “Really? We’re doing secrets now?”
David turned on him. “We are doing alive now. Questions later.”
“I’m sick of later.”
“Then survive long enough to be irritating about it.”
Michael opened his mouth.
Closed it.
That was almost sweet.
Terrible, but almost.
Star sat up slowly. “She’s not alone.”
David’s face darkened.
The funhouse music began.
A warped carnival tune spilled out through the doors, slow and mocking.
Michael’s blood stirred in recognition, though he had never heard it before.
David stepped closer, placing himself between Michael and the entrance again.
Michael looked at his back.
“You keep doing that,” he said.
David did not turn. “Keeping you alive?”
“Getting between me and things.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
David’s shoulders stilled.
Star looked between them, even half-dazed, with sudden understanding.
The funhouse music warped lower.
David said, “Because you keep standing there like something worth taking.”
Michael’s breath caught.
The doors flew open.
The woman in red appeared in the doorway, flanked by two shadowed figures and a tall girl with a drum slung over her shoulder.
Not tonight, Michael thought wildly.
He was not ready for whatever bigger vampire problem had just arrived in Santa Carla.
David smiled anyway.
“Agnes,” he said.
The woman’s smile widened.
Michael thought of Sam, safe with Nanook hopefully dragging him home by force. He thought of all the lies he had told, all the secret meetings, all the times he had insisted David was not part of his life while David kept appearing closer and closer to the center of it.
And now David stood between Michael and another monster, not because Sam was watching, not because Star was bait, not because the boys were laughing.
Because Michael was there.
Because David wanted him there.
Because David wanted him safe.
Michael stepped beside him.
David glanced over sharply. “What are you doing?”
“Not hiding behind you.”
“You should.”
“Too bad.”
Agnes looked delighted. “Oh, I like him.”
David’s face went vicious. “Don’t.”
Michael almost smiled despite the terror.
There it was again.
The line.
Only this time, David was the one standing on it.
Agnes faded backward into the funhouse with a laugh. “Then come get him before we do.”
The doors slammed.
The music stopped.
Star grabbed Michael’s arm. “Don’t go in.”
David looked at Michael.
Michael looked back.
For once, neither pretended.
David said, “Take her home.”
Michael’s jaw tightened.
David continued before he could argue. “Then meet me at the cave.”
“David—”
“Your brother will be waiting.”
That landed exactly where David meant it to.
Michael looked away.
David stepped closer, voice dropping. “Don’t make him wait for a ghost.”
Michael looked back at him.
“You’re using Sam against me.”
“Yes.”
“You’re getting better at this.”
“I was always good.”
Michael hated that he smiled.
David saw and looked briefly, dangerously pleased.
Then he leaned closer, close enough that Michael forgot Star was beside them and a vampire coven was apparently operating out of a cursed funhouse.
“Don’t tell Sam,” David said.
Michael blinked. “Don’t tell Sam what?”
David’s smile brushed close to his ear.
“That I’m starting to like him.”
Michael stared.
David vanished into the dark before Michael could respond.
Star, still pale and shaky, looked at him.
Michael looked back.
Then he said, “I hate him.”
Star’s mouth twitched. “Do you?”
“No.”
The truth slipped out so easily it stunned them both.
Michael sighed. “Great.”
Star patted his arm sympathetically. “Sam already knows.”
Unfortunately, she was right.
When Michael got home, Sam was waiting on the porch with Nanook, Grandpa’s old fishing net, three stakes, and a squirt bottle labeled HOLY WATER??? in marker.
Nanook wagged his tail when he saw Michael.
Sam did not.
“You said you’d try to come back,” Sam said.
Michael stopped at the bottom of the porch steps. “I came back.”
“You smell like funhouse, vampire, and poor decisions.”
Michael looked at Nanook. “Did he tell you that?”
Nanook barked.
Sam nodded. “We communicate.”
Michael climbed the steps slowly. “Star’s safe.”
Sam’s expression flickered. “Good.”
“There are more vampires.”
Sam threw his hands up. “Of course there are! Why wouldn’t there be? It’s Santa Carla! We probably have vampire plumbers!”
Grandpa’s voice came from inside. “Had one in ’72.”
Sam turned toward the door. “Not helping!”
Nanook pressed against Michael’s leg.
Michael scratched his head. “Good dog.”
Sam crossed his arms. “Did David help?”
Michael looked away.
Sam groaned. “Mike.”
“He got Star out.”
“And?”
“And there’s a new threat.”
“And?”
Michael frowned. “And what?”
Sam narrowed his eyes. “Did he do something weirdly protective that made your face stupid again?”
Michael stared at him.
Sam pointed. “There! Face!”
“I do not have a face.”
“You have so many faces.”
Michael sat on the porch step, exhausted.
Sam sat beside him after a moment, leaving the holy water squirt bottle between them like a peace offering or threat.
Nanook laid his head on Michael’s knee.
For a while, they watched the dark yard.
Then Sam said, “You like him.”
Michael closed his eyes.
“Don’t deny it,” Sam said. “You’re bad at lying, and Nanook hates lies.”
Nanook sneezed.
Michael sighed. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”
Sam’s voice softened. “That’s different.”
“From what?”
“From saying nothing’s happening.”
Michael looked at him.
