The Undead Kama Sutra
More humans were coming, though Johnson and his companions hadn’t yet noticed.
    Weapons. Cocaine. The paper they valued so dearly. There was going to be trouble.
    But how to get Johnson? If trouble started, he would be in the middle of it. I might never get at him.
    The thumping grew loud. The men on the beach dropped their bundles and shouted in panic. Their auras raged like fire.
    A beam shot upon them from overhead, a circle of bright light that held steady on the boat. The whirring wings of the flying machine reflected the light. The loud thumping made my guts tremble. More beams flashed over the water and the men scurried across the beach.
    The light stung my eyes. I retreated into the shadow of the palmettos.
    A lone figure, tall, his aura bright with desperation, sprinted up the beach. Johnson.
    A beam of light snagged him.
    Johnson raised his arm, pointed his gun into the beam, and fired.

Chapter
12
    W eapons chattered and their deadly stingers hissed through the air. In the glare of the spotlights from the water, men on the beach staggered and fell. Their boat exploded and threw a ball of fire into the night sky.
    The heat splashed against my snout and I melted into the shadows.
    Johnson ran across the sand toward me. Tufts of sand erupted around his feet.
    No, Johnson was mine. My front paws clawed at the ground in anticipation.
    When he was close to the brush, he screamed and fell to his knees, wounded by a bullet. Another beam ensnared him, the two shafts of light holding him like pincers.
    I yelped in distress at losing my prey. Bounding from theshadows and onto the edge of the beach, I lunged for Johnson and leaped into the brilliance surrounding him.
    Our eyes met and his opened wide with terror. I wanted him to whimper and wet his pants in fright. I locked my jaws on the garment around his neck and dragged him into the brush, my vampire-wolf strength easily handling his weight. His human odor swirled through my nose, bringing the smell of warm blood, insect repellent, gasoline, and terror. Johnson grasped my foreleg and I shook him until he let go.
    Wild and noisy shooting surrounded us. One of the lights sweeping over us went dark. The second light swung across the beach to follow the men dashing from the burning boat and toward the brush.
    Hurriedly, I pulled Johnson deeper into the undergrowth. Branches and stiff reeds scraped against us. Letting go, I stepped away, not sure of what to do next. I needed him to answer my questions, and, as a wolf, I couldn’t hold a conversation in English. I doubted he would wait patiently while I transmutated back into a vampire.
    Johnson brought his legs under him and kneeled. He clutched his side and grimaced with pain. In a pathetic human gesture, he clung to the bag of money strapped around his neck. He gazed at me and back to the beach, looking amazed that I had saved him. His aura blazed with frightened confusion and then with angry determination.
    He brought his hand weapon up and fired at me. I sprang to one side. He lurched to his feet. I readied to pounce on him.
    The flying machine roared over us. The thumping of its wings pounded my ears. A bright light stabbed through the trees and dazzled me. I leaped into the shadows. When I turned around, Johnson was gone.
    The flying machine circled above, the wind from its whirling wings beating the treetops and scattering palm fronds. Its light hunted for prey. A swarm of bullets snapped at the brush.
    I darted through a dark grove of tangled vines. I sniffed deeply, turning my snout from side to side. To my left, I found the meaty scent of Johnson’s blood.
    Mindful of the flying machine, I kept low and padded out from the vines and through a thick patch of tall grass.
    Up ahead. The red haze of a human aura. Johnson.
    I sprang into a gallop. Johnson’s scent grew stronger.
    As I bounded over a fallen log, I saw Johnson running to where he had left his boat. He clawed at branches whipping against his face. I

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