Unexpected Friendship Chapter 2
“Is it too dark?” Zach asked Alexa. “I’m afraid I tend to prefer it this way.”
“A little bit of light would be better,” Alexa admitted, going up the stairs with a hand brushing the wall.
The vampire drew a jar out from somewhere in the depths of his cloak and unscrewed it. He reached in and pulled something out. “Here,” he said, handing her some tiny objects. She held them in her hand. “They’re fireflies,” Zach informed her. “You can take care of them and they will give you light in return whenever you ask it of them.”
“Thank you,” Alexa said.
Zach did not reply, instead screwing the lid back onto the jar, then returning it into his cloak. He was following Alexa so close that the girl could feel his cool breath on her neck. She nervously coaxed some light from the fireflies before hurrying up the stairs again.
They reached a landing, where Alexa was about to pause, but Zach urged her on. They passed more landings but the vampire would not stop. Alexa finally emerged from a hole in the fork of two great branches, exiting the trunk. Zach then took the lead, showing Alexa to a shelter wedged between a few branches. “This is my guest room,” he said. “Not that I have many guests, of course,” he added, almost sadly. “You can stay here for the time.”
Alexa stood still for a moment, shocked. “I’m, I’m not going home tonight?” she finally managed to say.
Zach shifted uncomfortably. “Well … I don’t think you’ll be welcomed back, after, you know, after I took you.”
“So I can’t ever go home?” Alexa whispered, despair showing over her face.
Zach shook his head.
