“Uh-uh, hold it right there, missy.” He held up a finger; I snapped my gob closed. “I said I believe in God, not the Bible, not the ways of the church. They are not the same thing.”
“How are they not the same thing?”
“Live as long as I, and you will see. Now—” he folded his arms, “—we’re not having a religious debate. There are more important things to discuss at this moment.”
“Fine.” But I didn’t want to talk. I was too mad.
“Can you remember anything I’ve told you so far?”
“No.”
“Yes, you can.” He smiled, rolling his head a little to one side. “Recite it for me or I’ll read your mind just to check you were listening.”
I looked up at him, fury turning to rage in my eyes. “Fine.” I took a deep breath. “You’re…a…a God-fearing variation of normal human makeup, caused by a hidden polarity in the genes that’s activated when vampire venom mixes with your blood after being bitten?”
“You’re a very fast learner, Ara-Rose.” His face lit with surprise.
No, I’m not—I just hang off your every word.
David grinned. I looked away.
“There aren’t many of us, you know. If that makes you feel better.”
Good! “Why?”
“As it stands, fewer and fewer humans over the years have been known to have this gene. It seems to be breeding out. We’ve not had a successful turning in decades. Consequently, my kind has been forbidden to create vampires without approval.”
“Forbidden? By who?”
“We have a society. Just like you,” he said. “We live in peace, mostly, but there are laws we must follow, and consequences. We can’t just walk around doing whatever we please—or killing whomever we please.”
“Really? So, the killing’s controlled?”
“To a degree.”
“Oh…” I unfolded my arms. Civility among murderers? “What other laws do you have?”
“Well—” He looked over at the window for a second, then took a short breath. “We’re not allowed to occupy positions of power or fame, in order to maintain cover. And, if we’re in a situation or accident which would be fatal to a human, we absolutely must be reborn.”
“Reborn?”
“Yes. Start a new human life.”
“Oh, is that why you can’t be famous or anything, ‘cause it would be hard to hide after you ‘die’?”
“Exactly. Especially these days with things like television and photographs. It makes disappearing really problematic.”
“So, what else? I mean…can you fly, do you still grow hair, do you sleep upside down in a cave?”
David scoffed lightly, pressing the back of his wrist to his upper lip. “You really love your myths, don’t you?”
I shrugged.
“Ur, well, we do still grow hair, so…sorry, if you become a vampire, you still have to shave your legs. As for sleeping in a cave…upside down—” He merely raised a brow to answer.
“What about fly?”
He hesitated. “Like I said…we can manipulate the elements. Some of us have mastered the ability to become completely weightless and move through the atmosphere—suspended above the earth. But not all can, and it’s only for short distances. It takes decades of practice.”
“But, can you?” I prompted.
Uncertainty controlled his smile. “Yes.”
“That is so cool.” It was the only cool thing—everything else was disgusting and infuriating, but flying was cool. “So? What else can you do?”
“Well, at this point, I can officially inform you that we are a secret society—so, much of the information about our laws and abilities, I cannot divulge.” He smiled, his eyes becoming small. “Even though I already have.”
“But you can reveal yourself? People can know what you are?”
“Only on one condition.” He paused and took my hand. “That is why I told you I must leave, Ara—in the hope that it might come to this—to you finding out once and for all about me, about what I am. Otherwise, I would’ve just left you.”
“Like you did to all the others?”
“I never said that.”
“You move on every two years; you must’ve made friends. Am I the only one you—?”
“You’re the first human I’ve ever told, yes.”
And for some stupid reason, that made me feel special, close to him. But I didn’t want to feel like that anymore; I hated what he was, and I wasn’t sure if I actually might’ve hated him, too. But I knew that some part of me didn’t want him to go away. Not for forever. My lip quivered. “So, you can tell me that you’re a vampire, but you have to leave if you do?”
“No—” He pulled my face against his chest. “Silly girl. No. I can tell you only if I’m sure that you’re—”
My head whipped up to see his face when he went quiet. “I’m what?”
“I guess the right words are…my significant other.” David almost read over his own words in the air, then, seeming happy with the terminology, looked at me. He smiled, pressing his finger under my chin until my teeth fit back together.
Significant other? “But…you’re a vampire. I can’t be your significant other, David. We can’t even be together.”
He swallowed hard. “We can, if you loved me enough.”
“David, you know I love you. But you kill people in order to live,” a hint of hysteria touched my tone. “I don’t know if I can be a part of that. Not as your friend, not as your lover, and certainly not as a vampire.”
David froze in place, like a stone carving. The expression of confusion seemed eternally placed within his eyes, and his chest stopped moving as if he’d given up breathing. “Believe it or not, Ara, it’s kinder to kill them.”
“Er!” My lip twisted up in disgust. “I don’t want to hear anymore, David. Kinder? I—I just can’t even conceive of the idea.”
“Perhaps you have heard enough, then.” A slight nod moved his head, but his face stayed frozen; the smile I loved completely blanketed by pain. “I shall leave you now.”
“Wait, don’t go yet.”
He stopped, but didn’t look at me.
“I just—I just need some time to think. Do you think you can give me that?”