Page 127 of Mortal Sins

was all shiny and new then, packed like crazy all the time. And I remember meeting this guy. Came in

a few times a week, sang like a damn angel. Called himself Harold. Regular for a few years, then

poof. He vanishes.

“About ten years later, he shows up again. Maybe 1997, I think. Same guy, same voice, hasn’t changed

a bit. I knew it was him. He kept trying to tell me that I was mistaken. Says his name is Lance now,

but hmph, I never could forget how that little darling sang.

“Sticks around for a while, disappears again, pops back up after another decade has gone by. And he

goes again with this bullshit, trying to tell me we never met before.”

“He kept coming back to the same bar,” Snod said softly.

“And they say vampires are supposed to be clever, right?” Rees laughed. “I think by the third time he

came back it was maybe, eh, 2013. Somewhere in there. It’s been almost thirty years now, introduces

himself this time as Frankie. I had gotten old and gray, and Frankie hadn’t aged a bit.

“He still won’t admit that it’s been him all of this time, so I play dumb and carry on like it’s nothing.

My wife had just left me and I guess I wanted a friend. Frankie didn’t care that I was wearing dresses

and I think he wanted a friend, too. Figured that’s why he finally told me his real name. So, we get to

talking about all kinds of things. Fashion, history, books. He’s at the bar almost every day.

“And then one fuckin’ night, some bitch ass punks came in with a gun and itchy fingers.”

Snod’s jaw tensed. “They were going to rob you.”

“They were gonna kill me and then rob me,” Rees corrected. “Easier to take what you want from a

corpse. I tried to get Frankie to leave, but he wouldn’t budge. He jumped right at the gun, and I saw

him get shot. Saw him take the full clip. And he was fine. Fucking fine.”

“I imagine you had some questions after that.”

“You bet your damn ass I did!” Rees exclaimed. “Cops came and arrested the guys. They were all

strung out on God knows what. Cops didn’t listen to their screaming about some freak being

bulletproof, thank God. They finally left, and I had to help Frankie pull all those slugs out of him. I

watched the holes close right up. That’s when he finally told me.”

“How did you react?” Snod asked curiously.

“How the fuck do you think?” Rees cackled. “I freaked the fuck out. But Frankie was my friend; he’d

just saved my life. We got through it.”

“How could you rectify being friends with a monster?”