Honey Upon Thy Lips      by Anne Teachout

   “Your hair is like golden silk.  I’ve never felt anything so soft and sensual.”

   “My prince, you speak honeyed words.  I should not trust you.”

    “Oh, do not pull away.  I do not mean to scare you, sweet lady.  I only mean to get to know you.”

     “That is something you can not do, my prince.  It is forbidden, even to you.”

      “My sweet lady, you tempt me more and more.  Awe, you smell of lavender and jasmine.  I can hardly control myself in your presence.”

      “Please, my prince, you must control yourself.  My husband will demand your head if you do not.”

      “I do not care, sweet goddess.  You have trapped me in your beauty.  My life means nothing without you in it.”

      “Do not say such things, my prince.  It is dangerous.  You cannot mean what you say.”

      “Oh, but I do, sweet lady.  Your eyes are like the depths of the ocean, and I am drowning within them.  Do not laugh at me, sweet lady.  I speak truly.  I pledge my life upon your supple lips.”

      “Stop.  You must stop.  It will be both our lives that are lost.”

      “I do not care.  I do not care if it cost the lives of thousands.  I want you.”

      “Please…oh, that feels good.  The gods must have taught you how to kiss.  Please stop, my handsome prince.  This must stop.   My husband – “

      “Your husband will die upon my sword, sweet lady.  He shall not stop us.”

       “Oh, handsome prince, you cannot stop him.  He is commander of one of the largest armies in the world.  No man can stop him.”

       “Then no man will, sweet lady.  We will disappear into the night.  He will have no idea where you have gone or where to find you.  We shall be together forever.  Adonis and Aphrodite.”

       “But, we are not the gods.  We cannot break the laws of man, and my husband will know.  He will kill us both.”

       “Sweet lady, be still.  Let me kiss you.  Let me give you bliss.”

       “But – “

       “Lay down, my love.  Let me lay beside you.”

       “But it will be our deaths, my prince.  I see that now.”

       “Then let us die, but in love.  Nothing can conquer love.  Our passion shall protect us.  In love, we will live forever.”

        “Oh, sweet prince, if only I could believe you.  If only I were the naïve child of my youth, I could sail away with you on your white ship into this dream of happiness, but I have grown up these years.  I have met cruelty.  I have seen the depths of man’s darkest nature.  My husband will seek the revenge of a thousand deaths.”

          “Do not cry, my love.  Please be calm.  The goddess of love herself blesses us.  Her son has already made me your victim.  My life belongs to you, beautiful lady.  We are meant to be together.  Light deserves light, and ours is a golden love.  Your husband shall stay here in the darkness where he belongs, alone.  You shall see.  The goddess will give us safe voyage, and then you shall be protected within the walls of my kingdom.  You will be safe, and more importantly, you will be loved. Now, lay still, and let me show you.”

         “Mmm… I do love you.

          “And, I love you as well, my sweet princess.  I give you my kingdom and myself.  Twenty thousand lives are yours.  We will worship you and keep you safe”

           “Are you sure?”

           “Yes, sweet princess.  That monster will never touch you again.”

                “Then, then, I give you myself.  My body as a gift to you, beautiful prince.  Every strand of golden hair, every inch of skin, the very depths of my soul.  Oh, you have the hands of Eros.”

                “And you the skin of Psyche.  I have never felt anything so wonderful.  There are no words to describe it, nothing to compare it to.  Lay with me.  We shall sail away from this hell.  Lay with me until the moon comes up to light our way.”

                “Yes, sweet prince.  I am yours.”

                “And, I yours, my beautiful Helen.  All the kingdom of Troy and I are yours.”

