The Black God

"Ashley."

"You, uh, wanna dance?"

"Nah. I'm done dancing for tonight."

"Okay. No drinks, no dancing. How about a walk?"

She hesitated.

"Public place so you know I'm not a creeper," he added.

If she could handle a vamp, she could handle him if he tried anything. It wasn't the potential for a physical confrontation she feared but the knowledge she knew nothing about the boy before her, like if he were secretly a god who would put her family in danger.

Four years later, and Jonny is still in my head. She hated the reminder. This ends now.

"Yes," she decided. "Let's go for a walk."

He stretched back to reach the bar and placed his drink on the counter then held out his hand for hers. She returned it to him.

Ashley led him out of the teeming bar and into the street, where the ocean breeze began cooling her at once. "What year are you?" she asked and looked up at the stranger beside her.

"Masters program. You?"

"Senior." Again, she added silently. School wasn't her favorite thing. "Finally picked a major," she said with a sigh. "I don't think I can do a Masters. Undergrad is hard enough."

"Just depends on what you want to do in life." His gaze was on their path. "You wanna see the new fountain?"

"What new fountain?"

"They put in a new naval memorial at the end of the strip."

"I'm out of it," she murmured. Brandon was right. She'd been completely obsessed with vamps the past few months, so much so, she'd barely noticed anything else like the new memorial or Brandon's new electronics until she stumbled over them. "Sure. Let's go see it."

Shane pointed in the direction of the memorial and they crossed the street. He was funny and easy to talk to, and she found herself enjoying the walk more than she expected. They neared the edge of the busy section and continued onward. Her senses were alert to their surroundings.

The crowds had petered out by the time they reached the area where the new memorial was supposed to be. Ashley looked around without spotting it, though her instincts were picking up on something else. People in the shadows followed them. The only people who wanted anything to do with her were vamps out for revenge, assuming they'd finally found her somehow. The predators were known to stalk humans, but with Brandon to shield her, she hadn't thought they could find her.

Had she done something to tip them off? She'd been chased by several and always led them the opposite direction of where she lived. She had the urge to check all her clothing for GPS markers, the kind Xander used to use on her and Brandon when they first left the house.