Forever After

Chapter 13

Blunt let out a sigh in the early evening air. The trees dappled sunlight across the edges of the meadow, light shadows shifting with the breeze. The sun had just set and, though the horizon was still bright with the ambient light and the sky a clear pale blue, it was enough. Blunt had been around long enough to have made every mistake in the book. He knew exactly how much sunlight he could tolerate and for how long.

 He'd certainly had his share of incidents, whether accidental or on purpose. The younger generations tended to think they couldn't tolerate any sunlight or were too uncertain to risk it. In truth, they could handle a pretty decent amount, sometimes. Mostly, if they were out too long, they'd get sun poisoning, but they could usually go out for a half hour with nothing more than a mild sunburn.  

Swifty was still sound asleep in bed, as should be. But he couldn't resist the urge to sit out and watch the failing light as shadows stretched over the world. He was alone and content in his thoughts and it almost made him feel normal. He could almost forget this world was not the one he was born to. In the late evening light, it looked much the same as it had hundreds of years ago. He hoped he never lived to see that change. Maybe that'd be the day he chose to end things, when he no longer found something in this world he identified with.

He got up off the front stoop and stretched languidly as the shadows lengthened to greet him. Swifty might not have believed him, but Blunt knew they'd been followed. Though it seemed impossible, he suspected he knew who it was. It boggled the mind that she could have advanced so much in a couple weeks. But this was a vampire hunter, and he'd learned long ago never to underestimate one. He slipped into the growing shadows to await her return.

#

Swifty grumbled to himself as he pounded drowsily and gracelessly down the stairs. He'd never been a morning person before turning and he was slow to rise since. He also tended to be grumpy when he rose, and wished the manor had more amenities. He could use a good coffee. He'd enjoyed the beverage back when it was easier to blend with society. Back before birth certificates, social security cards, and driver's licenses. He scowled, hating the limitations such nuisances put on his life.

 It cost a lot of money to set up a new identity. It didn't used to, but with advances in technology, it become beyond expensive. For that reason, few vampires bothered, instead preferring to live at the manors. Some could afford no other life. Some couldn't be bothered to move every twenty years. 

Most manors were in fairly rural settings. The one in Pennsylvania, where he lived, was one of the most remote manors in the Americas. It had no phones and no power. It was as off the grid as they could get. The only records with the government were the deed and property taxes. The deed rotated about once every sixty or seventy years. 

 Everyone chipped in for food and expenses, though how was always open for interpretation, and they lived cheaper than they would've anywhere else. This suited Blunt just fine as he suspected the man needed simple, but Swifty had been there long enough, and felt antsy for a change.

He groaned at the idea of having to put out the money for a fresh identity, but having spent so much time with Ange lately, he found staying at the manor less and less appealing. He figured it was only a matter of time before he broke down, bit the bullet and put out the money. He just hoped Blunt would too. Otherwise, he would miss the brusque bastard.  

As he wandered into the kitchen, he growled at the cook. Victoria growled back and barked something he suspected had something to do with not biting the hand that fed him. Cooking was Victoria's contribution to things at large. Others did farming and that was how they fed themselves. 

He didn't know a whole lot about Victoria other than she wasn't that old, not even a hundred if he was to guess. That, and she had the personality of a rattlesnake. She was short and way too skinny, with a bright red mane and flashing blue eyes that turned to ice when she was mad at him, which was pretty much chronically.