Chapter 1
Warmed by the afternoon sun, new blossoms upon the nearby bushes gave the air a floral perfume of lavender and rose. Birds sang at the edge of hearing. Aside from the distant laughter of men and women celebrating the arrival of spring, the park was still and quiet.
Two men sat together on a bench in the shade of an old oak tree. The park was one of their usual haunts; they did enjoy change but tended to find themselves falling into a routine, following the same trails to the same grounds. The lakeside a mile or so down the road had a nice breeze, but there were usually far too many people there for them to get comfortable. Instead they sat on their bench, beneath their tree, where they would not be disturbed. They’d shared the bench most days for a long while.
One of them, the man with cascading waves of hair in a dark cherry red and embroidered layers of earthy browns, sat with a book in hand, occasionally flipping a page with the flick of a finger. He was doing his best to ignore his companion, who fidgeted in his seat.
“Whose idea was it to make this many layers of clothing fashionable?” the other man said miserably, pulling at his cravat. “I swear, if I find out I’m going to hunt them down and eat them.” He pulled his legs up in front of him at an awkward angle and swung his arms over the back of the bench, somehow looking more comfortable than when he’d been sitting properly.
“Stop it, Grendel,” he said without taking his eyes from his book. “If you keep that up, you’re going to make yourself look like a tramp.” He glanced over only to see that he was already too late. Grendel’s cravat was wrinkled.
Grendel noticed the sidelong stare and straightened it as best he could. “Will you be embarrassed to be seen with me, Milo?” he said with a grin.
Milo gave him a disapproving look. “Yes,” he said flatly, turning back to his book and ignoring the other’s frown.
“Oh?” He swung his legs out and let his head fall into Milo’s lap. Milo shifted his hips and lifted his book in a single practised twist. Grendel looked up at him as if he was a child beginning to whine. “I’m hungry.”
He flipped another page. “Then go get someone to eat.”
“Aren’t you coming with me?”
“I ate yesterday,” Milo replied in the same flat tone.
“Without me?” Grendel furrowed his brow petulantly. “Rude.” As quickly as it had come, though, the mood was gone. “What are you reading today? Is it any good?”
Milo almost smiled. “You wouldn’t like it. There are no pictures.”
“I read a book about blood-drinkers the other day.” He plucked the book from Milo’s hand and held it above his own head. “An explorer’s account of Eastern European stories. I don’t get why they are always depicted as being so nasty.”
“Because we are nasty,” Milo said as he snatched his book back.
Grendel stared up at the sky for a moment, thinking. “I don’t think we are,” he said, looking back to Milo with wide, vulnerable eyes.
“No one ever sees themselves as the villain. You have to keep in mind that these stories are written by humans and for humans.”
“Well, maybe I’ll write my own book.” Grendel’s grin widened and he poked his friend in the chest. “It could be about me and you.”
“Why would anyone want to read a story about us?” Milo’s voice was just as flat as before, but his lips curled in the beginnings of a grin.
“Because we’re amazing!” Grendel shot upright and spun in his seat, thinking himself a genius for the idea. “You know, if you think about it, humans are far more brutal than us.” With his hands stretched out above his head he leaned back and looked up at the sky, allowing the occasional beams of light to flash across his face as the warm breeze ruffled the leaves of the trees above. “I mean, they eat... what... five times a day? That’s a lot of meat. And the way they kill their animals is a lot worse than how we do it.” He glanced over at his friend to see if Milo was paying attention to him. “We only eat once a week, and we let people run around willy-nilly and have a good life beforehand. That’s good, isn’t it?”
“I’m not disagreeing with you; I’m only saying that they have reason to fear us.” He turned another page of his book, not wanting to get back into this same conversation again.
After a long minute of silence and contemplation, Grendel finally spoke again. “Well, I think it’s stupid. I don’t like being thought of as evil or nasty.”
“This coming from the necrophiliac,” Milo said under his breath.
Grendel shot him a cool glance. “What was that?”
Milo closed his eyes and heaved a long sigh. “Nothing. Go get someone to eat.” He looked out to the lake and his eyes seemed to lose focus. His pupils narrowed to predatory slits. “There,” he said, pointing toward the horizon over a mile away. “That girl over there.”
Grendel’s face scrunched up as he fixed his eyes to the same spot. “Nah. I don’t like her nose.”
“Hm?” Milo moved his head close to Grendel’s and looked back out into the lake. “Oh, no, not that one. The one on the other side of the lake.” He moved Grendel’s head a little to the right.
Grendel looked much happier as he jumped to his feet. “She’ll do,” he said with a smile.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” Milo said, his attention already back to his book.
Grendel turned to face him as he ran, still taking a few steps backwards. “I’ve been doing this for thousands of years! I think I know what I’m doing.”
Milo waved his hand distractedly in the direction Grendel had run. “That’s what you said about Pompeii, and we all know how that went.”
Soon Grendel was on the far side of the lake, just beyond the tree line, watching the woman. She crouched at the edge of the lake, throwing bread to the ducks that had gathered nearby. He flashed her a seemingly innocent smile. She blushed and looked away. When she lifted her eyes again, he gave her a little wave of his hand.
The hair on the back of her neck stood and her skin tingled with the onset of goosebumps. She turned back to the ducks. Something told her she should ignore him, but she couldn’t help but look. His eyes were irresistible. A moment later she was walking his way.
He stood his ground as she approached, still smiling. “What’s a handsome man doing peeking at a lady such as myself?” she asked. The words surprised her as they sprang from her lips.
He pushed himself away from the tree, taking a few steps closer to her. “Just hunting.”
“Hunting?” Again she felt the urge to run the other way, but her head and her heart were at war, leaving her paralyzed by the stranger’s enchanting grin.
“Yes. You see...” He took another step forward and leaned in close to whisper in her ear. “They say there are monsters in these woods. I was hoping for your company, and help in finding one.”
She normally wouldn’t let any man this close to her, not even those she had known for a long time. She knew better. Part of her knew better, at least. “Monsters? That sounds rather silly.”
Grendel placed his hand on his chest in disbelief. “You think I’m silly?” His brow creased as if he had been upset by what she had said.
She placed a thoughtless hand upon his. “Of course not,” she began, not wanting to hurt his feelings. “I just…” The words wouldn’t come to her. She could think only of his bright golden eyes.
“No need for words,” he said as he wove his fingers into hers and pulled her gently toward the trees. “Just join me.”
She didn’t see him look quickly around to make sure no one was watching them as he led her deep into the woods. She was lost in his smile.
Grendel leaned against a tree, rubbing his tongue against his enlarged canines as he gazed upon the dead girl sprawled out on the ivy that lined the forest floor.
In the far distance, two wolves were making their way to where she lay. “Come on,” he said impatiently. “I don’t have all day.” They eyed him warily as they approached, and he gave them a smile. “She’s all yours. Sorry if the meat’s a little dry.”
He turned his head as the first wolf ripped into her flesh. On a whim he glanced back toward her only to spin away again, fighting back the urge to vomit. Nope, he said to himself as he fought back flashes of red behind his eyes. Still can’t do it.
