{September 2002}

“They’re real, you know?”

From behind, a man’s voice startled Rayne Callahan into dropping the book she’d been sorting. Bram Stoker’s Dracula fell into a pile of its neatly stacked brethren and spilled onto the hardwood floor, stirring the scent of leather and ink. It had taken her twenty minutes to arrange the book display among the cozy stacks of the modest bookstore. Now it was a beautiful mess of the recently reprinted classic.

Rayne often helped out at her mother’s bookstore after school for some allowance cash. It was near closing time, and the place was empty. Hence Rayne’s teenage impersonation of a skittish kitten. Not only frightening herself, but likely terrorizing a customer in the process.

“I’m sorry, sir,” Rayne called as she knelt to clean up her mess, tucking thick strands of her long dark hair behind her ears. Her sunburned cheeks flared as she regained her composure. “Welcome to Callahan’s Books and Novelties. How may I help you?” When thick boots stepped into her line of sight, Rayne put on her best customer service smile and looked up for eye contact.

She froze.

The man wasn’t human. He couldn’t be. It wasn’t only that he was handsome, but he was different looking. He was tall with long black hair pulled back to expose a face with gentle angles and a pleasant smile. But his eyes and his complexion…

They were inhuman.

When the customer knelt in his black cargo pants and tee shirt to help with the books, Rayne could see the details more clearly. His eyes were black and his skin was pale—

No.

That wasn’t quite right.

The longer Rayne stared at him the more she made out a deep blue ring around his black irises. And his complexion wasn’t pale Caucasian. It was light gray.

The faintest recognition stirred in Rayne. A glimpse, a ghost—

A grin.

The customer grinned, and the expression’s kind warmth resonated in Rayne. It matched his voice as he said, “Here, let me help. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

That’s right. His initial words had startled Rayne. It took shaking herself to stop staring at him and ask, “Can you please repeat what you said?”

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

While returning copies of Dracula to the display, the man gestured at the book. “They exist in a way. Vampires, I mean. They’re aliens.”

Rayne couldn’t help herself. Between the grin on his face and the direction of the conversation, she giggled. “Seriously?”

Still smiling, he gave a shrug. “Yeah. They come from a planet in this galaxy. Their homeworld is one without stars in its night sky, and ash covers its plains.”

His words sparked a twinge of pain between Rayne’s temples. The man looked older than her fourteen years by a decade or so, but there was nothing menacing about him. As he helped her reassemble the display, he kept sincere eyes on Rayne as if he’d noticed the oncoming headache.

He asked, “Not feeling well?”

Ignoring the pain, Rayne waved him off with an incredulous smile. “I’m fine except someone just told me vampires are real and come from outer space. So how did they get here for us to write fiction about them?”

He placed the last book and chuckled. “Oh, that’s a long story. Are you sure you want to hear it?”

As Rayne opened her mouth to answer, Michelle Callahan’s voice rang through the stacks. “Closing time, Rayne. I’m locking up.”

The man put a finger to his lips and winked.

Taking the hint, Rayne called, “Okay, mom.” To him, she whispered, “I’ll take you to the back door,” and waved for him to follow. “So, tell me more about Cinder.”

The pain needled behind her eyes sharp enough to take her breath away as they reached the door.

His voice sobered behind her. “I didn’t tell you the name of the planet, Rayne.”

Yes, he did.

Surely, he did.

Then how could…

“Rayne? Did you finish the display, honey?” Her mom was coming closer through the stacks.

While a fine tremor overtook every muscle in her body, Rayne slowly turned and faced the stranger. There was a sadness in his eyes, and a frown had replaced his smile.

Concerned and old… impossibly old.

That’s how he looked to Rayne.

She asked, “What’s happening to me?”

He ducked his eyes before saying, “I can’t tell you now. There isn’t enough time.”

Rayne opened the door to the backstreet, and he kept a respectful distance between them as he stepped through. Again, non-threatening nor imposing.

Between the genuine kindness in his expression and the sense of familiarity between them, Rayne trusted him. She said, “Meet me at the Arkansas Skatium on Bowman on Friday. Have you heard of the place?”

“Yes. I’ll meet you there in three days, but you’ll have to wait until after dark.”

Despite the flush of her Labor Day weekend sunburn, Rayne felt the blood drain from her face, accompanied by wooziness.

After dark.

Vampires.

Cinder.

The mysterious stranger clasped Rayne’s shoulder gently to steady her. He said, “If it makes you feel safe, you can bring Tameka and Sagan.”

Her two best friends. How did he know their names—

“Rayne, are you in the back already?”

She called over her shoulder, “Yes, momma.” To the stranger, she asked, “What do I call you when I tell my friends about this?”

The man grinned again, and it softened Rayne’s headache. With a nod, he said, “Just call me your guardian.”

“There you are.”

Rayne whirled around to find her mother right behind her. She tried to force a smile while thinking of excuses to explain the strange man on their backstreet when Michelle asked, “Ready to head home?”

Confused by her mother’s casual tone and lack of curiosity, Rayne glanced behind her to find the threshold empty.

The mysterious stranger had disappeared without a sound, his last words lingering on Rayne’s mind.

“Just call me your guardian.”