Page 77Together alone

Her eyes were so vividly silver that I kept staring at them. They reminded me of the jewelry I wore, making me miss them at this very moment. For some reason Seriph looked like the girl from the story, if a little older. But since she had been only human and hadn't even been born at the time of my grandmother's story, it was just a remembrance.

Seriph was waking up very smoothly, looking around with a smile on her face. Did I look like that when I woke up for the first time as a vampire?

She looked up, back in my eyes. "Interesting. Much easier to see in low light now."

She caressed her own skin for a moment. "Though I'm still very sensitive, it's a little easier to bare. Could you bite me, please?"

A little surprised, I took her wrist in my hand again to bit it, not too deep as I had no desire to drink her blood again. I still felt tingly all over, with her moving against me causing shivers to run all over my body. And it looked like she felt the same. Even just holding her wrist made the hairs on her arm stand up and take notice.

As soon as my teeth pierced her skin once more, she fainted, but less deep and slower than previously. As soon as I released her, her eyes were open again and nodded to herself. I could see her agile mind working behind it.

After a few blinks she spoke again. "It's still intense, but over time, I think I can handle it."

"Did it hurt."

She smiled. "Quite the contrary. I assume most of your victims would quite like the experience."

As I breathed in, I noticed a subtle musky smell on the air, but I couldn't place it. Or my mind didn't want to. It was still there when Seriph stood up. She moved differently, not yet all her muscles under control. But, it didn't look like that lack of control would last long; every move was a test, every flick of her fingers a trial. She knew exactly what she was doing and was making sure she knew her body before she needed it to move again.

"Are you alright?" I softly asked.

She smiled. "Yes, it's very interesting. Any weaknesses I should know of?"

Seriph stared moving around the room, almost dancing circular around the candle. Feeling her new body, the limitations, the possibilities. It was very graceful to look at, she really must have had dancing lessons when she was younger, something I wondered about when I fought her as well. Her steps were very, very soft.

I just stared at her.

"Fire and sunlight, basically. Getting your head cut off is a bad idea as well, as is bleeding completely dry. But you can go without a lot of things, like oxygen or sustenance for a long time."

She still moved, her hear flowing gorgeously on the air. Her steps were more and more precise. No sound when she moved anymore. She had everything completely under control, her new senses, muscles and sensations. Even I couldn't be this silent when I walked. But her feet, though moving, just sounded like they were standing still. If it wasn't for the sight and the subtle movement of the flame, you would hardly notice her presence.

"You don't kill, do you?"

I shook my head. "No, just take a little. It's enough for a night and when you get older, it's enough for multiple nights."

"Understood." She closed her eyes for a moment. "Our blood heals. So you use a drop of your own blood to prevent from wounds to be visible. It'd be easy enough to use your tongue for that, or your lips. The wound on our lips or tongue would heal just as fast as the one on a victims neck."

She deduced that all by herself while I just kept quiet and listened. It was fascinating to see her come to conclusions herself, speaking calm and thoughtful. Her knowledge of biology was probably better than mine. Much better if I considered her knowledge in everything else. She was still talking to herself and dancing around, slower this time.

"So you could drink anywhere, but large veins are preferred, neck, wrists, legs. The latter being a little unpractical for normal situations."

She turned to me, but somehow still dancing. She moved so slow it looked like she was standing still. Perfect balance, continuous movements that were completely smooth and precise. A lift of the toes, caress in the air by her fingers. The candle hardly moved anymore, but as some blood of her still coursed through my veins, I could feel her muscles slowly tensing and relaxing, causing her skin and her body to move. I was just staring at her, hardly breathing to avoid any sound or disturbance to her dance.

"Is that all correct?"

"Yes, did you do biology?"

She smiled. "Among other things." She frowned a little. "Does it matter how healthy the blood is?"

I closed my eyes. "For the taste, definitely. For feeding very little. Though you feel better when the blood is nicer."

She took a big breath. "I'd like to go out." The infliction in her voice made it sound like 'I'm going to do this one thing I've never, ever done, for tonight is the night that I will do this one thing.'

Okay, that sounded lamer than I wanted to, but I didn't want to put the words: "Taking over the world." on her lips.

Not that I assumed she had any such aspirations. Though it was a funny image to think about. A little cute girl with silver eyes taking over the world. Using her wits to avoid slaughter or defiance. Sorry for that little side-track.

I smiled a little. "You usually don't?"

She nodded. "I have people to retrieve and bring me where I want to go. Normally, I have no reason to get out of my room, but you were a good reason, so I arranged for transport."

"You never go out?"

She smiled a little sadly. "Have you looked at me? I can't go into bars really without attracting either the right attention and asked to leave or the wrong attention and asked to leave with someone. And of course my sensitivity makes it practically impossible for me to go out alone."

She had a point. "So, where do you want to go?"

Just a fraction of a moment to think. "The ocean. Maybe find something to drink there."

I smiled. "Alright, let's go."

I know that smell.