Poison Blood, Book 2: Absolution Read online

  Chapter 16: Education

  By the time I returned to her, Ellie was sitting up on the bed, swallowing painfully. I recalled the moment I realised that the painful burning I’d endured for three days while I changed from mortal to immortal had compressed itself into a fiery ball and settled in my throat.

  It wasn’t exactly pleasant.

  At the same time, my breath caught when I saw just how beautiful she was. She was very pretty to start with, but after the conversion, she was inexpressibly wonderful to the eyes.

  I’d never seen anything like it.

  “So, it is done,” I said quietly to alter my train of thought. I should not be thinking of her this way, not after what I’d done to her.

  She was naked and covering herself with the bed-sheets, so I gathered her clothes and tossed them on the bed. I’d done that in under a second and it didn’t startle her – we see everything just as clearly as if we were moving in slow-motion. Ellie dressed just as quickly, without noticing it.

  “What’s done?” She gasped at her new voice. “What’s happened to me?”

  “You have become a vampire, Ellie,” I told her simply.

  She froze. I let her take it in. Obviously, she believed me. I went and picked her up in my arms, took her to the sofa and replaced the bloodstained sheets. Sitting on the edge of the bed myself, I began to initiate her into my world.

  I started with my own story, repeating most of what I’d told her friend Selma, and just like her friend, Ellie found it fascinating and came to sit next to me. She liked the idea of being stronger, faster, smarter, sparkling in the sunlight, and apparently it’s “genius” that we can’t enter anyone’s home or business without invitation.

  “Otherwise, what’s to stop us from robbing an entire street in one night and leaving no trace behind?”

  “Exactly,” I agreed, grinning.

  In my head, I was thinking that without this little glitch, what’s to stop us from massacring an entire street in one night and leaving no trace behind? No doubt, it would be a huge risk to take. Even if we left no fingerprints or evidence, even if we burnt down the street so the bodies would harbour no signs of being fed on by vampires, the humans would investigate and there’s always a possibility that they might just suspect something.

  As I expected, Ellie hated the idea of having red eyes.

  “They turn oil-black if you don’t feed for a while,” I assured her. She winced, not keen on such dark eyes either. “And you can always wear contacts.”

  “I don’t like wearing contacts,” she mumbled and I chuckled.

  The next step was to go over the rules. “One: you cannot tell another human you’re a vampire. Not a soul. Keep our existence a secret. You cannot go back to your old life because they will realise something is different.”

  “A lot’s different,” she scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Besides, I have no intentions of going back home. Ever.” The stubborn edge to her voice when she spoke of home still made me smile.

  “Two: you cannot do anything that will make the humans suspicious of you or our kind. Most nomads just keep to themselves and only let humans see them when absolutely necessary – like when they have to feed.”

  As I uttered the word feed, I swear I saw her… cringe. She knew I was referring to feeding on human blood and I’d expected her ruby red eyes to glint with thirst and hunger and need, to see her reach for her throat which burns more ferociously when contemplating the idea of drinking blood.

  But I saw none of those things.

  When she winced earlier, was that in relation to my mention of feeding rather than eye-colour as I’d assumed?

  “I’m sorry, Ellie, you must be thirsty. Would you like me to go and… hunt for you?”

  The expression on her face seemed to be one of utter disgust and… horror. She didn’t like the idea of me getting her first meal for her. Didn’t like the idea of a first meal.

  That’s when I remembered what Mac had said – Slayers would never take a human life, even after they turned into vampires. Born to protect humans, to disapprove of blood-drinkers and eliminate them, as a vampire, Ellie couldn’t even consider the possibility of hurting a mortal.

  Not even to satiate the painful thirst that flamed in her throat

  So, would Ellie never eat? How would she survive?

  “No… you don’t need to err… hunt for me, thanks. I’d like to… um, know all the rules first.”

  “Well, that’s it really,” I shrugged. “The major rule is to keep the secret and it encompasses a number of things,” I continued sternly. “Since our minds can think fast and about several things at once, it’s easy for us to determine whether our potential actions will in any way threaten to reveal the secret. One of the main risks to avoid is: creating another vampire and not teaching the newborn all the rules and regulations, failing to keep an eye on them.”

  “But you’ve taken that risk–”

  “The other thing is,” I cut her off before she could ask why I turned her, “you can’t not feed.”

  “I don’t understand,” she murmured. “You said we’re indestructible, immortal.”

  “We are immortal Ellie, but it doesn’t mean we can go without sustenance. Or not get ourselves killed. If you don’t feed for a significant length of time, you will go mad. Like a drug addict getting withdrawal symptoms. You’ll be so thirsty that you’ll grab and eat the first human you see, not caring where you are or who is watching. It’s suicide.”

  “I suppose the secret would be out,” she said under her breath. “But we’re so fast, we’d be out of their reach before they even made sense of what they saw. It wouldn’t get us killed.”

  “Oh yes it will,” I sighed.

  From the sound of her voice, the determination in the set of her mouth, it was evident that she was planning to refrain from feeding. And she really shouldn’t contemplate such a thought.

  I had to make her see sense.

  “We follow these rules religiously,” I told her sternly, “and it’s out of fear that should we rebel, we will incur such punishment that we’ll wish we weren’t born.”

  “I see,” she nodded. “We have a vampire king and queen, don’t we?”

  I laughed. “No, we have no monarchy but a… governing body. They refer to themselves as The System.”

  “Ooh, I’m scarred,” Ellie joked but listened intently as I explained the role the vampire government plays in preserving our way of life, protecting our secret. “You seem to know a lot about these guys,” she murmured and I realised I’d shared more insider knowledge with her than I should have. Particularly the gory details relating to how The System punished the law-breakers. “Did you ever get in trouble with them or something?” she asked curiously. I wanted to believe that there was some concern there too.

  Concern for me.

  I sighed as I realised that there wasn’t.

  I frowned as I admitted to myself that she didn’t feel about me the way I felt about her. What had passed between us last night didn’t mean the same thing to her. Didn’t mean as much.

  She would remember the night she lost her virginity as just that. The night she first had sex. And then got bitten by a vampire. It had been nothing more than that.

  But it had been everything to me.