Lilah Read Free Page B

of the latter, that satisfied
my cravings.
    It was a peaceful pastime to doze in this tree.
The sight of the nuns going about their dreary chores gave me moments of
tranquility to reflect on those other women I had seduced in times gone by. However
these peaceful reflections ended the day something new caught my eye.
    For several years I had travelled across land
in search of new company and adventures. Lewis, my elder, did not like my
leaving, and though I expressed some loyalty to our circle, I belonged to no-one . Our coven was nice to come back to, to be among
family, but it was just a question of time before I felt the burning desire for
more exploring.
    Once again, I found myself back at my favourite
haunts and hiding places watching the locals go about their pointless deeds.
    It was on one such day from my spot in the tree
that my eyes rested on a girl who immediately took my interest. Though humans
might look at me as an abomination, compassion was something I felt towards
particular earthly creatures. And I had on occasion enjoyed the company of a
human girl often more pleasurable than my own kind ; more eager to please.
    I cannot say that I sought the companionship of
male humans as a general rule but I had met many over the centuries who I had grown particularly fond of in one way or another.
Some of my best workers and scouts were humans and like any working
relationship it was not hard to form a bond.
    Many years ago, one man in my employ was Frederik.
I had raised him from birth into a hulk of a man and he had repaid me with
loyalty. He knew that I had special powers and had become accustomed to the
darker practices needed to sustain me. He would often go into town and come
home with much gossip so that it was easier for me to rid the streets of
violent filth. When Frederik died years ago, I had felt a loss but this was not
something I admitted to others of my kind. Any such feelings towards humans
were meant to be a sign of weakness. It was my belief that humans were put here
for many reasons and not just to sustain the life force of the strigoi.
    This particular day I had ventured a little
closer to the monastery to examine the girl. She was not so meticulous with her
garments as the other, and wisps of her fair hair escaped her loosened habit.
It was her unpretentious beauty that initially attracted me. Her profile showed
a small, straight nose and pointed chin, and her eyes were large and pale,
ringed in a darker blue, like the glass eyes of a doll I had seen in a shop
window in Venice.
    She was surrounded by children, something I
much admired about women ; their protection of the
young. Her darting eyes and her quick, deliberate movements told me she was
more streetwise than many of her kind. It made me think that perhaps she had
seen more of life than her habit suggested. There was a confidence about her
and a strength that few humans carried successfully. I have always been keenly
attracted to the more daring and charismatic of the female order; those with a
will of their own.
    This was someone who appeared dissatisfied with
dull duties, indicating that perhaps this occupation was only temporary. Her
abandonment of propriety in the way she played with the children like a child
herself was intriguing, giving me the desire to meet her. Oh, you might say
that she was of the holy orders and why would she want anything to do with me?
Again, women found me somewhat of a find; many had stowed me away secretively
into their journals knowing that perhaps I was not good for them, their hearts
eventually breaking when I failed to turn up without a fond farewell.
    There was another girl too, a few years
younger. I did not notice her at first; her movements were steady and focused.
Tall and graceful with narrow brown eyes and high angular cheeks reminding me
of a sculptured Roman queen. Her movements were fluid and gentle, even to reach
for the wrist of a restless child. Every so often the light would catch the
gold in