Darya gasped when the bones cracked. The sound, already sinister, seemed to reverberate in the empty room, permeating the atmosphere with all its morbid significance. The girl felt compassion for the vampire, but also admiration. It had taken a lot of courage to shorten his friend’s ordeal in this way. With a weary gesture, she put her crucifix back under her sweatshirt and approached the two men. She knelt on the ground, hands on her knees.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “Even though I think that it doesn’t relieve you a whole lot that I say this. What’s your name?”
There was a moment of silence then, finally, the answer came.
“Syssoi Baranov,” he replied without moving an inch.
“Darya Kolevski. We aren’t in a very advantageous position but believe me, I’ll take the first opportunity to
