Chapter 158: Chapter 158: Not a Vampire

"THE ONLY THIING YOU need to know is that I'm not a vampire. And I don't drink blood." She crossed her arms and frowned, but behind her defensive stance I could see that she was hurt by our reaction. I'd never seen the unflappable Phoebe Efoti looking so fragile.

Ruthie elbowed past Isaac and out of the car to hug Phoebe. "I believe you," she said. "You could never do that, even if you were a vampire."

"Thanks," said Phoebe, squeezing her back. "Anyway, there's no such thing as a vampire like you see in the movies. Just crazy ass akharu. If humans can have a psychopathic serial killer like Hannibal Lecter - and yes, he was based on a real guy - then akharu and usemi can, too."

There was a collective "Oh yeah" moment as we all nodded our heads. We couldn't argue with her logic. Killer werewolves and demented vampires could indeed simply be psychotic supernaturals. Every race had the potential for that kind of evil, and there were plenty of human examples throughout history.