(no subject)
As it has become our custom since the night that we arrived, Santino and I sat and spoke of many things. Mostly I just listened, his voice so soothing it was hard to believe that the man so many have described as an uncaring fiend would take the time at all to teach me. Perhaps if they cared enough to spend more time in his company they would find that he’s not as they say. What a misunderstood lot we are. How can he not become bitter when he’s been judged and convicted solely on the past? Sadly, I understand this all too well.
He is a stern but gentle teacher, and when my thirst would start to rise and my mind would then begin to wander during our conversations, he has a unique way of bringing me back. I’m not sure what it was he did, but it felt like an electric shock inside my head. It wasn’t painful, but the intended effects were immediate. Like a schoolboy caught daydreaming in class I would jump to attention, grinning sheepishly while he waited coolly in a chair across from me with his hands folded neatly in his lap, until he knew I was all there to then begin again. What a test in patience I must be for him.
Then to my joy he would end the lesson with a declaration that it was time to hunt. Oh, he had my full attention then, and I was already out of my chair and across the room before he could even finish the thought. When I looked back to him from the door, I thought I saw him smile. Before I could open my mouth to ask where we were going tonight, he was already gone in a flash, leaving me to stare at the empty spot from where he once stood. “Wait for me!” was my only response.
I had to use all my powers to locate him once we were out in the open night air. I guess the lessons never end, do they? When I finally found him leaning up against a tree, he looked bored. “What took you so long? You will have to be faster than that if you want to keep up with me, my boy.” Then he was gone again. “Damn!” I think he liked this game of hide and seek far too much.
Then it hit me, why I didn’t notice this before I don’t know. When I stood in the spot that he was only moments ago, I could feel in the air an invisible wake of his immortal power. I took a step to the left and it was gone, then stepping back I could feel it again. Oh, this was it! How could I’ve been so stupid! I took to this fresh trail at a speed that no mortal eye could follow, and before I knew it I had found him again, but much quicker this time.
When I appeared at his side, he looked to me with a smile. “Well done. You are getting much better at this.” I couldn’t help but beam with my victory, and his approval. But, before I could pat myself on the back, the scent caught hold of me. The game and my triumph were soon forgotten when I beheld an elderly woman struggling with her keys to unlock her door, her arms laden with sacks from her late evening shopping trip. I could hear the loud thudding of her out of sync arrhythmia with the great effort she was putting forth to keep from dropping her bags. It was no mystery that she was not long for this world.
“Then help her find it sooner, Daniel.”
I looked up to him when he spoke then back to my prey. I was at her side in an instant, offing my services to hold her bags while she opened the door. She was grateful for the help; her trusting nature couldn’t see the danger. The sweet aroma of her blood was beyond distracting, and her words didn’t reach my mind until she touched my hand. “Young man you look ill. Come inside and I’ll get you something warm to drink. It is the least I can do to repay your kindness.”
Obediently I followed her inside, placing her packages down upon the kitchen counter. I stood watching her filling the kettle with tap water, then placing it on the stove upon the small flame. “Please, have a seat, it will only be a few minutes.” Again I followed her instructions and sat down. It was strange to me why I was allowing myself to play along when all I wanted to do was take her. I suppose the curiosity in me wanted to see how long I could let this go on before the urge to kill her became too much.
“Here you are,” she said as she placed a large hot steaming cup of tea before me, then taking the opposite seat with her own steaming cup. I wrapped my hands around the cup feeling the delicious warmth of it penetrating my cold hands. I was mesmerized in watching the steam rising from the surface. There was a familiar scent to it, but for the life of me couldn‘t remember what it was. “It’s an old family recipe.” Leaning a bit over the table towards me she whispers, “actually, it’s the whiskey that does the trick.”
Ah yes, that’s the scent I remember. How interesting that I didn’t catch that before. Yet, the scent of her grew even more powerful. My hands trembled with my need, and delaying this only made it worse. “Go on, drink up. It wont stay hot for long.” How right she was.
I pushed the chair back, which caused a scrapping noise on the titled floor, then slowly stood up. I took her hand in mine when I reached the other side of the table and gently pulled her to standing. “Will you kill me now?” The look of surprise at her words was difficult to hide. Had she known all along what I was and why I was there? It didn’t matter really. “Yes,” was all I could say. There was no need to play this game a moment longer. As the twin cups of tea sat alone still steaming on the table, her blood was the only hot substance that would satisfy my thirst. And so it did.
Before I left I made sure to erase any evidence of a second person being in the house. I took the cup that was intended for me and washed it, placing it back carefully in the cupboard. Santino was waiting for me when I closed the door to her house. His expression was placid and something else I wasn’t quite sure what it was. With a slight nod, he turned and I followed as we disappeared into the night. There were no words spoken between us on our way back to his home. I was thankful for this, for I had nothing to say.
The next night he had left on an errand. He wouldn’t tell me where he was going, or how long he would be gone, only that it was imperative that he sees to it immediately. The house was eerily quiet. A feeling of dread came over me on the second night. I began to worry that he wouldn’t return. I had grown used to his company, even anticipated our meetings. Then a strange feeling came over me. I realized that I missed him.
