I lunged to the side and tried to duck under his arm, but he caught me and pulled me back, laughing. I knew it was useless, but I screamed and kicked at him. All at once, he went flying to the side and slammed into some equipment with a loud clang.

"Are you okay?" Thomas!

"Yeah," I gasped.

Thomas stepped protectively in front of me and pushed me back, closer to the stairs. Hands grabbed my shoulders, and I nearly screamed before realizing that it was TS. He pulled me up a few steps and moved in front of me. I felt useless. Cowardly even. Thomas and TS, at the moment, were just normal humans, yet they were protecting me from the vampire. Then again, even if I had my wand with me I didn't know any spells that would have been useful. I didn't think he'd feel very threatened by a couple of sparks. The vampire climbed to his feet and regarded Thomas for a moment. He looked confused.

Thomas reached a hand under his t-shirt and pulled out a stake. The vampire hissed furiously at him. It was the scariest sound I had ever heard. I felt a chill shoot up my spine and was sure that my heart skipped a beat. The vampire lunged at Thomas. They grappled over the stake, and for a moment, I felt a surge of hope. Thomas seemed to be holding his own! Maybe they had been exaggerating about how fast and strong vampires were. It was probably better to over-estimate them than be unprepared. They broke apart, and the vampire snarled. I heard a soft growling and realized it was TS. The vampire rushed toward Thomas again, and this time, it was over in an instant. I stared in awe as Thomas tackled the vampire and pinned him down. He pressed the stake against the vampire's chest, and for a moment nobody moved.

"I'm a Special Agent with MES," Thomas said to the vampire. "This ship is under our jurisdiction, and you are under arrest for feeding without permission. If you come quietly, we'll hold you until we can turn you over to the authorities in Chile. If you resist, I am authorized to use deadly force. Do you understand, dhampir?"

Dhampir? My jaw nearly dropped. This guy was just a dhampir? He snarled at Thomas, but Thomas clearly had him immobilized. Suddenly, Thomas jerked his head up and looked to the side. That was the only warning I had. There was a blur of motion, and the next thing I knew, Thomas had slammed into the rails a good twenty feet from where he had been. A blonde man stood over the dhampir. He wore a crew uniform, too. He sneered at the dhampir and said something in Spanish, then turned his attention to Thomas. Thomas was back on his feet, stake ready. The newcomer curled back his upper lip and hissed. It was nothing like the sound the dhampir had made. It was a mix between a snarl and a hiss, and was utterly inhuman. For a moment, I actually couldn't breathe. I felt like my entire body had literally frozen in terror. I knew then that this was no dhampir. This man was a real vampire.

Then, he moved, and I found out just how fast vampires really were. One second, he was standing over the dhampir. The next, he was across the deck trying to wrestle the stake out of Thomas’ hand. To my amazement, Thomas actually fought back. They struggled for a moment, and Thomas broke free from the vampire's grip and slammed the stake down. The vampire cried out in pain as the stake lodged, not into his chest, but into his upper arm. Thomas cursed, yanked the stake back out, and dodged a furious punch from the vampire. The vampire hissed again, clutching his injured arm. Then, he laughed.

"Special Agent, you said? And how many of us did you stake to climb your way through the ranks? You make me sick."

Thomas actually laughed too. "I really don't think you're in a position to question my morals."

The vampire snarled and lunged at Thomas again. The fight was a blur. No wonder Thomas was a Special Agent. He must have had tons of training to be able to fight like this.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

"God, there are two of them?"

I turned and saw Charlie behind us on the steps.

"One's a dhampir," TS growled.

As he spoke, the dhampir climbed to his feet, watching the fight with wide eyes. He looked like he was considering joining in. Charlie pushed past TS and me and ran until he was between the dhampir and Thomas. Fireballs erupted in his fists, and the dhampir took a startled step backward. Charlie grinned and moved closer, forcing the dhampir farther away from Thomas and the vampire. Then, the vampire got the upper hand. I heard a cry of pain and watched in horror as the vampire knocked Thomas to the deck and stabbed the stake into his chest! Thomas, miraculously, had caught the vampire's wrist in both hands and stopped him from bringing the stake all the way down. But the tip was clearly embedded in his chest. I could see a dark bloodstain spreading out across his shirt from where the stake was. TS let out a furious growl and raced toward them.

"Tethys, don't! You're human!" Charlie yelled.

TS ignored him and took a flying leap at the vampire. He knocked him off of Thomas, and the two tumbled into a pile of rope. Thomas yanked the stake out of his chest with a gasp of pain and staggered to his feet. Even though TS was twice his size, the vampire picked him up as if he weighed nothing and hurled him farther across the deck. TS crashed into some equipment with a dog-like yelp and fell to the deck. A flare of light caught my attention, and I turned. Charlie had set the dhampir on fire! He screamed and dropped to the deck, frantically trying to put the blaze out. Charlie turned his attention to the vampire and raced toward him. Thomas took a swing at the vampire with the stake, forcing him to back closer to Charlie. Charlie wrapped his arms around the vampire's waist, and I stared in amazement as they both burst into flames. Thomas threw the stake into the air toward the dhampir. I was confused. There was no way it would stake him from that angle. Then, I saw why; TS had recovered. He darted across the deck, caught the stake, and slammed it down into the dhampir's chest.

The dhampir screamed in pain, then went still and silent. My breath caught in my throat. TS had just killed him. I felt naive as I stared at the body. They had been talking about stakes, and I realized that they might kill vampires, but it never really sunk in, before. Never mind that they were vampires and dhampirs. They were people, and my friends were ready and willing to kill them. Maybe I was in over my head. I couldn't believe that a bunch of college students were expected to do this work.

TS pulled out the stake and tossed it, without looking, over his shoulder. Thomas jumped for it and caught it. At that moment, the vampire jerked free of Charlie's grasp and threw him across the deck. Charlie slammed into the rails, but was back on his feet in an instant. TS dragged the dhampir's body toward the rails and heaved it over the side, while Thomas and the vampire circled each other. The vampire looked badly burned and had a wary eye on Charlie. Flames appeared in Charlie's hands again, and he edged closer to the vampire. The vampire dove for Thomas, and this time, yanked the stake from his hand and hurled it away. TS ran for it as Thomas struggled with the vampire. A ball of water hit the vampire's head, and he turned, distracted. Thomas wrenched the vampire's arms behind his back and held on. I looked to where the water had come from in time to see Dani jump over the rails and onto the deck. Mariana, looking horrified, was still behind the rails. Dani pulled his knife out and quickly advanced on the vampire. The vampire hissed and snarled furiously, as Thomas held him in place. Charlie planted both hands on the vampire's chest, and they were both engulfed in flames again. For a moment, I was worried that Thomas would be burned, but it seemed like Charlie was able to control the fire. TS and Dani edged closer, stake and knife ready.

Then, the vampire twisted free of Thomas' grip, spun, and snapped one of Thomas' arms like it was a twig. He then shoved Thomas away, grabbed Charlie, and hurled him through the air. This time, he didn't hit the railing, he went over it. I heard a discordant sound that made my ears hurt. It was simultaneously filled with fury and despair, and it took me a moment to realize it was Dani screaming. He hurtled across the deck and dove over the railing, just seconds behind Charlie. I heard a curse and looked back across the deck. TS was helping Thomas to his feet, and the vampire was nowhere to be seen. Mariana vaulted over the rails and hurried toward them. I joined them, and for a moment, nobody spoke. Thomas' forearm dripped blood, and I was sure I could see a bone sticking out. It was already bruising all around the break. I couldn't see the wound in his chest, but his shirt was drenched in blood all around it.