called the police, and had him arrested for attempted breaking and entering. His various bruises were obviously my pathetic attempts at self-defence.’
‘What about his lack of blood or holes in his neck?’ I persisted.
‘By the time he appears in the Magistrates’ Court his blood will have replenished itself and there are no marks on his neck.’
I wanted to ask how the blood had been taken but felt afraid to.
‘I extracted the blood straight from a vein, by means of tubes and machinery, in much the same way as a nurse would, from a blood donor. Which, in fact, he was.’ Will smiled at his own joke.
‘Where the hell did you get that kind of equipment? And stop taking questions out of my head.’
‘Money buys most things,’ was the reply. ‘Your questions are bombarding me somewhat at the moment and it is a little difficult to differentiate the ones spoken aloud to the ones you are thinking.’
That could be a problem if I was thinking about escaping at any time.
‘I would not advise that,’ Will said, proving my point. ‘You would never survive without my guidance.’
‘Who guided you?’
His face became impassive again, his eyes unfathomable, although they glittered like angry emeralds. ‘It is a long and extremely unpleasant story.’
I decided to change the subject fast.
‘Will I get better?’
‘Better?’ He threw me a quizzical look. ‘What
do
you mean, child?’
‘Better at being a vampire,’ I replied, frowning at him. ‘I seem to be pretty useless at it so far.’
He moved closer and I stared up at him.
‘Now that you are beginning to feed, you will be fine. I am the best teacher you could have, after all.’
I searched his face for sarcasm and found none. He seemed so confident, who was I to burst his bubble?
I decided, however, not to tell him about my returning memories, I wasn’t ready to confide in him. He was too arrogant … too controlling … too … too bloody everything actually. If he could pick up on my thoughts, he was welcome to the memories as well. If I couldn’t make any sense out of them yet, then he sure as hell wouldn’t be able to.
‘Would you care to take a walk?’
I looked at him in amazement. Anywhere away from this dank cellar would be sublime. ‘Walk? Where?’
‘Outside, of course.’
Outside? In the open air? That had to be his best idea yet.
I wondered whether it was day or night. ‘Is it sunny?’
He favoured me with a mocking glance. ‘I sincerely hope not.’
I just stared at him again.
‘Vampires are unable to go out in the sun, little fledgling,’ he said. ‘We are creatures of the night. Surely you knew that?’
Yes, of course I had known that, I’d watched loads of
Buffy
reruns with everyone else, and I’ve often ogled Eric Northman from
True Blood
too, but somehow I hadn’t likened any of it to my own state. Fiction was fiction. But now the realisation hit me like a sledgehammer: it would mean living in darkness for eternity.
‘You mean I’ll never see the sun again?’
He already knew how much I hated the dark.
He looked pensive for a moment. ‘You can look at it through darkened glass, but you will never again be able to go out in direct sunlight. As a fledgling, you will not even awaken until after the sun has set. For that, I am truly sorry.’
I let this latest bombshell sink in and looked disconsolately at the floor.
‘Would you like to take a bath?’ He changed the subject swiftly.
I looked up in surprise and he gave me a wry smile. ‘I am trying to make this easier for you, but you will have to meet me halfway, as I am considerably out of practice.’
I decided to humour him. ‘A bath would be good. Different clothes would be even better.’
He nodded and motioned me to follow him back through the doorway.
Will led me back through the other cellar – the man had gone, of course, and there was no trace of him, just a lingering smell of blood, which probably only a vampire would notice.
We
‘What about his lack of blood or holes in his neck?’ I persisted.
‘By the time he appears in the Magistrates’ Court his blood will have replenished itself and there are no marks on his neck.’
I wanted to ask how the blood had been taken but felt afraid to.
‘I extracted the blood straight from a vein, by means of tubes and machinery, in much the same way as a nurse would, from a blood donor. Which, in fact, he was.’ Will smiled at his own joke.
‘Where the hell did you get that kind of equipment? And stop taking questions out of my head.’
‘Money buys most things,’ was the reply. ‘Your questions are bombarding me somewhat at the moment and it is a little difficult to differentiate the ones spoken aloud to the ones you are thinking.’
That could be a problem if I was thinking about escaping at any time.
‘I would not advise that,’ Will said, proving my point. ‘You would never survive without my guidance.’
‘Who guided you?’
His face became impassive again, his eyes unfathomable, although they glittered like angry emeralds. ‘It is a long and extremely unpleasant story.’
I decided to change the subject fast.
‘Will I get better?’
‘Better?’ He threw me a quizzical look. ‘What
do
you mean, child?’
‘Better at being a vampire,’ I replied, frowning at him. ‘I seem to be pretty useless at it so far.’
He moved closer and I stared up at him.
‘Now that you are beginning to feed, you will be fine. I am the best teacher you could have, after all.’
I searched his face for sarcasm and found none. He seemed so confident, who was I to burst his bubble?
I decided, however, not to tell him about my returning memories, I wasn’t ready to confide in him. He was too arrogant … too controlling … too … too bloody everything actually. If he could pick up on my thoughts, he was welcome to the memories as well. If I couldn’t make any sense out of them yet, then he sure as hell wouldn’t be able to.
‘Would you care to take a walk?’
I looked at him in amazement. Anywhere away from this dank cellar would be sublime. ‘Walk? Where?’
‘Outside, of course.’
Outside? In the open air? That had to be his best idea yet.
I wondered whether it was day or night. ‘Is it sunny?’
He favoured me with a mocking glance. ‘I sincerely hope not.’
I just stared at him again.
‘Vampires are unable to go out in the sun, little fledgling,’ he said. ‘We are creatures of the night. Surely you knew that?’
Yes, of course I had known that, I’d watched loads of
Buffy
reruns with everyone else, and I’ve often ogled Eric Northman from
True Blood
too, but somehow I hadn’t likened any of it to my own state. Fiction was fiction. But now the realisation hit me like a sledgehammer: it would mean living in darkness for eternity.
‘You mean I’ll never see the sun again?’
He already knew how much I hated the dark.
He looked pensive for a moment. ‘You can look at it through darkened glass, but you will never again be able to go out in direct sunlight. As a fledgling, you will not even awaken until after the sun has set. For that, I am truly sorry.’
I let this latest bombshell sink in and looked disconsolately at the floor.
‘Would you like to take a bath?’ He changed the subject swiftly.
I looked up in surprise and he gave me a wry smile. ‘I am trying to make this easier for you, but you will have to meet me halfway, as I am considerably out of practice.’
I decided to humour him. ‘A bath would be good. Different clothes would be even better.’
He nodded and motioned me to follow him back through the doorway.
Will led me back through the other cellar – the man had gone, of course, and there was no trace of him, just a lingering smell of blood, which probably only a vampire would notice.
We
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