Death on a Barge
Ron, a young fish-shop worker, finds himself entranced by a mysterious woman named Hyacinth who sits every night on a barge in the harbor. Thugh desperately lonely, she cannot come to him until the water drains — something related to a Dark Secret that Hyacinth and her father are keeping.
- Act of True Love: Hyacinth manages to restrain herself from draining Ron and tell him to stay away because she loves him.
- Bittersweet Ending: Hyacinth can't hurt anyone anymore, but she had to die (at the hands of her father) to accomplish it. Also, all her victims are just as dead (or maybe undead).
- Cannot Cross Running Water: Hyacinth can't walk over or through running water, which her father exploits to keep her from killing.
- Friendly Neighborhood Vampire: Hyacinth doesn't seem to want to drain people, but there's only so much she can do to control her vampiric hunger. She tries to get Ron to stay away from her.
- Staking the Loved One: After Jake gets attacked and drained, Ron goes to confront Hyacinth and ultimately plans to kill her by carrying her out into the sunlight. She suggests a stake her father keeps in a chest instead, but Ron can't bring himself to go through with it. Luckily, her father does the job before Hyacinth can lose control.
- Too Dumb to Live: Ron, who continues trying to see Hyacinth after being told that some mysterious deaths happened shortly before she left her last known home. He scoffs at the idea that she's a vampire, but her being a serial killer would hardly prove less dangerous. He doesn't die, but only because Hyacinth regains control at the last minute.
