Elixir of Flesh by Joseph Kranak

  * * *

  As the first light of dawn crept over the horizon, Anton still waited in a tree overlooking the dry streambed where he’d seen the vampires vanish. Vasile had left him there a short while ago, tired and in need of rest. Vasile had told Anton outright, “It’s pointless to wait here. They never come out during day. You’re wasting your time.” But Anton was undeterred.

  He held his position and he intently watched the shrubbery into which they’d earlier seen the vampires disappear. He positioned himself at an ideal vantage point, high in the branches and near the streambed. It permitted him to look down directly into the shrubbery.

  He was willing to wait all day and all night if necessary. And wait he did. For several hours, as his eyes grew heavier and his concentration waned, he continued to wait. He focused his eyes on the spot on the forest floor where he hoped to uncover the entrance to the cave. As each minute passed, he grew sleepier and sleepier, such that he had to focus harder and harder just to keep awake. Then he saw something.