hell would kill him?”
“That’s a good question,” Saul said, instantly thinking of his visit from Benali. But Benali would never do anything like that, even if he knew exactly who had that damned footage. It was against the oath of The Guard.
“Are yo u sur e the only one of your kind around here?” Nikki asked.
“Yes. As far as I know. It is unlawful for two vampire families to exist in the same location. I have been here for a very long time and there have been no others.” He didn’t tell her about his own speculations that perhaps the monster on the footage was indeed another vampire. Of course, she had likely jumped to those same conclusions. She said as much with the next comment out of her mouth.
“If that thing on the footage was another one of you…mayb e i t is what killed Jason. Is that possible?”
“I suppose so,” he said, again not letting her in on his visit from Benali and the conversation that had passed between them. “There are rules set in place by The Guard, as I told you, but there’s always the possibility that some rogue family could seek to break them.”
She was nodding, but Saul didn’t think she was really listening to him. She was looking around the cabin, her knees wobbling. It almost looked like she was dizzy.
“I’m so sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions…I shouldn’t have come here again. I’m—,”
“Nikki, you need to sit down.”
She nodded and started to weep again. She stumbled to his couch and buried her head in her hands. Saul had never known how to provide comfort; this sort of sorrow was not something that his kind was accustomed to. It was foreign and, quite frankly, made him rather uncomfortable.
She wept for fifteen minutes, hard hitching sobs that caused her tiny frame to shudder. Saul sat down on the other end of the couch, not sure how to react. After a while, she looked to him with red-rimmed eyes and frowned.
“I really am sorry,” she said again. “I shouldn’t have assumed.”
He shrugged it off. “It’s okay. I understand.”
This set her off again. She whimpered, tried to stop it, and then lost control. Through her sobs, she said, “I don’t…don’t normally cry like th-thi-this. I’m so s-sorry.”
“It’s okay. Take your time to grieve.”
She did. She leaned against the arm of the couch and cried. Saul sat there, wanting to put his arm around her, wanting to draw her close, yet did not. He didn’t feel that it was his place. And besides, if Nikki had those same stirrings that he had smelled coming off of Kara, his act of comfort may be seen as something more.
And what would be so bad about that ? he asked himself.
He shut the thought out before it had time to grow. He sat there as her crying eventually tapered off. It took him a moment to realize that she had fallen asleep. He wondered if she had been crying over the death of her friend all day and, if so, how exhausting it must be for a human.
He then thought about the brutal death she had described; having one’s throat torn out happened quite often in the wild, but not with humans. Perhaps there was something strange occurring in Red Creek beyond his own current oddities.
Saul slowly stood from the couch and walked back into his bedroom. He tried to go back to sleep, but smelling her in the other room was too much. He lay there and watched the ceiling, waiting for those traces of murky sunlight to die out as the night strangled it.
4
Saul lurked around the house for a while, staying quiet as to not wake Nikki. She slept hard, even letting out light snores on occasion. Saul had the impulse to go to her and stretch her out so that she could at least sleep comfortably, but it somehow did not feel like the right thing to do. With her intrusion on his life, in addition to Kara Humphrey, his sexual urges and bloodlust were both spiking. As far as he was concerned, the less he touched Nikki Galimore, the better off he would be.
When
“That’s a good question,” Saul said, instantly thinking of his visit from Benali. But Benali would never do anything like that, even if he knew exactly who had that damned footage. It was against the oath of The Guard.
“Are yo u sur e the only one of your kind around here?” Nikki asked.
“Yes. As far as I know. It is unlawful for two vampire families to exist in the same location. I have been here for a very long time and there have been no others.” He didn’t tell her about his own speculations that perhaps the monster on the footage was indeed another vampire. Of course, she had likely jumped to those same conclusions. She said as much with the next comment out of her mouth.
“If that thing on the footage was another one of you…mayb e i t is what killed Jason. Is that possible?”
“I suppose so,” he said, again not letting her in on his visit from Benali and the conversation that had passed between them. “There are rules set in place by The Guard, as I told you, but there’s always the possibility that some rogue family could seek to break them.”
She was nodding, but Saul didn’t think she was really listening to him. She was looking around the cabin, her knees wobbling. It almost looked like she was dizzy.
“I’m so sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions…I shouldn’t have come here again. I’m—,”
“Nikki, you need to sit down.”
She nodded and started to weep again. She stumbled to his couch and buried her head in her hands. Saul had never known how to provide comfort; this sort of sorrow was not something that his kind was accustomed to. It was foreign and, quite frankly, made him rather uncomfortable.
She wept for fifteen minutes, hard hitching sobs that caused her tiny frame to shudder. Saul sat down on the other end of the couch, not sure how to react. After a while, she looked to him with red-rimmed eyes and frowned.
“I really am sorry,” she said again. “I shouldn’t have assumed.”
He shrugged it off. “It’s okay. I understand.”
This set her off again. She whimpered, tried to stop it, and then lost control. Through her sobs, she said, “I don’t…don’t normally cry like th-thi-this. I’m so s-sorry.”
“It’s okay. Take your time to grieve.”
She did. She leaned against the arm of the couch and cried. Saul sat there, wanting to put his arm around her, wanting to draw her close, yet did not. He didn’t feel that it was his place. And besides, if Nikki had those same stirrings that he had smelled coming off of Kara, his act of comfort may be seen as something more.
And what would be so bad about that ? he asked himself.
He shut the thought out before it had time to grow. He sat there as her crying eventually tapered off. It took him a moment to realize that she had fallen asleep. He wondered if she had been crying over the death of her friend all day and, if so, how exhausting it must be for a human.
He then thought about the brutal death she had described; having one’s throat torn out happened quite often in the wild, but not with humans. Perhaps there was something strange occurring in Red Creek beyond his own current oddities.
Saul slowly stood from the couch and walked back into his bedroom. He tried to go back to sleep, but smelling her in the other room was too much. He lay there and watched the ceiling, waiting for those traces of murky sunlight to die out as the night strangled it.
4
Saul lurked around the house for a while, staying quiet as to not wake Nikki. She slept hard, even letting out light snores on occasion. Saul had the impulse to go to her and stretch her out so that she could at least sleep comfortably, but it somehow did not feel like the right thing to do. With her intrusion on his life, in addition to Kara Humphrey, his sexual urges and bloodlust were both spiking. As far as he was concerned, the less he touched Nikki Galimore, the better off he would be.
When
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