by Rob Preece
"Hand over the blood,” she ordered.
Reluctantly, the vampires reached into their knapsacks and handed over the bags of blood they'd stolen from the blood bank.
"Idiots,” Danielle told them as she scooped up the plastic bags and radioed for a biological pickup. “The bloodbank isn't a candy store for punks."
"We, uh, were just testing its security,” the leader suggested.
"Guess you failed the test then,” Carl told them. He'd reverted to human form.
"Oh, hell, Mayor Harriman. I guess so."
"You four are going to do some serious community service,” he said.
"Yes, Mr. Mayor,” the leader said. “We're sorry."
Danielle laughed. “By the time you finish cleaning the Trinity River filtration system, you'll be very sorry."
The disgusted noises from the four vampires told Danielle that she'd suggested the right punishment. Vampires’ noses, even more than Were's, were extremely sensitive to biological scents, and undead bodies reacted poorly to water. The four vampires would spend some miserable hours helping the zone and, with luck, learn a valuable lesson.
Once the biologic team showed up to reclaim the blood, and the four vampires were carted off in a paddy wagon, Carl turned to Danielle.
"That was a charming way to start our first date since little Tyler came onto the scene. Do you have any suggestions on what to do next?"
"It's a bit early to be working on a little sister."
"I'm in no rush. We've got plenty of time for that. But we need to keep in practice, right?"
"I thought you'd never ask."
Danielle took Carl's arm and walked with him slowly through the streets of the zone, so different now than when she'd first encountered it three years ago. Most of the buildings were renovated and inhabited now. The streets were bursting with new businesses—bridal shops, jewelry stores, furniture rental shops, taco stands. New schools had sprung up on vacant lots. There were parks with fountains and tennis courts.
Sure, there were problems. Some lingering resentments. But normals and magics mixed freely now, in the zone. Their experiment in Dallas had proved that cooperation and tolerance could overcome fear and hatred. There was even talk about some cities tearing down guard towers, taking advantage of magical creativity for the city at large.
Danielle had no qualms about bringing children into the world she and Carl had helped to create. She'd only been teasing about the little sister, but she hoped there would be more children—lots more. A whole herd of them.
A new generation growing up free from the old hatreds, to build on what she and Carl, and Mike and Snori and even Arenesol had started.
The End
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