Free Voice of the Undead by Jason Henderson

insane. She could rip out his throat any time she wanted, and she wasn’t even trying.
    He edged back against the umbrella and the table, ready to either fight or turn and head for the mainland.
    â€œYou don’t know who you’re screwing with,” she said through bared teeth. “And I’m not letting you destroy what’s left of my life. Tell me—what do you care about?”
    Alex was struck by the strangeness of what she was saying. This sounded personal, and that made no sense at all. “Care is a big word coming from you,” Alex said. “You said yourself that you guys don’t give a damn about anyone, isn’t that right? No empathy, no love?”
    There was a rapid plodding of footsteps up the marina, and Alex heard someone calling his name. Alex glanced past the poles to the main pier and saw his friends. Minhi, Paul, Sid, and Vienna were coming down the dock, splitting up. He saw Paul and Minhi go off on one trail, Sid another. Vienna was coming his way. In a moment she would reach the end of the pier and she’d be able to see him.
    Vienna reached the end and turned left, and suddenly she was staring at Alex and Elle. She backed up instinctively, stopping at the edge of the water.
    â€œWhat about this one?” Elle said, looking beyond him with a knowing smirk, her eyes invisible behind the glasses.
    Suddenly she lunged, breaking into a jaguarlike run; he actually caught a blur of her nails reaching all the way down to the boards of the dock as she moved, and as she drove past him it felt like he had been sideswiped by a train.
    â€œNo!” Alex shouted, turning. Vienna was frozen at the end of the dock. Alex was running after Elle, trying to catch up, but the vampire was too fast.
    Vienna hadn’t had time to move a step when Elle sliced by her, a small cloud of material puffing into the air as she ripped half of the girl’s sleeve away.
    And then with a barely audible splash the vampire in the white leather coat was gone. Alex was running to the edge of the dock. He saw Vienna twisting, about to fall backward, and he caught her.
    Holding Vienna by the waist, he looked past her, searching the water.
    Elle was nowhere to be seen.
    Alex became aware of Vienna suddenly—she was shaking. He moved her a few steps from the edge and held up his hands. “It’s okay,” he said . He looked back at the water and started searching the surrounding area. He was thinking he might catch her climbing up somewhere else.
    This doesn’t happen. That was what his father used to say about anything paranormal, any movie about monsters or vampires or zombies. Doesn’t happen. For a moment, Alex wished he could go back to the days when he clung to that mantra.
    Paul, Sid, and Minhi came running up. “Bloody hell!” Paul shouted. “That was that—that—”
    Alex turned to Sid. “Did you see?”
    â€œAbsolutely I saw,” Sid said, eyes wide. “She jumped in the water.”
    Vienna was still shaking, staring at her sleeve. “What—”
    â€œI didn’t know they could do that,” Alex said, frowning. According to lore, and according to Sid, vampires could be killed by holy water but were allergic to any running water, and would seek to avoid crossing it. They certainly wouldn’t jump into it.
    Sid looked troubled to be caught off guard. “Well, you know, I guess the deal is this is a lake, so it’s standing water. As opposed to running.”
    Minhi touched Vienna on the shoulder. Vienna screamed.
    â€œHey,” Alex said, snapping his attention back to her. “Did she get—are you hurt?” He looked from her sleeve to her face, the giant brown eyes staring at him. She was holding her arm close to her body. “I’m gonna touch your arm, okay?” She nodded.
    Alex gingerly took her forearm and brought it forward, glancing over it. Her olive skin was slightly pale and