understand me?'
'Yeah. I don't like it, but I understand.'
Sonja turned back to Fido. 'We just want to look at her, That's all.'
Slowly, the seraphim moved aside, allowing them an unimpeded view of what lay on Lethe's bed. Sonja could see why Palmer had first mistaken it for a sleeping bag, since it resembled one of the mummy-case models. It was close to five feet long and three feet around, and seemed to be made from amber. It was translucent in spots and filled with a thick fluid that gave off a diffuse light, like that of a glowworm. Deep within the fluid she glimpsed what looked to be the outline of a child.
'It's grown,' Palmer muttered. 'It wasn't this big when I first found it... Whatever it is.'
'By the looks of it, I'd say it's a cocoon.'
'What the hell is she doing in a fuckin' cocoon?
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'Undergoing some sort of metamorphosis - that's what cocoons are for.'
'For the love of God, Sonja, aren't you going to do something?
That's our little girl in there!' Palmer shouted, lunging for the bed.
Fido moved to block his path and the sound of dynamos gearing up filled the room, the vibrations causing Sonja's fangs to ache. Swearing under her breath, she grabbed Palmer and tossed him over her shoulder in a fireman's carry, slamming the door shut behind her.
She stomped into the kitchen and dropped him, unceremoniously, into one of the chairs. Palmer was livid, his anger so fierce he was choking on his words, It didn't matter - she could hear what he was thinking.
'You can think I'm a cold-blooded bitch all you want, William Palmer,' Sonja snapped. 'But I just saved you from having your brains scrambled in your skull! If Fido had let you have it, you'd be shitting in diapers and eating through tubes for the rest of your natural days!'
Palmer's face lost some of its blood. 'I ... I realize that, Sonja. I'm sorry I thought those things about you, but surely you can't expect me to stand by and do nothing!'
'That's exactly what I expect you to do - and that's what you're going to do! Bill, you've known all along that Lethe isn't
a human child. Hell, you were there when she was born.'
'Don't remind me,' he 'mumbled, massaging his calf. 'I still have scars from where that mutant hell-twin of hers tried to chew off my leg.'
'Lethe was born of two human vampires - creatures such as myself. But she's obviously not a vampire. I used to think she was some kind of seraphim, but now I'm not so sure. But whatever she might be, the seraphim have-considered her important enough to be placed under their protection. And for all we know, this cocoon stage is perfectly natural. The fact that Fido won't let us touch her suggests that interfering with this - I dunno, call it a larval stage - would be dangerous to Lethe.'
Palmer shook his head and got up to retrieve the bottle of tequila he kept in the pantry. Sonja was surprised by how old he looked. The psychokinetic pummeling he'd taken certainly didn't help matters; his face was puffy and bruises were slowly blossoming under his eyes, as if he'd been struck by the world's biggest air hammer.
They had first met two and a half years ago, when Pangloss
Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer ( http://www.novapdf.com ) hired him to track her down. Not even three years, and already he was starting to age. His once-dark hair and goatee were now liberally shot with gray, and his nose was beginning to dominate his face. Palmer had changed dramatically during their time together, what with his obsession with Mayan body modification, and now he was starting to grow old. Funny that she hadn't noticed that before. Was this how it was between vampires and their human lovers? One day they're a handsome youth, the next they're old and withered? She had to struggle to remember his age. Forty-three? Forty-four?
How old was that in human years?
And,
'Yeah. I don't like it, but I understand.'
Sonja turned back to Fido. 'We just want to look at her, That's all.'
Slowly, the seraphim moved aside, allowing them an unimpeded view of what lay on Lethe's bed. Sonja could see why Palmer had first mistaken it for a sleeping bag, since it resembled one of the mummy-case models. It was close to five feet long and three feet around, and seemed to be made from amber. It was translucent in spots and filled with a thick fluid that gave off a diffuse light, like that of a glowworm. Deep within the fluid she glimpsed what looked to be the outline of a child.
'It's grown,' Palmer muttered. 'It wasn't this big when I first found it... Whatever it is.'
'By the looks of it, I'd say it's a cocoon.'
'What the hell is she doing in a fuckin' cocoon?
Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer ( http://www.novapdf.com )
'Undergoing some sort of metamorphosis - that's what cocoons are for.'
'For the love of God, Sonja, aren't you going to do something?
That's our little girl in there!' Palmer shouted, lunging for the bed.
Fido moved to block his path and the sound of dynamos gearing up filled the room, the vibrations causing Sonja's fangs to ache. Swearing under her breath, she grabbed Palmer and tossed him over her shoulder in a fireman's carry, slamming the door shut behind her.
She stomped into the kitchen and dropped him, unceremoniously, into one of the chairs. Palmer was livid, his anger so fierce he was choking on his words, It didn't matter - she could hear what he was thinking.
'You can think I'm a cold-blooded bitch all you want, William Palmer,' Sonja snapped. 'But I just saved you from having your brains scrambled in your skull! If Fido had let you have it, you'd be shitting in diapers and eating through tubes for the rest of your natural days!'
Palmer's face lost some of its blood. 'I ... I realize that, Sonja. I'm sorry I thought those things about you, but surely you can't expect me to stand by and do nothing!'
'That's exactly what I expect you to do - and that's what you're going to do! Bill, you've known all along that Lethe isn't
a human child. Hell, you were there when she was born.'
'Don't remind me,' he 'mumbled, massaging his calf. 'I still have scars from where that mutant hell-twin of hers tried to chew off my leg.'
'Lethe was born of two human vampires - creatures such as myself. But she's obviously not a vampire. I used to think she was some kind of seraphim, but now I'm not so sure. But whatever she might be, the seraphim have-considered her important enough to be placed under their protection. And for all we know, this cocoon stage is perfectly natural. The fact that Fido won't let us touch her suggests that interfering with this - I dunno, call it a larval stage - would be dangerous to Lethe.'
Palmer shook his head and got up to retrieve the bottle of tequila he kept in the pantry. Sonja was surprised by how old he looked. The psychokinetic pummeling he'd taken certainly didn't help matters; his face was puffy and bruises were slowly blossoming under his eyes, as if he'd been struck by the world's biggest air hammer.
They had first met two and a half years ago, when Pangloss
Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer ( http://www.novapdf.com ) hired him to track her down. Not even three years, and already he was starting to age. His once-dark hair and goatee were now liberally shot with gray, and his nose was beginning to dominate his face. Palmer had changed dramatically during their time together, what with his obsession with Mayan body modification, and now he was starting to grow old. Funny that she hadn't noticed that before. Was this how it was between vampires and their human lovers? One day they're a handsome youth, the next they're old and withered? She had to struggle to remember his age. Forty-three? Forty-four?
How old was that in human years?
And,
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