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Chapter 2

Mila hissed through the serrated fangs, but it must have sounded to the stranger like a laugh because the corner of his mouth lifted. “Like that?”

It wasn’t a funny joke. The stranger was leaning casually inside the doorframe. It hadn’t creeked for him when he’d reopened it. Between his bone-pale fingers, he ran a black feather absently. The birds either hadn’t warned of his approach because it had been too swift for them, or they were already on friendly terms.

Indeed, this stranger probably had an even better relationship with the birds than she did, spanning back generations. Under his mop of dirty blond hair, blood red eyes watched her with interest.

With no effort at all to hide her annoyance, Mila sheathed her sword and retracted her teeth. She didn’t entirely shift out of her wary crouch, but if he was going to try something, he would be miles faster than her.

He let out a low whistle. “Lookie’t you. All dolled up for the apocalypse. Surprised to see one of your kind wanderin’ ‘round alone.”

Mila’s nose pinched. He sounded like he was from the United States Southwest. Maybe Georgia? Probably a confederate soldier when he was turned. Either way, she didn’t care for the way he said “your kind” and not just because she wore the skin of a darker toned woman.

“Thought y’alled go back to the ocean when shit started hittin’ the fan.” He continued conversationally despite her failure to reply.

She gave a dismissive shrug. “Move, please.”

Her voice came out croaky from months of disuse. She hadn’t had to speak aloud to her kind before the connection broke. Then they had nothing left to say to each other. The break in the connection had shorted out a part of them, leaving them all to fade off in different directions.

Perhaps some of them had stayed together, needing the companionship of their own species. Mila hadn’t even tried to ask aloud. She’d simply taken the keepsakes she’d been most fond of. The chainmail, the shoulder holsters that carried ceremonial daggers, the crossbow, the sword. Everything else was replaceable. Even these would be one day they’d broken beyond repair.

The stranger stepped back, out of the doorframe to allow her passage. His head tilted curiously; his eyes fixated on her mouth. When she turned her back on him to walk away, he followed at a leisurely pace.

“Not goin’ta introduce yourself?” He called after her.

“I believe that in the interest of etiquette, the first one to do the talking should be the first to introduce themselves.” She responded nonchalantly over her shoulder.

He let out a cheerful little chuckle. “Too right you are, cher. Name’s Jedidiah, Jedidiah Hensen, but you can call me Jed.”

Mila didn’t respond for a long moment, not having been curious in first place.

“Now’s when you introduce yourself in return!” He called in good humor.

Mila sighed, feeling that she wouldn’t be getting rid of him till she at least adhered to formalities. Stopping, she turned on her heel to face him. He was several paces back, but when she blinked, he appeared right in front of her, just an arm’s length away.

“I’m Mila.” She responded without flinching.

“No last name?” He smiled crookedly.

When she was standing straight, they were almost the same height and hardly any bigger around too. If he’d been human, he wouldn’t have been a challenge for her, but as a vampire he was a lot stronger than he looked. He was still playing with his black feather while they talked.

“No last name that wouldn’t be a lie.”

Humans had last names. Mila was just Mila when she didn’t need to pretend to be something else. She had no lineage to track back, no parents whose name would be passed down to her. She had been birthed by the primordial sea, her god bestowing the name when they stepped together onto the land.

“Where you headin’ off too?” He looked past her toward the trees. “Ain’t nothin’ much for miles and miles yet.”

Mila repressed another sigh. “Not headed anywhere. Just traveling.”

He grinned. “Don’t suppose you’re lookin’ for some company?”

“Can’t say that I am.” She responded a little too quickly.

His grin fell to a wry smile. “No? Then I guess I’ll just have to see ya around.”

Mila’s face betrayed how she felt about the idea. He barked out a laugh and in moved with a swiftness that only a vampire could. He stuck the black feather into her messy black hair, pressed a kiss to the back of her gloved hand, and disappeared.

Mila stood there in the middle of the woods for a few minutes longer. Finally, shaking her head. He was a strange bloke, that one.

He hadn't even tried to bite her. Not that she would’ve tasted good. If he’d tried, all he would’ve gotten was a mouthful of rock. Inside, she was little different from what the humans had become.

She wondered idly what it was he did eat these days. Surely, he didn’t consume what was left of the humans. The very idea made her feel like retching.

She shivered, running a hand through her hair and feeling the alien feather. She pulled it away along with several strands of greasy, black hair. Her nose wrinkled. She desperately needed a bath. It took several minutes of fighting for her to pry the feather away from the hair.

A crow cawed at her in a way that made her think it might have been laughing. She scowled up at it. “If you want your next meal from me, you should lead me to some water!”

It cawed loudly, not speaking any language she knew.

Still, it rose from the branch and began to fly away. With no other heading, Mila followed after it quietly. Her lips parted as she tasted the air on her tongue like a cat, hoping to detect the scent of water so she wouldn't have to rely on their poor communication to find it.

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