Sam shrugged, trying very hard to look casual. “I still think he’s evil.”
“He is.”
“And creepy.”
“Yeah.”
“And his coat is too much.”
“It kind of works.”
Sam gagged. “Disgusting.”
Michael smiled faintly.
Sam nudged him with his shoulder. “Just… don’t shut me out. Okay?”
The words cut through every joke.
Michael looked at his brother, really looked at him. Sam was scared. Of course he was. But under the fear was hurt. Michael had been sneaking out, lying, disappearing into danger, and leaving Sam alone to piece together the truth from comic books, dog instincts, and Michael’s terrible poker face.
“I’m sorry,” Michael said.
Sam’s mouth twisted. “You should be.”
“I know.”
“If you go meet him again, tell me.”
Michael winced.
Sam’s eyes narrowed. “Michael.”
“I’m not going tonight.”
“Liar.”
Nanook barked.
Michael glared at the dog. “Whose side are you on?”
Nanook wagged.
Sam stood. “Fine. New rule. You tell me when you’re sneaking out.”
“That defeats the point of sneaking.”
“You lost sneaking privileges.”
“I’m older than you.”
“And yet worse at this.”
Michael had no argument.
Sam picked up the squirt bottle. “Also, if David comes near the house again, I’m spraying him.”
“With maybe holy water?”
“Yes.”
“What if it’s just water?”
“Then he’ll be damp and inconvenienced.”
Michael laughed.
It felt strange.
Good strange.
Human strange.
From the trees at the edge of the yard, a motorcycle engine purred once.
Michael froze.
Sam turned slowly.
Nanook’s ears perked up.
David stood beneath the trees beside his bike, half-hidden in shadow, looking far too pleased with himself.
Sam lifted the squirt bottle. “You have got to be kidding me.”
David raised both hands.
Michael stood. “What are you doing here?”
David’s eyes flicked to Sam.
Then Nanook.
Then back to Michael.
“Checking the perimeter.”
Sam made a disgusted sound. “He’s doing boyfriend security.”
Michael went red. “He is not.”
David’s smile widened. “Boyfriend?”
Sam sprayed him.
It was an impressive shot.
The stream of maybe-holy water hit David directly in the chest.
David looked down at his wet coat.
Silence.
Michael stopped breathing.
Sam whispered, “Oh no.”
Nanook barked.
David slowly looked up.
Then he laughed.
Not a chuckle. Not a sharp little predatory sound. A real laugh, startled and bright and almost boyish. It shook through the yard, making Michael’s chest ache in a way that had nothing to do with fear.
Sam lowered the squirt bottle. “That was not the expected reaction.”
David wiped water from his coat. “Good aim.”
Sam narrowed his eyes. “Do not compliment me.”
“He does that,” Michael said weakly.
David’s gaze moved to him, still amused but softer now at the edges. “Cave. Tomorrow night.”
Michael felt Sam tense beside him.
So did David.
He added, “Bring your guard dog if you must.”
Sam blinked. “Nanook?”
Nanook wagged.
David inclined his head solemnly to the dog. “He has earned respect.”
Sam looked outraged by how pleased he was.
Michael crossed his arms. “You’re inviting Sam?”
David’s smile turned sly. “You said I shouldn’t get near your life without permission.”
Michael froze.
Sam looked between them. “Wait. Is this growth? I hate vampire growth.”
David looked at Michael. “Tomorrow?”
Michael glanced at Sam.
Sam’s face was still wary, still scared, still ready to fight. But he was there. Included. Not lied to.
Nanook leaned against Michael’s leg.
Michael looked back at David.
“Tomorrow,” he said.
David’s smile came slow and satisfied.
“Don’t tell Sam,” he said.
Sam shouted, “I am literally standing here!”
David got on his bike.
Nanook barked after him.
Sam sprayed the air uselessly as David rode into the dark, laughing.
Michael watched him go, heart racing, face warm, life thoroughly invaded.
Sam stood beside him with the squirt bottle.
After a moment, he said, “I hate that he’s funny.”
Michael smiled despite himself. “Yeah.”
“And hot.”
Michael choked. “Sam!”
“What? I’m not blind. I’m traumatized, not blind.”
Nanook sneezed.
Michael groaned and sat back down on the porch.
Sam sat beside him.
For once, the silence between them was not full of lies.
It was full of danger, yes. Vampires. Cursed funhouses. Secret meetings that were probably not going to stop. David appearing wherever he wanted with that smile and those eyes and the terrifying habit of stepping closer to everything Michael loved.
But Sam knew.
Nanook knew.
Grandpa probably knew things none of them wanted to think about.
And David, menace that he was, had asked instead of taking.
That did not make it safe.
Nothing in Santa Carla was safe.
But as Nanook put his head in Michael’s lap and Sam leaned against his shoulder pretending he was not exhausted, Michael realized David had been right about one thing.
He did want him there.
Near the boardwalk. Near the house. Near the edges of his life, pushing, testing, invading, waiting for Michael to stop pretending every appearance was unwelcome.
Michael looked toward the dark road where David had vanished.
Sam sighed. “You’re doing the face again.”
Michael did not deny it this time.
Nanook barked once, approvingly or judgmentally. Hard to tell.
Probably both.