I tried everything I could to distract my mind. But this feeling, what was it? Was I being watched? I couldn’t shake it off. I searched the house, and thought I caught glimpses of something, but then there was nothing in the shadows. I reached my mind out to those dark places and heard only silence as a response. Only my imagination. Was this another game Santino was playing? It had to be caused from being alone in this huge house that was getting to me. So then decided to go out. A good meal would dispel this feeling, I was sure of it.
He is a stern but gentle teacher, and when my thirst would start to rise and my mind would then begin to wander during our conversations, he has a unique way of bringing me back. I’m not sure what it was he did, but it felt like an electric shock inside my head. It wasn’t painful, but the intended effects were immediate. Like a schoolboy caught daydreaming in class I would jump to attention, grinning sheepishly while he waited coolly in a chair across from me with his hands folded neatly in his lap, until he knew I was all there to then begin again. What a test in patience I must be for him.
Then to my joy he would end the lesson with a declaration that it was time to hunt. Oh, he had my full attention then, and I was already out of my chair and across the room before he could even finish the thought. When I looked back to him from the door, I thought I saw him smile. Before I could open my mouth to ask where we were going tonight, he was already gone in a flash, leaving me to stare at the empty spot from where he once stood. “Wait for me!” was my only response.
I had to use all my powers to locate him once we were out in the open night air. I guess the lessons never end, do they? When I finally found him leaning up against a tree, he looked bored. “What took you so long? You will have to be faster than that if you want to keep up with me, my boy.” Then he was gone again. “Damn!” I think he liked this game of hide and seek far too much.
Then it hit me, why I didn’t notice this before I don’t know. When I stood in the spot that he was only moments ago, I could feel in the air an invisible wake of his immortal power. I took a step to the left and it was gone, then stepping back I could feel it again. Oh, this was it! How could I’ve been so stupid! I took to this fresh trail at a speed that no mortal eye could follow, and before I knew it I had found him again, but much quicker this time.
When I appeared at his side, he looked to me with a smile. “Well done. You are getting much better at this.” I couldn’t help but beam with my victory, and his approval. But, before I could pat myself on the back, the scent caught hold of me. The game and my triumph were soon forgotten when I beheld an elderly woman struggling with her keys to unlock her door, her arms laden with sacks from her late evening shopping trip. I could hear the loud thudding of her out of sync arrhythmia with the great effort she was putting forth to keep from dropping her bags. It was no mystery that she was not long for this world.
“Then help her find it sooner, Daniel.”
I looked up to him when he spoke then back to my prey. I was at her side in an instant, offing my services to hold her bags while she opened the door. She was grateful for the help; her trusting nature couldn’t see the danger. The sweet aroma of her blood was beyond distracting, and her words didn’t reach my mind until she touched my hand. “Young man you look ill. Come inside and I’ll get you something warm to drink. It is the least I can do to repay your kindness.”
Obediently I followed her inside, placing her packages down upon the kitchen counter. I stood watching her filling the kettle with tap water, then placing it on the stove upon the small flame. “Please, have a seat, it will only be a few minutes.” Again I followed her instructions and sat down. It was strange to me why I was allowing myself to play along when all I wanted to do was take her. I suppose the curiosity in me wanted to see how long I could let this go on before the urge to kill her became too much.
“Here you are,” she said as she placed a large hot steaming cup of tea before me, then taking the opposite seat with her own steaming cup. I wrapped my hands around the cup feeling the delicious warmth of it penetrating my cold hands. I was mesmerized in watching the steam rising from the surface. There was a familiar scent to it, but for the life of me couldn‘t remember what it was. “It’s an old family recipe.” Leaning a bit over the table towards me she whispers, “actually, it’s the whiskey that does the trick.”
Ah yes, that’s the scent I remember. How interesting that I didn’t catch that before. Yet, the scent of her grew even more powerful. My hands trembled with my need, and delaying this only made it worse. “Go on, drink up. It wont stay hot for long.” How right she was.
I pushed the chair back, which caused a scrapping noise on the titled floor, then slowly stood up. I took her hand in mine when I reached the other side of the table and gently pulled her to standing. “Will you kill me now?” The look of surprise at her words was difficult to hide. Had she known all along what I was and why I was there? It didn’t matter really. “Yes,” was all I could say. There was no need to play this game a moment longer. As the twin cups of tea sat alone still steaming on the table, her blood was the only hot substance that would satisfy my thirst. And so it did.
Before I left I made sure to erase any evidence of a second person being in the house. I took the cup that was intended for me and washed it, placing it back carefully in the cupboard. Santino was waiting for me when I closed the door to her house. His expression was placid and something else I wasn’t quite sure what it was. With a slight nod, he turned and I followed as we disappeared into the night. There were no words spoken between us on our way back to his home. I was thankful for this, for I had nothing to say.
The next night he had left on an errand. He wouldn’t tell me where he was going, or how long he would be gone, only that it was imperative that he sees to it immediately. The house was eerily quiet. A feeling of dread came over me on the second night. I began to worry that he wouldn’t return. I had grown used to his company, even anticipated our meetings. Then a strange feeling came over me. I realized that I missed him.
I tried everything I could to distract my mind. But this feeling, what was it? Was I being watched? I couldn’t shake it off. I searched the house, and thought I caught glimpses of something, but then there was nothing in the shadows. I reached my mind out to those dark places and heard only silence as a response. Only my imagination. Was this another game Santino was playing? It had to be caused from being alone in this huge house that was getting to me. So then decided to go out. A good meal would dispel this feeling, I was sure of it.