The gun goes off with a sudden BANG! The vampire flinches. The chupacabras cower. Caspar shakes. 

Malakai falls to the ground, shot in the head. A puddle of red oozes slowly into earth. Malakai’s eyes are open wide, unseeing. 

He’s dead. He’s really dead.

A lance of indescribable fear stabs at his heart as he watches Malakai’s still form. Caspar steps back, limbs heavy. Did he—did he fuck up? Caspar gasps. His heart is in his throat. No… no… He didn’t mean to. He thought—he really thought—

How could Caspar make such a fatal error? How could he kill an innocent human, mistaking them for a monster?

“No, fuck, no—I’m sorry—I thought—” Caspar cries. 

He turns to the vampire, who looks just as shocked. Before Caspar can panic, though, there’s movement from the ground. 

Caspar’s blood runs cold at the sight: Malakai stands slowly, bringing his gaze level with Caspar’s. The man’s soft green irises fill with amusement as his pupils dilate into violent red slits. 

Malakai smooths back his bangs, grinning nightmarishly. “That surprised me.”

“You fucking bitch!” Caspar raises his gun to shoot again. He aims for the heart, but this time the demon—Ruth—Malakai laughs. Caspar gasps as within a blink, Malakai is suddenly in front of him, holding his wrist in an ironclad grip.

Desperately, Caspar fights to get control back. But Malakai is as unyielding as steel. He points the gun skyward, causing a shot to ring out into the night. He smiles, eyes turning into eerie crescent moons. “Don’t you think we have different priorities right now, Cas?”

Caspar stares, agape. Suddenly, his focus shifts as a sharp whistle pierces the air. He’s forced to turn as a female Chupacabra begins to rapidly approach, claws shredding the earth as they bound toward them with killing intent. 

He looks back. Malakai is gone. 

“Fuck!” he cries. He doesn’t have time to speculate where Malakai went. Caspar takes a shot at the rapidly approaching Chupacabra, but the damn beast darts to the side in time to avoid it. It jumps forward, gnarled maw ready to bite.

Caspar’s eyes go wide, but just before the yellowed teeth have a chance to sink into his leg, There’s a blur of motion. Something wet splatters onto his face. 

He touches it—blood.  

Malakai lifts his foot from the gore, smearing it on the ground. 

The Chupacabra is dead, its skull having been crushed underfoot. Caspar stumbles back, but is forced again to take his eyes off Malakai at the sound of Mr. Kinsely. The vampire is screaming, pointing at Malakai. He whistles sharply. “Kill it! Kill them!”

The other three females dart forward, while the male stays in the back guarding its master. Caspar turns his focus to the most immediate threat. His gun shoots off two more times, hitting one chupacabra in the chest, and one in the side. 

The one hit in the chest crumples to the ground immediately, but the other persists. Caspar blocks a savage bite by kicking it in the maw, popping off another shot to finally put it down. The last female lunges for him, but he moves just in the nick of time to pick up the corpse of its sister, using it as a shield. 

It sinks its ugly yellow fangs into its pack member without hesitation. Caspar falls back, pinned under the beast as it attempts to gore a hole to Caspar through the dead Chupacabra. 

Caspar kicks desperately at the monster, one, two, and finally, three times, shoving it away. It’s only dazed for a moment before it lunges again. 

Caspar scrambles for his gun, lifting it just in time to put the muzzle under its jaw as it pins him to the ground. He cries in pain as the wound on his neck flares, pulling the trigger. Green-black blood covers his face as the Chupacabra is shot dead. Caspar grunts in pain as the damn thing falls right on top of him. 

He scrambles out from under its oppressive weight, gasping for air, just in time to see Malakai confronting Kinsley. On the ground, the male Chupacabra is already dead, its head decapitated. Twisted off, from the looks of it.

Kinsley’s eyes are a bright yellow, fear creasing every fold of his face. “Stay back! Obey me!”

Malakai chuckles. “We both know you haven’t eaten well enough to compel a human, much less something like me. Your little wife was just an appetizer, wasn’t she?”

