Free Polar (Prequel): The Turnagain Arm by Julie Flanders

reciting a spell. He’s a devil, James.”
    “What in God’s name?”
    The flames leaped onto Aleksei’s thighs and singed his fingers. “Make him stop, quickly,” he yelled. “Shoot him, you idiot!”
    Vasyl’s voice thundered through the woods. “ Cпалювати! ”
    “James!” Aleksei screamed.
    James jumped as if he’d been shaken from a trance. He brought his rifle to his shoulder and fired.
    The rifle’s bullet blasted out of the barrel of the gun and tore through Vasyl’s back, bringing an abrupt end to his chanting. He stumbled and turned to face his assailant. “James? Wha..”
    Before Vasyl could finish his question James fired the gun again and another bullet blasted him. He fell to the ground as a geyser of blood erupted from his chest.
    If Aleksei could breathe, he would have let out a sigh of relief as the flames that had been slowly engulfing his body immediately retreated and disappeared into the air. He walked to Vasyl’s writhing body and looked down at the man who had come far too close to killing him.
    Vasyl stared up at Aleksei as the life drained out of his eyes. Within seconds, the writhing stopped.
    “I told you to leave me alone, didn’t I, Mr. Dzubenko?” Aleksei whispered.
    “You alright, Aleksei?” James asked.
    “I’m fine, thank you. The burns will heal quickly. Can I have your knife please, James?”
    The man handed Aleksei the knife. “Sure. Why do you want that?”
    “To do this,” Aleksei said.
    He grabbed James around his neck and quickly sliced his throat from one ear to the other. James grabbed his throat and stared at Aleksei with a puzzled expression as he fell to his knees.
    The blood that gushed like a fountain from James’ severed artery made Aleksei dizzy with hunger and temptation. Unable to stop himself, he pulled the dying man up and sucked the last of the blood from his body.
    “Thanks for your service to me, James,” he said as he let the corpse fall to the ground. “You really were the biggest fool I’ve ever met, but you certainly did help me.”
    In his revelry, Aleksei didn’t notice the sound of the footsteps that came towards him through the woods. He jumped in shock as a woman’s scream bounced off the surrounding trees and penetrated his ears.
    Covering his ears, Aleksei turned to see Lara standing over Vasyl’s body. He stared at her, his fangs bared and his face covered in the blood of James Hawkins. Lara’s screams were quickly replaced by a terrified silence.
    “Lara,” Aleksei said. “A shame you had to come upon this mess.”
    He could see Lara’s entire body shaking with fear.
    “Let me tell you what happened,” he said. “I came out here to meet your husband just as you suggested. But before we could talk, James here came bursting through the trees accusing Mr. Dzubenko of being the camp murderer. I tried to tell him he was mad, but before I knew what was happening Mr. Dzubenko went at James with that knife you see right there.”
    Aleksei pointed to the bloody knife he had used to slit James’ throat.
    “What could James do but defend himself?” Aleksei continued. “Next thing I knew the gun went off and your husband fell to the ground. Before I knew it, both of them were dead.”
    Lara shook her head. “You’re lying,” she said, staring at the blood on Aleksei’s face and the fangs protruding from his gums. “Vasyl was right about you. You’re a monster.”
    Aleksei stepped closer to Lara and caught her gaze in his own. She stood frozen as she stared up into his face.
    “That’s a common misconception. I’m a vampire, yes, but that doesn’t mean I’m a monster.” He reached out and cupped Lara’s cheek in his hand. “You know, Lara, if you were only a bit younger, you’d be so much like my Natasha. You could be with me just like I wanted her to be.” He wiped a tear from Lara’s face with his thumb. “You’re too old though, I’m sorry to say.”
    Aleksei could almost taste Lara’s blood as