into the ocean, after stripping it.” She went on complaining about the loss of her car and how some of her jewelry and her purse were on the front seat at the time.
She was an attractive woman; she wore a dark silk dress and a long string of pearls. She of course did not look her age, and she would never tell anyone what her age was; but by the way she spoke of the Russian Revolution he knew she wasn’t as young as she looked.
A petite blonde waitress came in with a tray of cakes and pastries, a pot of tea for him, and another teacup already filled for her.
He simply did not like the idea of eating in front of any of Them. Especially not while They were drinking That. They told him more than once it was from slaughterhouses, but did he really know that for sure?
“No, Irina. No one has discovered the remains of your car.” She was wearing him down; his voice betrayed it.
“Oh well. It’s just making me upset. Let’s talk of something else. How is the little girl? What is her name?”
“Jennifer.”
“Still all alone?”
He winced. His wife died five years ago when the restaurant where she worked was held up by an armed robber who was high on crack and carrying a machine gun; she was gunned down along with several other innocent people.
“Yes.” he answered simply.
“A little girl needs a mother.”
Oh hell. “Irina. I didn’t come for any social reason. There’s been a murder.”
“And so, the big thug who called himself Lord Whoever, his name escapes me now, sent his little thugs into the helpless village to abuse the peasants. They torched their simple homes, killed the animals, and so on. Hey, didn’t I tell you all this already?”
“How awful. This really happened? No, you really didn’t tell me all of this. You stopped, remember? Because you got worried someone might hear you. I’m sorry I said that thing out loud. I feel really stupid again.” She was now flat on the couch in the darkness, with the old hand made woolen blanket to cover her. The only light came in through the window, letting in the glow from the moon and stars.
She listened as he moved about quietly through the dark. He got up suddenly to go into the small kitchen to satisfy his ceaseless yet strangely civilized hunger. “And so then the people became extremely terrified and told the soldiers of the vampire who hunted the deer by night. In those days, no one questioned that. It was fact, simple as that. Well, the soldiers brought word back to their lord and his mind began to work when he got the information—”
“What do you mean?” she interrupted. He returned with a full bottle in his hand and sat by her once again. She felt that she should be made nervous by this, but he was being well-fed, she reasoned. And what did it matter, anyway, if he did suddenly turn on her in the dark of night when she was vulnerable. Wasn’t that what she really wanted?
She didn’t know anymore.
“You people today know very little of our history. We were not always savagely hunted by the fabled mobs of peasants carrying torches, chasing us through the woods with hounds. No. In ancient times, when Rome ruled the world we were treated almost like gods. On the surface, that sounds good, but not quite. There are tales of one sect that would like to keep one of us, always only one, easier to keep that way, and once captured we were not allowed to leave the temple. They say we could have anything we demanded for comfort, except freedom. Another group of people in Eastern Europe would encourage us to join their warriors to intimidate their enemies, we could always find a job that way as a paid mercenary, paid in money, or in other ways.”
“Would you be good at it?” she wondered out loud.
“Excuse me?” he did not fully understand the question.
“As a warrior, I mean?” he did appear to be very strong, though he was thin and pale.
“Not me personally. I’m the type who just hangs around and watches TV all night, when
She was an attractive woman; she wore a dark silk dress and a long string of pearls. She of course did not look her age, and she would never tell anyone what her age was; but by the way she spoke of the Russian Revolution he knew she wasn’t as young as she looked.
A petite blonde waitress came in with a tray of cakes and pastries, a pot of tea for him, and another teacup already filled for her.
He simply did not like the idea of eating in front of any of Them. Especially not while They were drinking That. They told him more than once it was from slaughterhouses, but did he really know that for sure?
“No, Irina. No one has discovered the remains of your car.” She was wearing him down; his voice betrayed it.
“Oh well. It’s just making me upset. Let’s talk of something else. How is the little girl? What is her name?”
“Jennifer.”
“Still all alone?”
He winced. His wife died five years ago when the restaurant where she worked was held up by an armed robber who was high on crack and carrying a machine gun; she was gunned down along with several other innocent people.
“Yes.” he answered simply.
“A little girl needs a mother.”
Oh hell. “Irina. I didn’t come for any social reason. There’s been a murder.”
“And so, the big thug who called himself Lord Whoever, his name escapes me now, sent his little thugs into the helpless village to abuse the peasants. They torched their simple homes, killed the animals, and so on. Hey, didn’t I tell you all this already?”
“How awful. This really happened? No, you really didn’t tell me all of this. You stopped, remember? Because you got worried someone might hear you. I’m sorry I said that thing out loud. I feel really stupid again.” She was now flat on the couch in the darkness, with the old hand made woolen blanket to cover her. The only light came in through the window, letting in the glow from the moon and stars.
She listened as he moved about quietly through the dark. He got up suddenly to go into the small kitchen to satisfy his ceaseless yet strangely civilized hunger. “And so then the people became extremely terrified and told the soldiers of the vampire who hunted the deer by night. In those days, no one questioned that. It was fact, simple as that. Well, the soldiers brought word back to their lord and his mind began to work when he got the information—”
“What do you mean?” she interrupted. He returned with a full bottle in his hand and sat by her once again. She felt that she should be made nervous by this, but he was being well-fed, she reasoned. And what did it matter, anyway, if he did suddenly turn on her in the dark of night when she was vulnerable. Wasn’t that what she really wanted?
She didn’t know anymore.
“You people today know very little of our history. We were not always savagely hunted by the fabled mobs of peasants carrying torches, chasing us through the woods with hounds. No. In ancient times, when Rome ruled the world we were treated almost like gods. On the surface, that sounds good, but not quite. There are tales of one sect that would like to keep one of us, always only one, easier to keep that way, and once captured we were not allowed to leave the temple. They say we could have anything we demanded for comfort, except freedom. Another group of people in Eastern Europe would encourage us to join their warriors to intimidate their enemies, we could always find a job that way as a paid mercenary, paid in money, or in other ways.”
“Would you be good at it?” she wondered out loud.
“Excuse me?” he did not fully understand the question.
“As a warrior, I mean?” he did appear to be very strong, though he was thin and pale.
“Not me personally. I’m the type who just hangs around and watches TV all night, when
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