Stories under the Velvet Sky

Chapter Thirteen: Where They Walk

Vampires, those who walk the night among us undisturbed, treading where no mortal dares to walk. According to legend, they burn in the sunlight, are repelled by garlic, die by decapitation or a stake to the heart. To some, they are a scourge to be destroyed, and to others, they are an ideal to look up to. Regardless of what society thinks, humanity has always had an obsession with the supernatural, to the point of writing books, reading books, and creating a TV Series about it.

Currently, I was having everything I'd ever thought I'd known turned on its head while eating a delicious meal of mahi-mahi soaked in lemons and pepper, served with a side dish of corn and rice. Adrian had taken it upon himself to explain exactly what Vampires were and were not, though some of it flew over my head.

Apparently not all Vampires are undead abominations out to drain the populations dry.

I shoved another forkful of fish into my mouth, nom'ing on it much like a cat would with wet food, "So, let me get this straight," I said through my mouthful of food, for which I received a glare from Adrian. I swallowed, "you're not undead?" I asked him, taking another bite of my dinner.

He wasn't eating anything. No, he was cleaning up the mess he'd made in the kitchen, washing the dishes by hands and all that jazz. He also seemed to find my questions amusing because he'd chortle at some of them when I asked, "No, I'm just as alive and well as you are, and just as fragile. Living Vampires aren't as well equipped for hunting other beings, but that's a good thing. It's more of a mutual relationship," I was glad he was taking the time to answer my questions. I knew I wouldn't have done the same, "those of us who live and breathe don't have the same powers as our counterparts, but neither do we have the same drawbacks. Living Vamps don't have to deal with burning up in the sunlight, or being repelled by strong scents. Blood can sustain us, but it's not exactly necessary for survival. It's like eating sweets, completely optional.”

“But tempting all the same?” Candied things are very hard for me to resist, I'll have you know.

He finished drying his hands and walked to the table to sit down across from me, folding his hands under his chin to watch my reactions, eyes sparkling for some reason, “Yes, and at the same time it is a double-edged sword, too much of it, and we'll get fat,” I blinked slowly, drinking it all in, “there are benefits to occasionally partaking though; those of us who reject blood drinking entirely don't have any powers, but those of us who do...” he shifted his gaze towards my plate and made a waving motion.

It glided across the table, smoothly sliding into his waiting hands, “have some abilities at our disposal.”

Okay, that was kind of cool. My mouth twitched up into a smile, “You said you won't burst up into flames in sunlight, which is apparent, since you haven't mysteriously combusted so far, but does it affect you more than it would a human?” I was having a bit of fun bouncing questions off of him, and eating my dinner at the same time.

“Eh, I'll probably sunburn faster, and sunblock won't protect me from that, but other than turning redder than an red delicious apple, it doesn't do much to me. And as far as other 'mystical vampire repellents', a Vampire's senses are a bit stronger than the average humans, so garlic only smells really bad, and we can eat it just fine. So called 'holy grounds' and 'holy water' don't do anything to us, but an actual holy relic can set us on fire and if that isn't put out, we will burn to death,” he pushed my plate back towards me, “and it's not because we're demons,” his eyes narrowed as he contemplated it, “Vampires can live an absurdly long time, and once we die by normal means, we come back as undead, who must drink blood to sustain themselves. Death by a holy relic is considered a true death, as there is no coming back from that. Other methods, staking, beheading... they don't really kill us, a living Vampire turns undead, and then they can regenerate whatever they managed to lose,” saying that seemed sad somehow. It certainly made me feel that way.