"I knew you were coming," He lifted his bald head, and Max saw the man's eyes were ringed with dark circles.

"Are you a vampire?" Max asked calmly, pulling a stake from his back pocket.

The man nodded.

"What's your name?" He weighed the wood in his palm. The tiny voice in the back of his head that always popped up during moments like this sing-songed That could be you.

The vampire at the table resumed his slouched posture. "Ford Prefect."

"Ford Prefect?" Odd name. "Well, then, Ford Prefect, by order of the Voluntary Vampire Extinction Movement—"

"That is not his name," Bella said quietly from behind him. When he gave her a questioning glance, she shrugged. "It is the name of a character from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." As if in defense, she added, "I like to read."

It took him a minute to get the flow back, but Max managed. "Oh, I get it, you think you're going to smart off to me and go out like a real badass, huh?"

"More or less." The vampire leaned back in his chair, trying—and failing—to affect nonchalance. He had a ring through the center part of his nose and he toyed with it, sliding it back and forth between his fingers.

"Well, nice try, but—" The thunk of the crossbow releasing a bolt cut Max off. The projectile sliced through the air, sinking deep into the vampire's shoulder.

He screamed, and Max rounded on Bella. "What the hell was that?"

"A clean shot with the intent to maim." She reached to the quiver at her back and pulled out another bolt, snapping it in place and cranking the handle as if nothing was amiss.

"We're supposed to get information from him, not kill him outright!" Max grabbed the bow and jerked it from her grasp, and the bolt snapped free, whizzing past his ear to embed in the dirty wall.

"I will get our information," Bella said, rolling her eyes. "Perhaps you should try to not kill yourself outright."

"Oh, I'll try not to kill myself outright." Somehow, repeating her remark with added sarcasm didn't come off with the bite he'd hoped it would. He tossed the bow aside, cursing himself as she stalked toward their prey, her braid snapping lethally behind her.

She leaned over the groaning vampire and grasped the end of the arrow, giving it a sharp tug. When he howled, she said, "Oh, I am sorry. Did that hurt?"

"Fuck you, bitch!" He spat at her, but she dodged it.

With a twist of her wrist, the vampire was screaming again. "You should be more polite to the person holding your life in her hands. Will you be more polite?"

There was a litany of curses, and she responded with a downward jerk of the arrow. "It would not be in your best interests to bring this wood closer to your heart."