They had been so kind to her, and had taken her in when she needed a job and a place to stay. It wouldn’t do to repay such kindness by bringing vampires to their doorstep.
Only after several hours had passed and no one came looking for her, had she begun the long trek back to her temporary home, keeping to the woods and off the roads, just in case.
Ana sighed and closed her eyes. For now, at least, they were safe.
Chapter 3 – Whew, That Was a Close One
B y the end of the day, Vlane’s healthy complexion started paling again. The vivid green of his eyes darkened, and with each passing hour, his heart beat increasingly slower until it stopped altogether. The warmth of his flesh had faded, and he was once again cool to the touch.
“Whatever it was, it was temporary.” Armand looked at Vlane thoughtfully, his index finger rubbing absently at his chin. For all intents and purposes, he looked as unaffected as ever, but through their blood bond, Vlane felt his relief.
Armand and Kristoff had watched over Vlane like mother hens all day, fearing the phenomenon may have been an attempt to make him weak and vulnerable. As a master vampire with his age, skill, and strength, Vlane was undefeatable any other way. If someone had discovered a way to make vampires frangible — even temporarily — they were all in grave danger.
Vlane lounged on the sofa, wearing the weariness of a child who’d spent the entire day at Disney World. During the last sixteen or so hours, he’d indulged in things unavailable to him as a vampire — eating until his stomach could not possibly hold another bite, relishing the textures and tastes he had not experienced in hundreds of years. He had basked in the sunshine, enjoying the way it felt upon his bare skin, warming him rather than burning. Reveled in the feel of his heart nearly bursting through his chest after running aggressive sprints. Derived pleasure from the strain upon muscles while performing even the simplest of tasks.
He savored every moment, having known no such sensations in a very, very long time.
Now that he was reverting back to his vampiric nature, he could not honestly say he was disappointed. Yes, he had enjoyed the day immensely, but he had forgotten how hard it was to be human. The inferior senses. The lack of strength and stamina. The inability to connect with others with a whisper of thought. Such things were foreign to him now. After all, he had only been a human for a mere three decades or so. He had been a vampire for more than five centuries.
And in truth, the blanket of vulnerability had left him feeling rather helpless. Had he not had his loyal brethren watching over him, it might have been far more distressing.
One day spent as a human had been more than enough. Still, he wouldn’t have given up this day for anything. Last night, it had been his most heartfelt wish to know what it was like to be human again, if only for a little while...
“What can you tell us?” Armand prodded.
Vlane regarded him thoughtfully. His eyes retained some green around the edges, but the familiar obsidian now filled the center and was expanding slowly outward. The glow of the summer sun clung to his normally pale complexion; it would probably take several days to fade completely.
“Not much, I’m afraid,” he admitted, rubbing at the day’s growth around his jaw. It felt strange; he hadn’t had facial hair in hundreds of years. If he shaved it now, it probably wouldn’t grow back unless he willed it to do so. Like everything else, it would remain static, frozen in time — which is why he had been waxing poetic about the continuously changing nature of humans in the first place.
“Surely something out of the ordinary must have happened,” Kristoff said, sipping from a wine glass holding a dark ruby liquid. It wasn’t wine, but the particular vintage of a middle-aged woman who was an untreated diabetic. Kristoff had a bit of a sweet tooth.
“My mind is a blank,”
Only after several hours had passed and no one came looking for her, had she begun the long trek back to her temporary home, keeping to the woods and off the roads, just in case.
Ana sighed and closed her eyes. For now, at least, they were safe.
Chapter 3 – Whew, That Was a Close One
B y the end of the day, Vlane’s healthy complexion started paling again. The vivid green of his eyes darkened, and with each passing hour, his heart beat increasingly slower until it stopped altogether. The warmth of his flesh had faded, and he was once again cool to the touch.
“Whatever it was, it was temporary.” Armand looked at Vlane thoughtfully, his index finger rubbing absently at his chin. For all intents and purposes, he looked as unaffected as ever, but through their blood bond, Vlane felt his relief.
Armand and Kristoff had watched over Vlane like mother hens all day, fearing the phenomenon may have been an attempt to make him weak and vulnerable. As a master vampire with his age, skill, and strength, Vlane was undefeatable any other way. If someone had discovered a way to make vampires frangible — even temporarily — they were all in grave danger.
Vlane lounged on the sofa, wearing the weariness of a child who’d spent the entire day at Disney World. During the last sixteen or so hours, he’d indulged in things unavailable to him as a vampire — eating until his stomach could not possibly hold another bite, relishing the textures and tastes he had not experienced in hundreds of years. He had basked in the sunshine, enjoying the way it felt upon his bare skin, warming him rather than burning. Reveled in the feel of his heart nearly bursting through his chest after running aggressive sprints. Derived pleasure from the strain upon muscles while performing even the simplest of tasks.
He savored every moment, having known no such sensations in a very, very long time.
Now that he was reverting back to his vampiric nature, he could not honestly say he was disappointed. Yes, he had enjoyed the day immensely, but he had forgotten how hard it was to be human. The inferior senses. The lack of strength and stamina. The inability to connect with others with a whisper of thought. Such things were foreign to him now. After all, he had only been a human for a mere three decades or so. He had been a vampire for more than five centuries.
And in truth, the blanket of vulnerability had left him feeling rather helpless. Had he not had his loyal brethren watching over him, it might have been far more distressing.
One day spent as a human had been more than enough. Still, he wouldn’t have given up this day for anything. Last night, it had been his most heartfelt wish to know what it was like to be human again, if only for a little while...
“What can you tell us?” Armand prodded.
Vlane regarded him thoughtfully. His eyes retained some green around the edges, but the familiar obsidian now filled the center and was expanding slowly outward. The glow of the summer sun clung to his normally pale complexion; it would probably take several days to fade completely.
“Not much, I’m afraid,” he admitted, rubbing at the day’s growth around his jaw. It felt strange; he hadn’t had facial hair in hundreds of years. If he shaved it now, it probably wouldn’t grow back unless he willed it to do so. Like everything else, it would remain static, frozen in time — which is why he had been waxing poetic about the continuously changing nature of humans in the first place.
“Surely something out of the ordinary must have happened,” Kristoff said, sipping from a wine glass holding a dark ruby liquid. It wasn’t wine, but the particular vintage of a middle-aged woman who was an untreated diabetic. Kristoff had a bit of a sweet tooth.
“My mind is a blank,”
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