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“Enough, but none of you can reveal it to each other without our approval. Calla, there’s a whole other world that exists under the surface, right there side by side with yours, but none of you can see it because we don’t let you. If we let you, we make sure you can’t talk to anyone about it, or write anything down about it. The secret remains safe.”
“So you do have mind control…”
“Of a kind.” I nodded, smiling at the look of awe in her eyes. “Along with the curse, there are certain gifts, such as compulsion.”
“Curse?”
I shook my head and picked up her wrist again. “Enough talking for now. I’m going to have a sip. This will hurt, but not for long.”
Then, I could feel my face transform and I bit her wrist. I knew the pain would be sharp and she cried out, trying to pull her wrist away, but I was far stronger than her and held on with no difficulty, my lips on her skin, my mouth covering her wrist, sucking the wound. I pulled away almost immediately, and then ran my fingers over the wounds until they stopped bleeding, leaving two red punctures.
Finally, I let go of her wrist and she examined the wound, cradling her arm against her body.
“That much can keep you alive?” she asked, her eyes wide.
I shook my head and licked the blood off my lips. “No, but that much will keep you alive. Now that I’ve tasted you, I’ll be able to find you wherever you go, in case you need my protection.”
“What do you mean?” She shrank back, apparently horrified at the thought.
I leaned back, my arms spread out across the back of the sofa. “I’ve claimed you as my own. Now, none of my brethren will touch you unless I give them permission. However, there are a few who don’t obey our laws. If any of them were to try to take you by force, I’d be able to find you.”
“That’s terrible,” she said, frowning. “That sounds a lot like slavery.”
I shrugged and rubbed my chin, feeling a considerable amount of stubble on my jaw. “Life isn’t fair, Calla. You’re old enough to understand that. Now, the rules are as follows,” I said and tilted her chin up with a finger, staring into her eyes, using my powers to implant a suggestion. “You are not permitted to speak to anyone about the existence of vampires. If someone asks you if you believe in them, you say something like, oh, they’re just an old superstition. If anyone asks you about your bite mark, tell them a dog bit you. That’s it. Reveal nothing. You are not allow
ed to mention anything about me unless I give you permission. While I’m staying with you, you many not leave without my permission. Do you understand?”
She nodded.
I could feel her desire to resist, but of course, my powers were stronger and she was unable to argue.
“You’re going to let me go, right?” she asked, moving a little farther away from me. “You just need shelter for a few days until you can,” she said, “do whatever it is you need to do.”
I moved closer to her and stroked her hair gently, trying my best to calm her. “I wasn’t planning on taking you with me, although you’re quite lovely and very tasty.”
“Good,” she said, relaxing visibly. “I have a life. I have a family and friends. People would miss me if I was to go away.”
“Don’t worry,” I said, and shook my head. “If I were to take you, I’d make sure they were compelled to accept it. I wouldn’t want them trying to track us down or raising any alarm.”
“You’d make them happy that I was gone?”
I nodded and straightened my jacket. I had no plans to take her with me, but if, for some reason, I had to, I would ensure her parents wouldn’t come looking for her. It would be the humane thing to do. Besides, parents who thought their daughter had been abducted would move heaven and earth to find their beloved. “They’d believe you were off to college and would be back for the holidays or something. They’d miss you but they’d be so proud of you…”
“That’s so deceitful.”
I frowned. It was deceitful of course, but it was necessary for our very survival. “Vampires exist today because we’ve managed to hide ourselves in plain sight all these thousands of years. Our ways work and so we all follow them religiously. I certainly wouldn’t want to be the first to not follow them and get us in trouble. Humans have weapons that could eradicate us if they wanted.” I smiled and touched her cheek, not wanting to scare her. “But don’t worry about that. I won’t be taking you with me.”
She nodded and exhaled in relief, the tension in her body diminishing slightly.
“Do you have a boyfriend?” I asked, keeping my voice light, watching her response. The last thing I needed was a suitor showing up looking for her.
She shook her head. I relaxed a bit more. A boyfriend would be a complication I did not need to deal with. They'd often risk their lives to protect what they saw as their own.
“So there won’t be a boyfriend dropping by to visit you in the next few days.”
“No, but my family will be back soon.”
“Don’t worry, Calla. I won’t take you,” I said. “You’ll keep me company until my allies come to take me back to the City. I have a few friends on the Council, and will contact my brother and soon enough, I’ll leave you alone.”
