can you?”
Frankie was beginning to feel uncomfortable.
“ If you trained your ability it would give you greater control over it, perhaps even the ability to block those visions you don’t want.”
“ I have to go,” she stood up and headed for the door.
“ Frankie, please wait. I’m sorry.”
She paused, stopped by the sincerity in his voice.
“ Stay, please.”
She turned slowly and in her eyes he could see a lifetime of rejection.
“ You have no idea how wonderful it is to talk of what I am so freely,” Alex explained. “I’m sorry if I overstepped my boundaries.”
“ I really do have to-”
“ You could question me. Ask me anything, I will answer honestly.” She still looked torn. He held up three fingers. “Scouts honour.”
A reluctant smile finally broke through. “You were never a boy scout.”
“ No. I ate a few, does that count? I’m kidding,” he told her when she looked appalled. “I actually have no need kill these days.”
Frankie took a deep breath and sat back down. “I’m sorry. I know I have a lot of issues. I even tried therapy once.”
“ Did it help?”
“ Hardly. I nearly got sectioned.”
Two hours later Frankie was settled. She’d graduated to whisky and Coke, kicked her shoes off and was enjoying an evening completely free of censoring herself. Frankie told him stories of the dirty secrets she’d seen and Alex had told her of his travels, of his experiences of history.
The club had opened and they could hear the muffled beat of the music through the walls.
“ So how old are you, exactly?” she asked.
“ Hard to say with any accuracy, but nearly 700. I was born here, in Scotland, near Dunfermline.”
“ And how did you become a vampire?”
“ Ah, well there was a woman.”
“ Isn’t that a bit of a cliché?” she teased.
“ A lot of a cliché, actually, but there’s a reason why things become clichés.” He looked up at the ceiling but Frankie thought he was looking into the past. “I had joined the church, or rather been forced to and I wasn’t happy about it. One evening I was walking the grounds. I was supposed to be meditating but my anger issues were hindering me somewhat, and that’s when I came across her.
“ She was beautiful. I offered her assistance thinking she was lost but she said she was just taking a walk herself. She showed up every night for two weeks and I was infatuated. She seduced me with tales of far off lands and adventures I would never have while stuck in the monastery.
“ Then she told me she was leaving and asked me to come with her. I didn’t need asking twice. The next night we ran away together. She took me to her house and showed me what she truly was. I didn’t care. I didn’t think anything as beautiful as her could be evil. So she made love to me and when I woke up I was a vampire.”
“ So sex turns you into a vampire?”
He laughed. “No, I was just being polite. After we’d made love she drank my blood until I was nearly dead, then I fed off her.”
“ How long does it take? I mean to come back from death.”
“ Three days, give or take.”
“ And where is she now?”
“ We had a good run, stayed together for about fifteen years but it’s hard for us. We’re not naturally inclined to pair up.”
“ Then why did she turn you?”
“ I think she was lonely. It’s hard always having to hide what we are.”
“ But isn’t there a way you could still be together?”
“ What we feed on, the blood we ingest whether human or another vampire is full of power. It’s almost magical. When we’re first turned we’re full of our sire’s magic and that allows us to stay together, synchronises us almost. It means we can teach our children what they are, how to handle their power, how to hide.” He sighed. “But as we feed off more and more people that initial harmony is overpowered with human life force. The disharmony brings out our true natures and eventually drives us
Frankie was beginning to feel uncomfortable.
“ If you trained your ability it would give you greater control over it, perhaps even the ability to block those visions you don’t want.”
“ I have to go,” she stood up and headed for the door.
“ Frankie, please wait. I’m sorry.”
She paused, stopped by the sincerity in his voice.
“ Stay, please.”
She turned slowly and in her eyes he could see a lifetime of rejection.
“ You have no idea how wonderful it is to talk of what I am so freely,” Alex explained. “I’m sorry if I overstepped my boundaries.”
“ I really do have to-”
“ You could question me. Ask me anything, I will answer honestly.” She still looked torn. He held up three fingers. “Scouts honour.”
A reluctant smile finally broke through. “You were never a boy scout.”
“ No. I ate a few, does that count? I’m kidding,” he told her when she looked appalled. “I actually have no need kill these days.”
Frankie took a deep breath and sat back down. “I’m sorry. I know I have a lot of issues. I even tried therapy once.”
“ Did it help?”
“ Hardly. I nearly got sectioned.”
Two hours later Frankie was settled. She’d graduated to whisky and Coke, kicked her shoes off and was enjoying an evening completely free of censoring herself. Frankie told him stories of the dirty secrets she’d seen and Alex had told her of his travels, of his experiences of history.
The club had opened and they could hear the muffled beat of the music through the walls.
“ So how old are you, exactly?” she asked.
“ Hard to say with any accuracy, but nearly 700. I was born here, in Scotland, near Dunfermline.”
“ And how did you become a vampire?”
“ Ah, well there was a woman.”
“ Isn’t that a bit of a cliché?” she teased.
“ A lot of a cliché, actually, but there’s a reason why things become clichés.” He looked up at the ceiling but Frankie thought he was looking into the past. “I had joined the church, or rather been forced to and I wasn’t happy about it. One evening I was walking the grounds. I was supposed to be meditating but my anger issues were hindering me somewhat, and that’s when I came across her.
“ She was beautiful. I offered her assistance thinking she was lost but she said she was just taking a walk herself. She showed up every night for two weeks and I was infatuated. She seduced me with tales of far off lands and adventures I would never have while stuck in the monastery.
“ Then she told me she was leaving and asked me to come with her. I didn’t need asking twice. The next night we ran away together. She took me to her house and showed me what she truly was. I didn’t care. I didn’t think anything as beautiful as her could be evil. So she made love to me and when I woke up I was a vampire.”
“ So sex turns you into a vampire?”
He laughed. “No, I was just being polite. After we’d made love she drank my blood until I was nearly dead, then I fed off her.”
“ How long does it take? I mean to come back from death.”
“ Three days, give or take.”
“ And where is she now?”
“ We had a good run, stayed together for about fifteen years but it’s hard for us. We’re not naturally inclined to pair up.”
“ Then why did she turn you?”
“ I think she was lonely. It’s hard always having to hide what we are.”
“ But isn’t there a way you could still be together?”
“ What we feed on, the blood we ingest whether human or another vampire is full of power. It’s almost magical. When we’re first turned we’re full of our sire’s magic and that allows us to stay together, synchronises us almost. It means we can teach our children what they are, how to handle their power, how to hide.” He sighed. “But as we feed off more and more people that initial harmony is overpowered with human life force. The disharmony brings out our true natures and eventually drives us
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