Page 40 of Abiding Blood

“Yes, my…vampires possess heightened senses: smell, hearing, and sight.” It felt strange to reveal these things about my kind, but it was refreshing to open up to someone new, even if they were human. I hadn’t experienced that in a long time.

Julian drove in silence for several minutes before asking, “How often do you need to eat?”

“I don’t know,” I replied honestly.

“You don’t know?”

“No. I’m not sure. When we are first turned, we have to feed every night. As we get older, we can go longer and longer without feeding. Most of us still feed regularly, though, so I’ve never gone without long enough to know.”

“How long has it been since you last…you know?”

“Hmm, I fed at the lodge two nights before we met, so I guess three days. Although I should add that I didn’t intentionally feed off the humans held there. I was unaware of their plight when the blood was offered to me.”

“Oh.” He grew quiet, and another mile marker flashed by. “And you have no idea how long it will be before you need to eat again?” he asked finally.

“No. I’m not sure, but not anytime soon,” I replied, attempting to sound reassuring. “I can understand your curiosity about the subject, but I’m fine for now. You don’t have to make that choice tonight or for a while yet.”

I hoped I was right about that. The longest I’d waited recently was about ten days. And while I felt physically okay after enduring such a long period, I remembered the frenzy with which hunger had driven me to hunt. I recalled the feeling that had surged within me as I stared at the throbbing vein in the woman’s neck.

“But if I say no, you’ll have to go somewhere to find food,” he said, getting my attention again.

“I suppose I will eventually,” I said, brushing off the memory of sinking my fangs into the woman’s neck. “I can’t go indefinitely without feeding.”

Julian pressed his lips together, and I could tell he had more questions. However, he remained silent and kept his eyes on the road.

After several minutes, a rustling came from the back seat, and Julian’s fluffy orange cat appeared. He placed his front paws on the armrest between the two front seats. Samson sniffed the air and then leaped up with all four paws onto the divider, walking onto my lap.

I sat frozen, not wanting to disturb the animal and risk upsetting Julian. It turned in a circle and then lay down as if I were no more than a piece of furniture. I wasn’t used to cats—or any animals for that matter—and having Julian’s pet on my lap made me uneasy.

Julian glanced over and smiled. “He likes you.”

“How nice.”

Julian chuckled. “You can relax; he’s not going to hurt you, you know.”

“I am relaxed.”

“Uh-huh, you look like it. Here, let me,” he said. He reached over, scooped the animal from my lap with one hand, and set him on the dashboard. “Here, bud, ride up there for a while.”

I was startled—not by the cat—but by Julian’s arm casually brushing against my shoulder and chest. Humans had touched me before, of course, but never had they known what I truly was.

I swallowed down the thought. “Is that safe?” I asked, unsure if having a cat on the dashboard was advisable.

“Oh, sure, he’s fine. He likes the warm air. He’ll lie down soon, see?”

The orange cat stretched himself out across the dash, letting the defroster’s heat blow on him as we sped through the darkness. “Are you warm enough over there? I could turn up the heat?” Julian asked after a while.

“I’m fine, thank you,” I replied. “I don’t get cold.”

“You don’t get cold? Like, you don’t feel the cold?”

“No, I feel it. It just doesn’t affect me.”

“Huh, that would be nice. It’s been a struggle to keep warm without electricity.”

“You mentioned you wanted to go back home. You didn’t live in the cabin before, I mean.”

“No, I live in Seattle. I lived in Seattle. The cabin belonged to my parents. I went there just as things were getting bad. Mom and Dad were supposed to meet me there, but they got sick…” He trailed off and lapsed into silence again.