Page 31 of Loved to Death

Thomas spent the rest of the evening in the captain’s quarters, along with the ship’s officers, answering Captain Martinez’s questions about the undead and discussing strategies that utilized a vampire. During the discussion, a part of his mind was always on Shen. When he first realized Shen was experiencing lust, he was relieved, because it meant Shen was feeding and he would survive another night. But regret quickly followed his relief because Shen had become a murderer.

Chapter Twelve

Shen awoke with the sensation of something pressing down on him. He opened his eyes but could see only blackness. He attempted to sit up, but the pressure surrounding him prevented that. He screamed, but the noise was muffled. His entire body thrashed in panic until a hand gripped his upper arm and pulled him upright. Once he was sitting, the pressure fell away from his head and shoulders and someone pulled a cloth off his face. The face of the woman who’d bitten him was directly in front of him. He tried backing away from her, but she held fast to his arm.

“It’s all right,” she said. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

“You bit me,” he said, putting a hand to his neck. The wound was still there.

“I finished what Thomas started.”

“Thomas,” he repeated. His eyes darted around a little clearing between some trees. He wasn’t sure if he was happy or disappointed not to see the man who’d changed his entire life in the span of one evening.

“Stand up.” The woman tugged at his arm.

Shen realized he’d been buried and scrambled to get out of the shallow grave.

The woman put a hand on his shoulder and stared intently into his eyes. “I know you’re frightened and confused right now, but I’m going to help you get through it. My name is Polly Baker. What’s your name?”

“Zhang Shen.”

“Zhang, did you see Thomas’ eyes and teeth before he bit you?”

A ripple of fear crawled up Shen’s spine as he nodded.

“And you saw my eyes and teeth before I bit you, too. Didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“You’re one of us now. You’re undead.”

Shen backed up a step and whispered, “No.”

Polly clasped his hand in hers and squeezed it gently. “I’m sorry, but it’s true. The life you knew is gone. You’re no longer human. You are one of us. A vampire. The sun will kill you and you’ll need to drink blood to sustain yourself.”

“Jiangshi?” Shen shook his head and pulled his hand out of hers.

“What?”

“My people call you jiangshi. A hopping corpse that sucks the life force from others in the night.”

“Hopping?” Polly asked.

“The body stiffens so they have to hop to get around.” Shen picked up his foot and bent his leg a couple of times. He couldn’t detect any stiffness.

“Your body won’t do that,” she assured him.

He reached up and touched his own teeth. No sharp points.

“Your bodywilldo that.” She used her index fingers to pull her lips up, exposing her gums. Six sharp fangs poked through her gums and lowered down, covering her regular teeth.

Shen whimpered and his entire body trembled. “No.”

Polly let go of her lips and her teeth disappeared. “They’ll come down on their own once you smell blood.”

“No,” he repeated.

She shrugged. “They will whether you want them to or not.” She stepped closer and her eyes narrowed. “Why did Thomas turn you?”

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