of mind, for he stretched out his hand and indicated the chair I’d recently vacated.
I reluctantly sat back down. He did the same.
‘All right, so a re you really what my aunt says you are?’
He leaned forward in his seat, ‘Surely Judith…? ’
‘Yes,’ I interrupted, nodding my head ‘… but I want to hear it from you.’
He cocked his head to one side and regarded me, a slight frown marring the perfect smoothness of his brow. ‘Are you afraid of the word, vampire ?’
‘No.’ Actually yes, but there was no way I was telling him that.
‘Really? Then you’re very brave.’ The smile came back. ‘That’s exactly what I am—a real-life vampire—and I need to feed on human blood to survive, although we prefer to call ourselves, Brethren. Vampire is the human term.’
I blinked. Well, at least he called a spade a spade. Then his words reminded me of something Matt had said. Bodies emptied of blood . Is this the killer Matt’s hunting? The question hung in my mind. ‘How much blood do you need?’ I asked and shifted further back into my seat.
His eyes narrowed. ‘Are you afraid of me?’
‘No, I’m not!’ I said rather too quickly.
‘Then why are you creating a distance between us? You’re nervous, I can smell it!’
‘Sure it’s just not my deodorant? I’ve had a busy day.’ It was out of my mouth before I could stop myself, but the way he could read my emotions rankled me. I bit down on my lip to prevent any further outbursts.
Alec lifted one eyebrow and a broad smile lit his face. My breath nearly left me, it was that dazzling. ‘Maybe I was wrong,’ he said and sat back in his chair. ‘Several swallows are all I need to keep me alive.’ His gaze slowly—and deliberately, it seemed to me—slid to my throat.
Well, if he thought he was going to get any blood out of me tonight he had another thing coming! ‘So… you would never need to—um, drain a person of all their blood?’
‘Not necessary. Only a juvenile vampire a few days old, and who was still learning to control his or her appetite, would feed till they made themselves sick. The blood lust is very powerful when a human is newly transformed. It takes time and training to bring it under control.’
‘I see. L ike a kid gorging themselves until they throw up and never do it again.’
‘Exactly. But for a mature one to do such a thing and leave the body to be found by the police would be totally irresponsible. We’re trying to live among humans inconspicuously, not draw attention to ourselves.’
It made sense. As an experienced primary school teacher I’d learnt how to spot the lie. Ther e was none in Alec Munro’s eyes—once they moved off my throat! ‘How many vamp- Brethren are there in the city?’
‘Not that many. Couple of hundred.’
Another eye-opener. Matt had quite a job on his hands if Alec Munro wasn’t the only vampire in town. ‘Then why don’t we, humans, know about it?’
‘Precisely what we try to avoid. We abide by certain rules too and one of them forbids the deliberate killing of humans although, every now and then, the blood lust can lead to… how can I put it? Accidents. Allowances have to be made. Generally, we feed from willing donors. There are enough people in this city who know about us and are quite willing to share their blood,’ he said. ‘They believe they’re doing a service to the local vampire community. I guess it’s their way of giving to the blood bank.’ A wry smile lit his face.
I blinked. The things I’ve been ignorant of! ‘I’m glad you don’t kill.’
‘I didn’t say that, and I certainly wouldn’t leave the body to be found by anyone.’ Alec sat back in his seat and watched me. Whether he was playing games with me or not, I wasn’t sure. But if he was my aunt’s guardian and he was now mine, I had nothing to fear from him. He needed me just as much as I needed him.
I leaned forward in my seat. ‘That’s because you don’t need to as
I reluctantly sat back down. He did the same.
‘All right, so a re you really what my aunt says you are?’
He leaned forward in his seat, ‘Surely Judith…? ’
‘Yes,’ I interrupted, nodding my head ‘… but I want to hear it from you.’
He cocked his head to one side and regarded me, a slight frown marring the perfect smoothness of his brow. ‘Are you afraid of the word, vampire ?’
‘No.’ Actually yes, but there was no way I was telling him that.
‘Really? Then you’re very brave.’ The smile came back. ‘That’s exactly what I am—a real-life vampire—and I need to feed on human blood to survive, although we prefer to call ourselves, Brethren. Vampire is the human term.’
I blinked. Well, at least he called a spade a spade. Then his words reminded me of something Matt had said. Bodies emptied of blood . Is this the killer Matt’s hunting? The question hung in my mind. ‘How much blood do you need?’ I asked and shifted further back into my seat.
His eyes narrowed. ‘Are you afraid of me?’
‘No, I’m not!’ I said rather too quickly.
‘Then why are you creating a distance between us? You’re nervous, I can smell it!’
‘Sure it’s just not my deodorant? I’ve had a busy day.’ It was out of my mouth before I could stop myself, but the way he could read my emotions rankled me. I bit down on my lip to prevent any further outbursts.
Alec lifted one eyebrow and a broad smile lit his face. My breath nearly left me, it was that dazzling. ‘Maybe I was wrong,’ he said and sat back in his chair. ‘Several swallows are all I need to keep me alive.’ His gaze slowly—and deliberately, it seemed to me—slid to my throat.
Well, if he thought he was going to get any blood out of me tonight he had another thing coming! ‘So… you would never need to—um, drain a person of all their blood?’
‘Not necessary. Only a juvenile vampire a few days old, and who was still learning to control his or her appetite, would feed till they made themselves sick. The blood lust is very powerful when a human is newly transformed. It takes time and training to bring it under control.’
‘I see. L ike a kid gorging themselves until they throw up and never do it again.’
‘Exactly. But for a mature one to do such a thing and leave the body to be found by the police would be totally irresponsible. We’re trying to live among humans inconspicuously, not draw attention to ourselves.’
It made sense. As an experienced primary school teacher I’d learnt how to spot the lie. Ther e was none in Alec Munro’s eyes—once they moved off my throat! ‘How many vamp- Brethren are there in the city?’
‘Not that many. Couple of hundred.’
Another eye-opener. Matt had quite a job on his hands if Alec Munro wasn’t the only vampire in town. ‘Then why don’t we, humans, know about it?’
‘Precisely what we try to avoid. We abide by certain rules too and one of them forbids the deliberate killing of humans although, every now and then, the blood lust can lead to… how can I put it? Accidents. Allowances have to be made. Generally, we feed from willing donors. There are enough people in this city who know about us and are quite willing to share their blood,’ he said. ‘They believe they’re doing a service to the local vampire community. I guess it’s their way of giving to the blood bank.’ A wry smile lit his face.
I blinked. The things I’ve been ignorant of! ‘I’m glad you don’t kill.’
‘I didn’t say that, and I certainly wouldn’t leave the body to be found by anyone.’ Alec sat back in his seat and watched me. Whether he was playing games with me or not, I wasn’t sure. But if he was my aunt’s guardian and he was now mine, I had nothing to fear from him. He needed me just as much as I needed him.
I leaned forward in my seat. ‘That’s because you don’t need to as
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