"I made you some tea." Said Lynn as he put the drink next to her on the nightstand. "Is everything ok?"

"Yes, I'm just feeling a bit lightheaded." Ava, snuggling in the blanket.

"Did you catch a cold?" He put his hand over her forehead to check if it was hot, which made her back way by instinct. He raised an eyebrow and then said coldly."I know you did something you were not supposed to."

"Did he know? Of course he knew" she thought to herself. He was just playing mind games until now to see for how long she would keep her petty performance. As always he was two steps ahead of her. Ava clenched the dagger in her hand, ready to use it. She expected him to pick her up with one hand and knock her out at any moment, but instead, he walked to one of the bookshelves and picked up the book by Henrik Cypher, that she read the other day.

The malice of time

"What is this doing in the 'romance' section?" He asked. "I told you to put books back to where you found them in. This one especially is very important to me. It's a signed copy."

"I'm sorry." She let out a sigh of relief, loosening the grip on her weapon. "I'll be more careful next time."

He browsed through the pages as if to check if everything was there, then put it back where it belonged, before sitting down next to her.

"I like this author too." She said to fill in the awkward silence. "I'd say 'The Foreigner' is my favorite. I used to read it countless times. It was one of the very few books I owned."

"It's certainly his most popular work. I wouldn't call it a favorite. I just can't stand stories about romantic relationships between family members." He looked back at the shelves. "I'm pretty sure I have it around here somewhere. I just don't remember in which section I put it."

"Don't bother, I'm sure you are tired by now. Do you want to go to bed and rest? We can talk about books some other time." She wanted him to get back to his coffin, to at least have a little bit more time to figure out what to do. The longer he was around, the harder it was for her to keep her composure.

"Perhaps I want to sleep by your side this time." Lynn placed his palm on her cheek, caressing her. "You've been acting strange ever since I came back from my trip. Your heartbeat is faster than usual, particularly when I'm next to you."

He was onto her. She was certain of it. There wasn't any other option left, but to kill him here and now before he did the same to her, or something much worse.

The hand holding the dagger flew straight to his neck, faster than the eye could see, but he grabbed her wrist just as the blade touched his skin. Ava's arm was still trembling, struggling to get out of his grip, although she already knew it was all in vain. He was way stronger than her.

His bright green eyes spelled indifference.

"I take it you went to the basement without me, am I wrong? I knew this day would come eventually." He sighed.

"I should have never trusted a vampire." She hissed in anger.

"This is not what it looks like. These two are horrible people and they deserve to be there." He tried to explain calmly.

"Why should I believe you? You lied to me all this time. You said that the sounds coming from beneath the bathroom tiles were from ghosts. Well, ghosts my ass! What else did you lie about? Back then..." she twirled her lips in disgust "Did you hypnotize me to spread my legs for you?"

"I did not!" He took the knife from her hand, offended that she would suggest such a thing. "Listen to me for a second. I don't know what they told you, but the people you saw down there are actual monsters. They have been convicted of child trafficking, the whole country is looking for them. If you don't believe me, take a look at the newspapers." He opened one of the cabinets underneath the bookshelf behind the bed. After searching through the papers, he finally found the thing he needed.

There was an article about a couple who went missing after the police found out about their illegal activities. Above the article was a picture of the two felons, although a bit blurry. Ava stared at it for a second in disbelief. Her heart sank.

"And you are sure that's them?" She said quietly.

"I might be old, but my eyes don't deceive me."

"Take me to them." She demanded with a fierce look in her eyes.

***

The wooden boards creaked with each step as Lynn and Ava went down the staircase. She hated that musty smell and also the fact that she had to get down there so soon. Most of all she hated herself for ever thinking about helping those people out.

"Are you sure about this?" Asked Lynn.

"Absolutely."

The vampire moved the huge shelf, covering the door that led to the room the alleged criminals were locked in, and then descended the hallway. The girl's stomach was turning as they drew closer.

Soon the fluorescent light coming from the gas lamp shone upon the prisoners's faces. They were dirty, covered in sud. Eyes wide and filled with terror. Skin dry and wrinkled like a turtle's neck.

Ava took a good look at them. Expression filled with disdain.

"Hi, mom and dad." She said.