Drayton, the Taker (A Drayton Short Story)

Some call him a monster. Some call him mercy.

Drayton once believed he was a vampire. He doesn't know what he is. Or why he has lived for thousands of years. He takes not his victim's blood but the silky essence of their soul during their last breath. Often mistaken for the Angel of Death, his victims sometimes ask for forgiveness. Sometimes he delivers. After all, he is not without sin.

When he discovers Andrew Drummond dying on the roadside, he does what he must. But in Andrew's final breat...