his age. “What’s it like?”
He settled into the other chair across the small table. “What’s what like?”
“Living so long.”
Nicholas’s mouth twisted. “Interminable at times.”
“Then why do you do it? Why don’t you end it all? Are you afraid of Hell?”
He laughed. “Not at all. I have long since cast aside such antiquated notions. Vampirism it isn’t a curse from Satan, nor a punishment from God.”
She acted from habit when she lifted the napkin at her elbow and folded it on her lap, briefly wondering about the silverware she found wrapped inside, before her thought returned to their conversation. “You don’t believe in God?”
He shook his head. “I’ve lived hundreds of years and never seen any proof of an almighty being. I can hold a crucifix in my hand for hours. I often visit my friend at St. Peter’s. He’s a priest and a vampire. Entering the church doesn’t bring me pain.”
“I don’t understand. In the dream, you told me—Emma—that you had to stop believing. She believed, and you know what happened to her. How can your friend be a priest?”
Nicholas held off answering as Tremont entered carrying beige china plates with navy borders. Each plate held a sliver of steak, a few baby potatoes and two asparagus tips. He placed one in front of each of them before leaving the dining room and returning quickly with two crystal glasses and a decanter of dark red liquid. “Will there be anything else, master?”
“Not right now, Tremont.” Nicholas waved him away. When he had gone, he said, “Michael has reconciled his faith with his circumstances. He doesn’t believe vampirism originated from evil, and so he is able to sustain his beliefs. The mind is powerful, Emily.”
“I see.” She looked at the food before her, then at the silverware. “Is that what allows you to eat?”
He poured the liquid into their glasses, and the tangy scent of blood wafted through the room. “No. You function much as you did when alive. You can still eat and drink, in moderation. Your normal bodily systems will continue almost as normal, including your period.” He grinned. “Not even death can stop that curse, I’m afraid. You can still have children. The only real difference—aside from an increase in strength, mental prowess, healing and agility—is your body no longer makes blood.”
“I-I don’t understand.”
Nicholas lifted his glass and stared at the contents. “In addition to altering the physiology of your brain and other cells, the change converts your bone marrow so that it can no longer make blood cells. If you go a long time without blood, you die. Hence, we must replenish the blood.” He lifted the glass. “Salute.”
She shook her head. “My heart stopped beating. I should have died.”
“Very few things will kill a vampire and prevent regeneration. You were going through the change. Your heart stopped beating, but you continued to live on a cellular level for several hours after brain death, as do we all—human and vampire. Combined with our ability to heal, it makes us virtually immortal, as long as we provide nourishment for our bodies to rebuild. The idea that vampires could die from being staked is laughable—”
She shook her head, interrupting him. “What about Emma? She impaled herself on a cross and obviously died. Explain that.”
His eyes clouded with pain, but he nodded. “She believed she had been turned to something evil. She saw the cross as her salvation. I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase ‘mind over matter’. That’s all it was. She believed she would die, so she did.”
She frowned. “Then how does one kill a vampire?”
A small smile flashed across his face. “Are you thinking of doing away with me?”
She refused to answer.
Nicholas chuckled. “Really, the only thing that kills a vampire is excessive force—the type it’s impossible to recover from. Violent impact from a car accident would do it, if it severed the
He settled into the other chair across the small table. “What’s what like?”
“Living so long.”
Nicholas’s mouth twisted. “Interminable at times.”
“Then why do you do it? Why don’t you end it all? Are you afraid of Hell?”
He laughed. “Not at all. I have long since cast aside such antiquated notions. Vampirism it isn’t a curse from Satan, nor a punishment from God.”
She acted from habit when she lifted the napkin at her elbow and folded it on her lap, briefly wondering about the silverware she found wrapped inside, before her thought returned to their conversation. “You don’t believe in God?”
He shook his head. “I’ve lived hundreds of years and never seen any proof of an almighty being. I can hold a crucifix in my hand for hours. I often visit my friend at St. Peter’s. He’s a priest and a vampire. Entering the church doesn’t bring me pain.”
“I don’t understand. In the dream, you told me—Emma—that you had to stop believing. She believed, and you know what happened to her. How can your friend be a priest?”
Nicholas held off answering as Tremont entered carrying beige china plates with navy borders. Each plate held a sliver of steak, a few baby potatoes and two asparagus tips. He placed one in front of each of them before leaving the dining room and returning quickly with two crystal glasses and a decanter of dark red liquid. “Will there be anything else, master?”
“Not right now, Tremont.” Nicholas waved him away. When he had gone, he said, “Michael has reconciled his faith with his circumstances. He doesn’t believe vampirism originated from evil, and so he is able to sustain his beliefs. The mind is powerful, Emily.”
“I see.” She looked at the food before her, then at the silverware. “Is that what allows you to eat?”
He poured the liquid into their glasses, and the tangy scent of blood wafted through the room. “No. You function much as you did when alive. You can still eat and drink, in moderation. Your normal bodily systems will continue almost as normal, including your period.” He grinned. “Not even death can stop that curse, I’m afraid. You can still have children. The only real difference—aside from an increase in strength, mental prowess, healing and agility—is your body no longer makes blood.”
“I-I don’t understand.”
Nicholas lifted his glass and stared at the contents. “In addition to altering the physiology of your brain and other cells, the change converts your bone marrow so that it can no longer make blood cells. If you go a long time without blood, you die. Hence, we must replenish the blood.” He lifted the glass. “Salute.”
She shook her head. “My heart stopped beating. I should have died.”
“Very few things will kill a vampire and prevent regeneration. You were going through the change. Your heart stopped beating, but you continued to live on a cellular level for several hours after brain death, as do we all—human and vampire. Combined with our ability to heal, it makes us virtually immortal, as long as we provide nourishment for our bodies to rebuild. The idea that vampires could die from being staked is laughable—”
She shook her head, interrupting him. “What about Emma? She impaled herself on a cross and obviously died. Explain that.”
His eyes clouded with pain, but he nodded. “She believed she had been turned to something evil. She saw the cross as her salvation. I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase ‘mind over matter’. That’s all it was. She believed she would die, so she did.”
She frowned. “Then how does one kill a vampire?”
A small smile flashed across his face. “Are you thinking of doing away with me?”
She refused to answer.
Nicholas chuckled. “Really, the only thing that kills a vampire is excessive force—the type it’s impossible to recover from. Violent impact from a car accident would do it, if it severed the
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