Danger at the Mid-High  by Rita Durrett

   “Allie, look over there!”
    “What am I supposed to be seeing, Lea?”
    “In line, the really pale guy in the Sea Hawks shirt.”
    “What about him?”
    "Can’t you see?”
    “See what, Lea? I don’t see anything.”
    “He’s a vampire!”
    “A vampire? Girl, are you insane?”
    “Look at his pale skin and red eyes.”
    “That doesn’t mean he’s a vampire, Lea.”
    “Sure it does, Allie. You read the book. Vampires are pale, don’t eat, and
don’t have a reflection.”
    “He has food, Lea.”
    “He’s fitting in.”
    “Lea, you do know vampires don’t really exist, don’t you?”
    “I can prove it. See.”
   “See what, Lea?”
    “Lunch is over and he didn’t eat a thing!”
   “Lea, you’ve lost it. I don’t have time for this, and can’t be late again. I’ll see you after Biology.”
***
    “Class, we have a new student, Brian Watson. Brian is from Seattle.”
    “OMG, I’ve got to text Lea.”
    “The Vampire from Seattle is in my class.”
    “What did I tell you? A rainy city, not eating, He’s a vampire.”
   “Allie, are you on your phone again? Put it away or you’ll lose it!”
   “Meet me after class.”
***
   “Lea, I thought Biology would never end.  I must be losing my mind. I’m starting to think you’re right.”
   “Why, Allie?”

“I looked over at Brian after Mr. Wade caught me texting you. His smile gave me chills down my spine, like he read my mind.”
   “I knew it, Allie! They can totally read minds. I’ve got to get to PE on time. I don’t want to run laps.”
***
    “Excuse me, Allie”
    “Sorry to bother you, but could you tell me how to get to the gymnasium?”
   “Um, Brian, um, it’s that way.”
    “Thanks, Allie, bye.”
   “That’s Lea’s class!”
***
    “Allie be careful, he knows.”
    “Knows what, Lea?”
    “Lea, did you get my text”
   “What’s taking her so long to answer? What if this vampire has read our minds? What if Lea is trying to warn me that Brian knows we know what he is? What if he ‘turned’ her into a vampire?” (note: shouldn't have quotation marks around italicized text)
***
   “Lea, are you okay? I’m so glad to see you! I couldn’t wait to get out of class so I’d know you were okay.”
   “You won’t believe it, Allie. We went outside for PE today. Brian didn’t do anything. He stayed in the shade the whole time and wore sunglasses. And he watched me. He was basically saying ‘I can read your mind, and I know you know’.”
    “Lea, you have no idea what you put me through by not answering my text! I thought he’d gotten you!  He stopped me in the hall, wanting to know where the gymnasium was. His look gave me chills.”
    “Lea, what if he really is a vampire?”
    “Allie, we have to find out and I have an idea how.”
    “I know that look, Lea. Trouble is never far behind. What are you thinking?”
   “Your mom is the counselor.”
    “So?”
   “So here’s what I want you to do. I’ll call the office and ask for your mom. When she answers the phone, I’ll distract her long enough for you to read through his file. It’s probably going to be out on her desk. Find out anything you can.”
   “Lea, what if I get caught?”
    “It’s your mom. What’s the worst that can happen? You get grounded? Don’t be a baby. Our lives depend on it.”
“Okay, Lea. Give me a minute before you call.”
***
   “Allie, what took so long, what happened?”
   “I read the file.”
   “Okay. So what did it say?”
   “Lea, Brian is…unusual. He has no pigment in his skin, eyes, or hair. He has to stay out of the sun as much as possible, and light hurts his eyes.”
   “I knew it! He really is a vampire! We’re in so much danger.”
   “Lea, Brian is an albino.”
   "An albino? You’re kidding!"
    “Lea, you’ve got to stop reading all those vampire books. Here’s my mom. I gotta go. Talk to you tomorrow!”
***
   “How was your day, Allie?”
   “Mom, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you!”
   “Let me unlock the car so you can get in. I’m going to put this stuff in the trunk.  I’ll be back in a minute.”
   “Mom, you do know I can see you in the rear-view mirror? You look silly talking to yourself.”
   “Allie, you’re being rude. You can see I’m talking to our new student, Brian.”
   “OMG, he is a vampire!”