“Shut up! I didn’t mean to, I didn’t want to hurt her!”

Caspar fiddles with his gun. Fuck! He’s out of bullets! 

He struggles to his feet, hands quaking. What does he do?

He can only look up in horror as Malakai lunges with inhuman speed that not even a vampire can match. He grabs hold of Kinsely’s throat, lifting him up off the ground. Kinsley chokes, face purpling as he kicks his feet desperately.

Caspar’s blood goes cold as Malakai turns to him with a serene smile. He squeezes and Kinsley’s neck snaps with a sickening crunch of cartilage and vertebrae. He goes still, dangling limply for a moment, before Malakai drops him to the floor. 

Caspar’s eyes dart between the corpse to Malakai over and over. Until finally, a peal of laughter breaks the night. Malakai grins, eyes wide and pupils sharp. “Don’t look so shocked, Caspar. I thought you were catching on. Don’t tell me you actually thought I was a hunter?”

Caspar swallows hard. “You lied to me.”

Malakai places his hands behind his back. “I did.”

“That violates our contract.”

Malakai sways playfully. The same way Ruth did. “So cute. Trying to get out of our deal? Why? You don’t even have anything at stake.”

“Shut up! You lied! You didn’t hold up your side of the deal!”

“Caspar, my lie didn’t harm you at all. In fact, you seemed quite content spending time with your new friend. Or was I mistaken?”

“Why did you lie?”

“To assuage your fears, of course. I could hear your little heart—it was beating so fast, kinda like how it is now. I thought it might be best to carry out the rest of our deal in a form you would find pleasing. I wasn’t expecting you to get so close to the truth, though. I thought you had put it all together back in the cafe. You’re a smart man, Caspar.”

Caspar grits his teeth.

Of course, of fucking course. Nothing good could ever happen to him. He couldn’t have even the simple pleasure of having a friend. “So is the last vampire dead? Or are you going to change into my tomboy next and take me on another goose chase?”

“Not at all. The last vampire in Redpine is dead. Our deal has finally, truly, concluded.”

“So now what? You’re going to kill me?”

Malakai cocks his head. “Why do they always assume I'm going to kill them? You’re smart, can’t you understand the true reason I put on this little charade?”

Caspar grimaces. “You want my soul.”

Malakai smiles. “Yes. You offended me quite a lot, implying there was nothing I could give you to earn it. You should know better to brag to a demon that you want for nothing. Already, I know you ache for several things you will never have.”

“Fuck you.” 

“If that’s what you want.”

“Shut up! I don’t want anything—”

Caspar stumbles back as, with the sound of feathers, Malakai is suddenly inches away from his face. Red eyes burn bright. “You want your friendship with Jacob restored. You want your mother and uncle to be proud of you. You want to escape this life and live in peace. Your soul burns for many things, all of them which I can provide. Don’t lie to me, don’t say you’re content.”

Caspar takes a step back. 

Malakai’s face evens out, red irises fading to green. His smile turns to a placid line. “Of course, the choice is yours. I cannot compel you to sacrifice your soul. If you truly don’t want to contract me, all you need to say is no.”

“I already did that!”

“You didn’t. What you actually did was try to pretend that I’m insufficient, that I could never give you what you wanted. Now that we’ve cleared up this misconception, it’s time to make a choice: Would you like to make a contract, Caspar Shaw?”

Caspar stares. His mouth is dry. 

Malakai lowers his voice to a gentle rumble. “I have no reason to pursue a client who doesn’t want my services.”

“You’re lying.”

“I’m not. There are a million humans willing to sell their soul for a good fuck, their health, their children’s lives. If you do not wish to make a pact, all you need to do is say no. I promise to leave you and your loved ones be. I’ll find someone else. Do you understand?” 

Caspar takes a step back. He needs to say it. Say no. He needs to send this monster away. “I—”

Malakai grins, eyes widening. Undisguised hunger twists his features into a perverse expression, one that pierces Caspar to the core. His entire being seems to tremble with adrenaline. He sees his own death in those eyes. 

Like always, Caspar is a coward. He turns tail and runs.