To Honor: Vampire Assassin League #22 by Jackie Ivie

have been reanimated. Everywhere.”
    “No. I can’t believe this. I can’t. I just...can’t. Vampires don’t exist. They don’t. They can’t. If they existed, there would be reports. Something tangible I could look at.”
    “There are many reports. In any number of tomes. Allowing a reader to infer what they wish.”
    “Books? You’re talking about...books?”
    He shrugged again. She really wished he’d cease that. It moved all kinds of portions of his chest. And the strange haze in the cabin acted like a glaze of oil. He was already the most physically striking man she’d ever seen. He didn’t need the enhancement. But this was impossible. She was seeing things that couldn’t exist and sensing things that had no basis in reality. Christine straightened in her chair. Folded her arms. Tried to find the expert negotiator side of her personality.
    “That’s fiction, Takeshi. It isn’t real.”
    “Only to the skeptical mind.”
    “Well. You’re dealing with one. Total skeptic here. If I can’t see it, touch it, taste it...well, you get the picture. How long is this flight? I-I...really wanted this to have a different ending, and...”
    Her words trailed off. Her mind went on hiatus. She couldn’t finish. He smiled as if she’d said something amusing. The gesture put really long, white, sharp-looking fangs on display. They looked pretty damned real, too.
    Oh shit. Oh shit. Those fangs should be frightening the hell out of her. They didn’t. For some reason, she felt even warmer. More intrigued. Interested. Enthralled.
    “The flight duration will not matter, watashi no ai. We are mates. There is no end for us. Our union is forever.”
    “Forever?” Why didn’t that sound as bad as it should?
    “You do understand? I am not playing a game. I am telling you the truth. I am a vampire. We exist. Humans are not aware of us because we do not wish to be seen. Is it so hard to comprehend?”
    She was in the grasp of something sensual. Earthy. It wafted about her like incense smoke, blending with the odd haze. She was surprised she actually nodded.
    “Ninjas have the same reputation. Just because you haven’t heard or seen them, does that make them nonexistent, as well?”
    “Ninjas existed. They are a historical fact. They are not figments of someone’s imagination.”
    “Ninjas still exist, love.”
    “Are you going to tell me there’s a league of ninjas hiding in plain sight, too?”
    “That is not my secret to divulge.”
    “Takeshi, please. I can’t handle this.”
    “It is difficult for me as well, watashi no ai . I have had the greatest gift delivered. Without warning. Or preparation. If I use poor words it is because it means so much to me. I only get one mate. One.”
    “Don’t I get a choice here?”
    A look of devastation swept across his features. “It...was not wonderful for you, too?”
    Oh. Shit. His voice cracked. Went really low. He turned his head aside at the same time. Her eyes immediately filled with tears. Which was patently ridiculous. She couldn’t feel anything for him. They’d just met. And he was a delusional psychotic. They had no future.
    “Um. I...think I need a time-out, Takeshi.”
    She didn’t know where she found the fortitude to say it. It didn’t come from the physical realm. She didn’t know if she had enough strength to stand, let alone move.
    “Time-out?”
    “By myself. To think.”
    “I am not so certain I should allow it.”
    Her back went straight. She didn’t believe he’d said what she’d just heard.
    “Allow it?” she asked.
    “Oh, watashi no ai . Forgive my words. Please. If I fail at meaning it is because it means so much! Don’t you see? I am nothing without you! You are the center of my world. The reason for my being.”
    “Takeshi. I need time. Alone.”
    “Time? Oh, love! If you only knew how much of it I suffered through before finding you! And you want me to spend more without you? You do not know what you ask! I already know