“I’m sorry,” I said. “Perry… the vampire?”

Brandon held up a hand, his face a bit sad as he spoke. “He was at another one of my Saturday night Beverly Hills, 90210 viewing parties. Was a big fan of Luke Perry. Hence, Perry.”

I wanted to laugh, but given the gravity of Perry’s situation these days, I couldn’t.

“So what happened to him?” Connor asked, moving closer to examine the creature.

Aidan shook his head. “He looked normal a few months ago, but he wasn’t quite the same vampire when he suddenly reappeared. He wasn’t really all that coherent about where he’d been, either. Kept on raving about ‘the box’ and not much else. Eventually, he stopped being able to change between his human and vampiric form. Eventually his vampiric state started to mutate, and then it degenerated into what you see before you. By then, the outbreak started showing up in others.”

“Outbreak?” I said. “Like a virus.” Allorah had mentioned viral aspects to her research when she laid all those file folders on me the other night. I wondered if I’d get extra credit with her if I claimed my near death here tonight as lab hours.

Aidan nodded.

“Don’t your people heal things like that?” I asked. “Isn’t that one of the perks of being undead?”

“It is normally… a perk, as you say,” Brandon said, “but whatever this is, it isn’t a normal virus by any stretch. Think of it as the vampire form of a virus… unique, undying.”

Connor snapped his fingers at the creature, trying to get its attention, but it was ignoring him.

“Don’t get too excited, Simon,” he said, “but I think our friend here has a crush on you.”

It was true. No matter what was going on in the room, the creature kept its focus on me. Unlike the other ones I had encountered, this one was docile in comparison, content to stare at only me.

“No offense,” I said, “but Perry’s creeping me out a little.”

Despite wanting to flee, I stepped up closer to the cage. I examined its face, then had an idea I might know why it was looking at me the way it was.

“Do I… know you?” I asked the creature.

The creature’s breath quickened, the sound of wet rasping breaking its silence. It started moving around its cage, bobbing up and down.

I looked over at Brandon, who was standing there staring in fascination.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to agitate him.”

Connor put his hand on my shoulder. “I don’t think he’s agitated, kid,” he said, pointing at it with his other hand. “I think he’s… nodding.”

I stepped right up to the bars, my concern for safety overwhelmed by my curiosity.

“Is that it?” I asked. “I know you?”

The creature lunged toward the bars, wrapping its talons around them mere inches from my hands. I could see it trying to concentrate, to make its movements more precise. It took in a deep gasp of breath and let it out as it attempted a more human form of nodding this time.

“How?” I asked. “Where?”

There was frustration in the creature’s eyes, but it held tight to the bars and stared into my face. I watched it for any signs of recognizable communication. After several minutes of struggling, it managed to get its lips around its tangle of teeth. The creature struggled like a little kid trying to make his first word.

“B-b… box,” it said. The effort must have taken a lot out of the creature because when it was done speaking the single word, it lowered its head.

“What does that mean?” Connor said.

Aidan sighed. “It means… box. That’s all he says now.”

“I don’t know what it means,” I said to the creature, but it appeared defeated now, still hanging its head as it labored for breath after raspy breath.

“Well, think, kid,” Connor said.

I turned on him. “I am,” I said, snapping with testiness in my voice. “That’s all I’ve been doing since you went on your somewhat-permanent mental vacation last month. I’ve been the one who’s had to keep it mentally together because you decided to check out.”

“Whoa,” Connor said. “Easy.”

“I’ll take it easy when I know why everyone seems to wants me dead.”

Connor held up his hands in surrender. “It was a simple question.”

Aidan stepped forward. “Can the mortals calm down a bit? The two of you getting your blood up is making me thirsty.”

That stopped both Connor and me in our discussion. We both turned to Connor’s brother.

“Mostly kidding there, guys,” Aidan said. “But seriously… I think my brother just wants to know how many vampires you knew before stepping into the Gibson-Case Center?”

“I didn’t know any vampires!” I said.

The four of us fell silent as Connor and I tried to calm ourselves. I was starting to feel better, when I noticed Connor looking at me funny.

“Well, that’s not entirely true, now, is it, kid?”

“I didn’t,” I said. “I didn’t know any vampires.”

“What about the report you filed about your ex-girlfriend?”

“Who?” I said. “Mina? She’s not a vampire. She’s just a wannabe fan girl of them. It’s why she chose the stupid name.”

“Do I have to remind you where you saw her last?” Connor asked.

I thought back. “The last time I saw Mina, she and Jane had been beating the hell out of each other.”

Aidan gave a little laugh. “Is your girlfriend an ultimate fighter?”

“No,” I said, giving him a look. “They were in this subterranean area of the Guggenheim. This recently thwarted cultist named Cyrus Mandalay had set up this insane art show there full of exhibits meant to torture all his old foes through paranormal means.”

“Sounds like an ultimate fighting championship to me,” Aidan said. “Who won?”

“Jane,” I said. “Sorta. Thing is, they never even would have had to fight if I hadn’t just freed Mina from one of the exhibits. She was encased in this clear coffin device, surrounded by this red mist that was constantly being stirred up so it couldn’t form…”

“A vampire,” Brandon said, his face grim.

“In a box,” I said, looking at the creature. I remembered the fight in vivid detail, how I threw my weight into the structure, feeling it shatter beneath me as I freed Mina. That meant I had freed the vampire, too. I even remembered the strange sensation that had washed over me when the red mist seemed to stop and take stock of me before fleeing from the chaotic scene.

“You think this is him?” Connor said. “You sure?”

“No,” I said, “but there’s only one way to be sure.”

I pulled off my glove and reached for the creature’s fingers that were wrapped around the bars of the cage. As I was about to touch it, Connor grabbed the sleeve of my coat and pulled my arm away.

“What the hell are you doing?” he said. “You remember what happened the last time you touched another person directly? Touching Faisal Bane nearly put you down and out for the count.”

“True,” I said, “but that cultist ass was a living person. We’re not dealing with living creatures here. I’m thinking that maybe these… things… are more like objects. Maybe I can read them.”

“And if you can’t, kid?” Connor said.

“Then I’ll just add to this wicked headache I already have,” I said, “but I have to try. I have to know.”

“Fine by me,” Connor said. “I’ll catch you if you fall.”

I reached for the creature again, and then paused. “Oh, and one more thing. If I pass out, do not let either of these two feed on me.”

Connor smiled. Aidan and Brandon looked a little offended.

“I’ll try, kid. But you heard my brother before… He was feeling a little thirsty.”

I looked at the two vampires. “Look, I don’t buy into this whole ‘chosen one’ crap, but let’s just say, to be safe, that I am him. It’s in your best interest to snack on Connor before you go for me, got it?”

“Jesus,” Aidan said. “Did it say anything in the big book about the chosen one being such a pain in the ass?”

“I seem to recall something about that,” Brandon said, scratching his chin, “but I can’t be sure.” He turned and looked at me with stern eyes. “You are trying to help us with our problem, Mr. Canderous. No harm shall befall you from the two of us.”